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LSCA and Libraries Can Change Lives
Introduction "Happy birthday clearnet!!! I use clearnet often and feel connected to the world. What a great service you provide. It has been years since I've used any library, now because of clearnet, I now use many services and have even obtained my GED. One more thing, I can type with more than two fingers, ha ha!
Thank you very much, This real e-mail message sent to us to celebrate the one-year birthday of CLeaRNET, the Bensenville Community Public Library's community commuting network, typifies the rewards often associated with the development of a new program or service. Patron satisfaction is high, new users are found, enduring partnerships formed. Yet public libraries are often reluctant or unable to implement new services, however good or needed the project, due to funding limitations. New sources of money are difficult to discern and usually require significant investments of time, as well as risk- taking. The status quo, therefore, is often the best that libraries feel they have to offer. The Bensenville Community Public Library has a slogan that has evolved from our mission and goals; it is "to satisfy and delight." The staff, with the complete support of the Board of Trustees, has developed a strong philosophy and orientation toward envisioning and implementing services and programs that help us "satisfy and delight" our users, both current and future, regardless of cost. In order to fund new ideas created by staff at all levels, we have become aggressive grant writers. Over the past few years, the Bensenville Library has been the recipient of numerous LSCA grants through the Office of the Secretary of State/Illinois State Library. LSCA has been an excellent source of funding because the State Library has made it available to encourage innovative ideas and to develop services for our underserved populations. It has enabled us to be creative, take risks and find new ways to meet the needs of our community. Projects funded through LSCA have had both short-and long-term impacts on our library and our community. There are pros and cons to using grant funds, some obvious and some more subtle. The Bensenville Library staff have probably experienced them all, and we still go back time and again to take advantage of the funding source, now replaced with the Library Services and Technology Act. We truly believe in the golden opportunities made available with LSCA funds, and we can best demonstrate our overwhelming positive approach through examples of some of the projects and programs implemented in our community with the use of LSCA funding. Lifelong Learning: a community goal supported by LSCA projects In 1991, the Bensenville Intergovernmental Group, comprised of the Bensenville Community Public Library District, the Village of Bensenville, the Bensenville Park District, Bensenville Elementary School District #2 and the Fenton Community High School District #100, set out to establish Bensenville: A Lifelong Learning Community. Members of the community at all levels — administrators, teachers, parents, and business persons — worked passionately together to create an environment where learning was valued and modeled, and *Jill Rodriguez, Director, Bensenville Community Public Library District. 120 to pool talents and resources to accomplish a shared mission. Some of the results of the collaboration were Bensenville being designated as the first Illinois 2000 Community, and its highly acclaimed recognition as one of 11 "New American Schools." As the community partnerships worked toward, among other things, achieving the National Education Goals, the Bensenville Library incorporated in its Plan of Service, a very aggressive leadership posture for Goal 1, "All children shall enter school ready to learn." As part of the library's Plan of Service, we developed a successful LSCA proposal, "Becoming A Community of Readers in a Lifelong Learning Community." The purpose of the project was to "inspire a love of books and reading in preschool-aged children" and was to be accomplished through a number of non-traditional library activities. LSCA funding enabled the library to move ahead with the goals and objectives that broke new ground for public libraries and took the staff literally "into the homes" of families with children ages 0-5 years "at risk of academic failure," or families with preschool children whose native language was not English. During the grant year, nearly 200 home visits were conducted by two Reading Advocates, one of whom was bilingual and the other with strong community connections. Materials promoting reading aloud and reading as a family activity were distributed along with information about library services and activities. Reading incentive books were given to each child; in many cases those were the first and only books in that home. New programs were developed targeting parents and infants, and grandparents/caregivers and preschoolers, demonstrating reading as a sharing and language-building activity. A wonderful video chronicling a "home visit" was produced in both English and Spanish, and has been distributed statewide as a result of the Community of Readers grant. Throughout the project and implicit in the programs and promotions was a philosophy; as a community, we were striving to send our children to school "ready to learn," and the Bensenville Library was a friendly resource for families to turn to. A great deal of community pride was generated by this project, and it served as a catalyst for other Early Childhood initiatives as well as the development of another LSCA proposal by library staff. Building on the success of the "Community of Readers" project and as a means to strengthen the library's commitment to lifelong learning by all segments of the community, "A Lifelong Learning Partnership: The Bensenville Library and a Neighborhood Family Resource Center" was proposed and funded. The project was designed to provide a library outreach program that would interface with the cultural heritage of the targeted population by making library services more accessible to residents for whom English is a second language, as well as for residents facing isolation through economic or educational barriers. The home visit concept was expanded to service families for whom "learning opportunities" of