The Northern New York Library Library Network has awarded $62,632 to member grant projects this year.
Read about the 8 exciting projects getting underway below.
Bare Hill Correctional Facility, $3,000
Book a Better Future
Librarian Krista Briggs will buy books for incarcerated individuals to give to their children during visits to promote engagement in their kids’ literacy and development.
The Franklin County Historical and Museum Society, $3,459
Virtual Field Trip Development Program
Museum volunteers will procure proper equipment and lighting to improve the experience of virtual visits, initially for local schools but tours could expand to other audiences with the better tech.
Paul Smith's College Library, $4,900
Undergraduate Capstone Migration & Institutional Repository Setup
Library Director Andrew Kelly will migrate student capstone projects to an Institutional Repository available through the Empire State Library Network, opening up new interactions in scholarly communications on campus.
Flower Memorial Library (Watertown), $7,776
Equity Through STEM
Librarian Brittani LaJuett will bring small robotics and maker programming to the SoZo Teen Center for 11-18 year olds in Watertown.
Canton Free Library, $9,500
Library Director Emily Hastings will work with library staff and Rensselaer Falls Village personnel to study the revitalization impact and community buy-in for a renovation/addition of the Renssallear Falls Library building. They envision an inspiring space to be used for library functions and beyond.
Clarkson University (Potsdam), $10,182
Reckoning with Race and Racism in Healthcare and Medicine
Health Sciences librarian Mary Cabral will support the development and execution of a 5-session course as well as a book club for healthcare practitioners and students, together with professor of History (History of Medicine) Stephen Casper. Dr. Casper will offer practitioners and interested community members a structure within which to contemplate the evidence of scientific racism in medicine, continual segregation of medical facilities, and evidence that racism is reproduced in current medical training.
St. Lawrence University Library (Canton), $11,815
Digital DEI: Making Digital Scholarship More Equitable and Inclusive
Librarian Eric Williams-Bergen will build a dedicated collection of digital tools to support access and learning among student Fellows and Scholarship Assistants, who often come from SLU’s most diverse undergraduate groups and want more support ramping up their digital skills.
Historic Saranac Lake, $12,000
Physical Preservation of Blueprints to Ensure Access
Archivist Chessie Monks-Kelly will build a humidification chamber to flatten blueprints of historical architecture (e.g. cure cottages unique to the area) and buy file cases to store them properly. Equipment will be made available to neighboring small orgs to help them with similar preservation/access needs.
Congratulations and thanks to all grantees for their drive to take action within their communities.
While they complete those projects, think about what you might propose to do for the next round of grant funding in 23-24!