Libraries in Yolo County have been awarded $28,890 in funds through the Library Service and Technology Act (LSTA). The funds were allocated by the California State Library and the Institute of Museum and Library Services during the 2009-2010 fiscal year.
“We’re trying a few new things this year,” said Yolo County Head Librarian Patty Wong, who has been librarian for the county since January of 2008. “We’re hoping to build stronger relationships between parents, children and the library system.”
Wong says the California State Library and the Institute of Museum and Library Services chose to give these funds to “help try out new programs. If they don’t work out just the way we planned the financial loss is minimal.”
The goal of the LSTA funds is to stimulate multicultural projects and advance access to libraries across Yolo County. Grants and funds received have been divided up among five programs.
California’s Family Place Library Program received $15,000. This will be divided between 13 public libraries in California to help build and establish facilities for infants and toddlers, with items such as toys and interactive games.
California was the first state to spearhead this kind of family-oriented facility in the library system. This will give parents and one-on-one opportunity to listen to a presentation on the purposes and strategies of the new learning facilities.
$5,000 is going toward the California of the Past Digital Storytelling Program. Through this, Yolo County residents have access to technology allowing them to record multicultural and intergenerational stories relating to California.
“This has made living in Yolo County so much richer,” Wong said.
$500 went to the Díia del los Niños/Díia del los Libros (Day of the Child/Day of the Book), a program established to enhance multiculturalism while teaching non-English speaking residents fundamentals of the English language. Published children’s author and UC Davis Professor Francisco Alarcon teamed up with children’s author Christina Gonzalez to present a bilingual reading for young children and their parents as a part of the First 5 Yolo program.
Jennefer Morressey-Myatt received $3,390 as a scholarship. Morressey-Myatt is a library worker and will use the award to fund a Masters degree at the San Jose States School of Library and Information Science.
Finally, a $5,000 Eureka! Leadership Grant was awarded to help train new and established library workers in new business theories and strategies. The new “Floating Collection”, for example, will allow books to linger and “float” around Yolo County, rather than being strictly available exclusively at one library.
“This will help enrich the collection by blending our collections together,” Wong said.
BRENDON MUSTACIOLA can be reached at city@theaggie.org.
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