all types could be identified and explored. The Lifelong Learning Advocates referred family members of all ages to programs and services within the community that would encourage lifelong learning to improve the quality of life for that individual and family. Bi-weekly visits to a Police Neighborhood Resource Center became "library days" for the children in an area known for crime and neglect. The library's in-house collections were supplemented; and special multi-language materials were purchased to support the project. Further access to lifelong learning, early childhood, adult and family programs was provided through the publication of a Lifelong Learning Information and Referral Guide. A festival celebrating the rich history and culture of the entire community was organized with assistance from many of the library's "new users." The complete plan of programs and services arranged as a result of the Lifelong Learning Partnership grant strengthened and improved the library's relationship with residents of the targeted community, inspired a greater appreciation of books, reading and lifelong learning. Both these LSCA projects facilitated programs and services that became a part of the library's Plan of Service. Changes and modifications have been made over the years, but the LSCA funding clearly had an impact on the implementation of more appropriate services to meet the specific needs of our community. From people helping people to computers helping people At the Bensenville Library, we often have many balls in the air, and occasionally need juggling lessons to keep them all afloat. As the lifelong learning philosophy was becoming a part of our community, the library staff was constantly finding ways to improve learning opportunities for all people. Teens, in our minds, were slipping through the cracks and we were searching for ways to draw them into the library. Suddenly, the Internet had become a reality, and the concept of using the Internet to help teens develop lifelong learning habits was a natural. Another grant application was born. Superlearners on the Superhighway received LSCA funding in spring 1995, a time when Bensenville schools and the public library were experiencing tremendous frustration trying to pass referenda to increase tax rates. The school and the library districts had held several unsuccessful campaigns, working both collaboratively to focus on "learning" and separately to explore other strategies. Revenues in both districts had been severely diminished by the tax cap legislation, 121 and emerging technologies seemed out of financial reach. Library staff, however, were determined to provide access to the Internet to members of the community unable to afford home computers. Further, they very clearly saw the Internet as a lure for teenage (non) library users. The proposal was written to meet two very different needs, with a creative program plan that would accomplish both sets of goals. The Superlearners project was intended to develop a list of evaluative criteria for use with electronically retrieved information, and to examine how those could be used to influence teens to use the Internet appropriately. Further, we were hoping to develop a cadre of community Internet trainers to assist with the construction of a community computing network, a "vision" that was in the minds of the Library Board of Trustees and administrative staff. Both these objectives were met. The true impact of the Superlearners project, however, extends far beyond those measurable results. A great deal of information was gathered on the most effective ways to do training for young adults, adults and senior citizens. Staff learned to work with teens in a new way. By adding a group of adult Superlearners as well, we ended up with an intergenerational program, a very dedicated core of library advocates and tremendous community response and support. The phrase became "say Internet and they will come." We did, and they did. As mentioned earlier, there are some pitfalls in developing and implementing services with grant or any other non-renewable funds. We essentially layered the Superlearners project on top of all other library operations; the project ended up taking an enormous amount of staff time, which, of course, caused some stress and strain on other activities. Training the teens and adults (mostly seniors) required staff to improve their own expertise — time consuming but worthwhile. The questions were endless, the interruptions constant. Library staff did a great deal of learning on their own time, although we encouraged them to train each other and use work time as needed. Still, the four staff mentors probably spent between 30 and 40 percent of their time on this project with no additional staff support. In addition, as with any technology project, there were delays in setting up equipment, maintenance issues and the sheer enormity of scheduling 30 Superlearners and their staff mentors to use just a few computers. At the time, the library had mostly "dial-up" Internet access, and the time wasted with busy signals also caused frustration. In the end, though, this project turned out to be one of the most incredibly positive experiences our library has been involved in. If I ask staff now how frustrated or frazzled they were during the Superlearners project, they shrug and say, "Oh, it wasn't that bad." They go on to relate the stories of our 80-year-old poet using the Internet to share her work and read others', our three students who presented the project to an audience of librarians at the Annual ALA Conference in New York City, one of our high school participants telling an ILA audience that librarians "must give back to the Web," and the fun we had just getting to know a group of dynamic, creative teens who were willing to be "guinea pigs" for us. And they, the Superlearners, certainly did become the volunteer trainers and advisors on the next project we embarked --- the creation of a community computing network. Even as the members of the Illinois State Library Advisory Committee were reviewing with State Library Staff, the priorities for LSCA funding for fiscal year 1997, the staff and Board of Trustees of the Bensenville Library were working their vision of a community computing network into the realities of a project. The design was ready to go as the State Library's announcement of LSCA