ICMA is pleased to announce the awarding of $500,000 in grant funding to nine cities, towns, and counties to support new projects developed by local governments that utilize public libraries to address critical local needs and provide services that strengthen their communities. The Public Library Innovation Grants are funded through ICMA’s partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The grant program leverages the potential of public libraries to deliver services in such nontraditional areas as public safety, economic development, health, immigration, civic engagement, and sustainability. Recognizing the importance of supporting strong relationships between the local government manager and the library director to create and sustain positive change for communities, the grants will be anchored by a partnership between the office of the city, town, or county manager or administrator and the public library. Library collaboration with peer departments and community partners also will be an essential element of the program.

ICMA received 515 applications from jurisdictions in 47 states. Applications came from jurisdictions as small as Alta Vista, Iowa (pop. 286) and as large as the city of La Habra/Orange County, California (pop. 3 million). Proposal topics included economic and workforce development, technology, youth and teen programs, community building and civic engagement, educational and literacy programs, energy and the environment, emergency management and public safety, diversity and immigration, health, and mobile library services.

“The proposals were truly impressive in quality and scope, proving that the nation’s public libraries have their fingers on the pulse of the critical issues facing our communities today, and stand ready to meet those challenges,” said Cheryl Hilvert, city manager, Montgomery, Ohio and member of the judging panel.

Experts in the fields of libraries and local government served on the judging panel.

The recipients of the ICMA Public Innovation Library Grants are:

Buena Vista, Virginia:Training and Call Center
This computer training and call center will provide, free of charge, basic training in PC usage, individualized assistance for PC users, and advanced training in the skills needed for an individual to operate effectively as an incoming call center representative. Any resident of the Rockbridge Regional Library service area will be eligible for either basic or advanced training. The city of Buena Vista will actively market the call center to corporations seeking cost-effective call center services staffed by pretrained individuals. Contracts with these corporations will provide jobs in the Buena Vista-Lexington-Rockbridge County region and ongoing operating income for the center. The supply of trained employees also will encourage businesses to establish their own permanent call center operations in the area.

Dallas, Texas:Every Child Ready to Read @ Dallas Expansion
The Dallas Public Library will expand its existing parenting program. City employees who are responsible for children will be trained and then recruited as trainers to teach the "Every Child Ready to Read @ Dallas" program, volunteering on work time. The program will be promoted to the public through birth certificate waiting areas, clinic waiting rooms, and schools. A DVD of the parenting program will be developed for airing in clinic waiting rooms, at the Mexican Consulate, or anywhere that large groups of parents of young children congregate.

Fairfax County, Virginia:Changing Lives through Literature
This program is an alternative to formal court action for Fairfax County offenders that uses the power of literature to transform lives through reading and group discussion. Literature and discussions are effective, proven tools for reducing recidivism at minimum cost. During the process, offenders develop better verbal and listening skills, undergo self-reflection, and learn how to become better citizens. Fairfax County will build a broader and stronger network to sustain and expand this program and promote the public library as an important tool in stemming criminal recidivism.

Fayetteville, Arkansas: Solar Test-Bed Library Project
This project is a partnership between the library, city, the University of Arkansas, the Arkansas Energy Office, the American Electric Power, the National Center for Reliable Electric Power Transmission, and the Arkansas Power Electronics International. The partnership will design, install, and operate a solar-generated energy system that will support a real-world test environment for solar-energy products created within the local economy. This project will position the library as the city's incubator for local solar business development and stimulate Fayetteville's fledgling green businesses, as well as promote citizen interest in adopting solar technologies. Building upon the library's U.S. Green Building Council's LEED-Silver certification, the solar energy system will create electricity, thus reducing the city’s utility use and carbon footprint.

Georgetown, South Carolina:The Hurricane Project
This fall, Georgetown County, South Carolina, will acknowledge the 20th anniversary of a terrible event: on September 22, 1989, Hurricane Hugo slammed into the rural coastal area with 135-mph winds and a 20-foot storm surge. The results were devastating. The grant will enable Georgetown County to revisit and learn lessons from this awful experience by facilitating an 18-month collaboration between the public library and the emergency management department to stimulate citizens’ awareness of related public-library and public-safety resources in innovative ways. These processes will include not only the traditional methods of awareness, such as public lectures combined with informational materials and announcements, but also inventive approaches, like video-game simulations, Web 2.0 communication techniques, oral-history video interviews, digital storytelling, and the creation of a digital collection of historic hurricane views.

Iowa City, Iowa: GREEN (Garden, Recycle, Energy, Ecology, NOW) Iowa City
The Iowa City Public Library and the Iowa City Public Works Department will partner to enhance the quality of life for residents by improving the environmental sustainability of the community. The library will expand its role as a community information center to educate and engage citizenry on the benefits of urban storm water management, urban composting, local food, energy conservation, and smart waste disposal. Utilizing books, online databases, and other library resources, including the Web site and cable television channel, the library and public works department will offer workshops and other hands-on programs in conjunction with many community partners to encourage Iowa Citians to create rain gardens, weatherproof their homes and businesses, and take other actions aimed at increasing the sustainability of our GREEN earth. 

Miami, Oklahoma:Miami Native American Language, Culture, Health Education/Empowerment Center
The Miami Public Library and the city of Miami will build on existing, ongoing tribal initiatives and will partner with Native American tribes including the Miami Tribe, the Ottawa Tribe, the Peoria Tribe, the Modoc Tribe, the Shawnee Tribe, and the Seneca-Cayuga Tribe. Facilities at the library will provide reference and training opportunities in Native American language, art, and history, and will provide a way to better link local tribes with their affiliate universities in other states. The center also will serve as a center for Internet training opportunities and economic development seminars on such topics as how to start a business. Non-Native American residents of the community also will be invited to attend and participate in the center's programs, which will greatly enrich the cultural diversity of the Miami community.

Pendleton, Oregon:Wired for Safety
The Wired for Safety project will ride the crest of increased teen energy in the library and throughout the community. Using a mix of technology (a city-wide wireless network and other enhancements) and expanded services (programs for teens and community safety involvement programs), the project will partner the strength and security of local law enforcement with the empowering culture of the public library to create an environment for accessing information that is comfortable and welcoming for a diverse demographic mix of citizens. The project will pool both human and financial resources from the city of Pendleton police department, public library, facilities department, and additional grant funds to achieve the goals of this project.

Santa Ana, California: Connect!/Conectate!: Connecting Yourself with Your Future—Conectate con Tu Futuro!
This project will provide programs for at-risk teens that will help them grow into successful and productive adults. Programs include preparatory workshops for college entrance, job application and research, as well as classes in graphic design, math, and English. These programs will provide opportunities for teens to enhance their academic and life skills, assist in teaching limited English speaking adults, mentor younger children, and develop faith in themselves and in their futures.

About the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people's health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty. In the United States, it seeks to ensure that all people—especially those with the fewest resources—have access to the opportunities they need to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, the foundation is led by CEO Jeff Raikes and co-chair William H. Gates Sr., under the direction of Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett.

The Gates Foundation began investing in computer and Internet services in U.S. public libraries in 1997. To date, it has provided nearly $350 million in grants and other support to install and sustain computers in libraries and train thousands of library staff in nearly 13,000 libraries in all 50 states and U.S. territories. The foundation continues to support libraries by supporting research, training and advocacy, and programs that help libraries sustain high-quality computer and Internet services for patrons.

For more information about the ICMA Public Library Innovation Grants, contact Molly Donelan at 202/962-3645 or mdonelan@icma.org.