SPRINGFIELD –– Secretary of State and State Librarian Jesse White has announced that 16 Illinois libraries will receive a total of $642,444 for model programs or innovative projects through a five-month grant program funded by the Library Services and Technology Act.
"These grants will allow all types of libraries to provide additional services and develop projects to enhance reading advocacy programs and better use 21st century technology," said Secretary White.
From Virtual Green Thumb at the Chicago Horticultural Society that provides a CD for gardening enthusiasts, to the development of a Foreign Language Resource Center at the Des Plaines Public Library, the grants cover widely diversified projects.
Senior residents at Maple Lawn Homes in Eureka and Eureka College freshmen
will work together on the production of the seniors' memoirs using keyboarding and processing skills taught by the Eureka Public Library staff. The memoirs will appear in print and on Web sites in support of the library's ongoing commitment to preserve local history.
Library patrons in Villa Park can use the model program developed there to
access materials and resources needed to develop job-seeking skills.
In Alton, the Hayner Public Library District will provide five months of Internet training classes for library patrons, and in Kankakee the Limestone Township Library will use the grant money to advocate reading among day care children who are unable to attend traditional library programs.
Library Service and Technology Act funds are distributed by the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services and administered by the Illinois State Library.