priorities was made, including the development of models for regional community computing networks. The drafting of a proposal for funding must often be done quickly, and with great flexibility to meet restrictions and requirements of the funding agency. The Bensenville Library staff often have ideas in place and are willing to "drop everything" to meet application deadlines. This time, the Superlearners (volunteers) were poised and ready to begin the tremendous undertaking of building support for a community computing network, or freenet. The administration was ready to work on the LSCA proposal, and the Board of Trustees was committed to the project and willing to adapt to some new requirements. Originally planned as a "Bensenville" project, it quickly became evident that a network that included other communities had a better chance of receiving funding, and, therefore other libraries were recruited to participate. This time, having a project already "in the works" was a clear advantage, and the Bensenville/Wood Dale/ Elmhurst proposal was funded. The key to success in establishing a community computing network is the fact that the system is literally run by the community itself. Almost everything that appears on one of these machines is there because there are individuals or organizations in the community who are prepared to contribute their time, effort and expertise to place it there and operate it. As this project began its implementation stage, Bensenville was prepared to move ahead with their community support already in place. Unfortunately, the Wood Dale and Elmhurst Libraries felt that their communities had other priorities and dropped out of the project after the first year. Nevertheless, CLeaRNET, "Communities Linking e-mail and Resources Network" was fully 122 operational by the end of the grant period. Midway through the next year, a major enhancement added a graphical side to the text-based network, and the Bensenville Library added free Internet access through CLeaRNET. Now, the Bensenville Library provides community information, locally-generated forums, e-mail and Internet access for all its residents, either from their homes, workplace, or in the library. The Advisory Board, comprised of many volunteers from the Superlearners project, has logged thousands of hours in building the network; the library has committed staff and funds to secure the future of CLeaRNET. While other communities are building Web-based local resource modules, we believe that the public library must provide equal access to all. In the Bensenville community, as in many others around the state of Illinois, that necessitates operating a text-based system and providing access in the library and other public facilities. The Bensenville Library is committed to the provision of that access, and despite ongoing support from local agencies and partners, is grateful to the Secretary of State for the LSCA funding provided through the Illinois State Library. To add to the quote at the beginning of the article, a few other messages shared at the Birthday celebration reflect the positive impact the development of CLeaRNET has had on the community:
Every little bit helps LSCA funding in Illinois has been given out in all sizes and shapes. While larger grants can fund major projects, even small amounts of funding can "jump start" projects, create tremendous goodwill, and have a major impact on other libraries. The Bensenville Library applied for an LSCA grant to facilitate a project that just "felt like" something the staff wanted to do, but needed a little extra boost. The plan was to design a Home Page on the World Wide Web to promote the Rebecca Caudill Young Readers Award, a children's choice award promoted heavily in Illinois schools. The Bensenville Library has been an avid supporter of the reading program and had developed a strong partnership with local schools to promote the Rebecca Caudill reading list and voting. Funds to purchase a laptop computer and to develop the home page were minimal, and a mouse pad used to promote the project was distributed around the state. The Rebecca Caudill home page, however, has statewide implications. Students in Bensenville were delighted to realize that computers and books could exist side by side; teachers and librarians watched smuggly as the kids read, wrote and communicated through the Rebecca Caudill home page. Now, young readers all over Illinois — and the world — are accessing the information, adding their book reviews and drawings, communicating with each other through its e-mail component, and even voting online. Recently, a 5th grade student from our community told an audience of 150 at the PLA Conference in Kansas City that "Penny's Home Page" (Penny is the library employee who developed and promotes the Rebecca Caudill page in Bensenville schools) "is a great way to learn about books, and that the library is a cool place for giving the kids a chance to put things up on the web." Books, reading and the Internet, all rolled into one small project; not bad for a few thousand LSCA dollars. LSCA is more than dollars; libraries change lives The Bensenville Library has used LSCA funds to purchase computers, hire consultants, create new staff positions, buy library materials in all formats and provide training for employees. LSCA funding also has enabled us to recruit volunteers, motivate kids to read, bond grandparents and toddlers, foster lifelong learning, empower families to learn together, and develop an attitude among staff that library services that "satisfy and delight" are worth pursuing. Grant funding is competitive, it requires thinking "outside the box" and can result in dissappointment and frustration when projects don't go smoothly. The opportunities to explore, dream, and see your ideas become reality, however, are well worth the risks. Because the Illinois State Library has used its influence to fund projects in local libraries rather than its own operational base, tremendous strides in library service have occurred. For years, the State Library staff has established priorities based on its knowledge and expertise and used the LSCA funding mechanism to promote innovative, creative and model programs. Illinois' libraries and its citizens have realized an enhanced quality of life. Lives have been changed. 123 |
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