Last Tuesday, I went to Depauville Free Library, to check out their recently renovated children's space. I'm not the consultant for Depauville Free Library, but I am the youth services consultant for all the libraries in our system and am often (I will not say always, I will never say that during the month of January) up for a trip to check out a children's space I haven't seen before.
The library was able to put on addition onto their building thanks to funds from State Aid for Library Construction (or as we informally call them, construction grants), and the finished product is a warm and inviting space for families.
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| Yes, that is a puppet theater. Yes, that is a bench shaped like a throne. |
Dawn Vincent is the State Services Coordinator at NCLS, and as such, pretty much our resident goddess on all things related to construction grants. Here's what she has to say about why construction grants are so important to North Country libraries:
"Many of our libraries are small, rural libraries operating on small budgets, and without this funding they would not be able to address the needs of their buildings - many of which are over 50 years old. One thing I like about it, too, is that it allows libraries to put in a small match rather than have to come up with a large amount of money. The program provides funding for libraries to address aging infrastructure, energy inefficient buildings, and the evolving ways people use libraries."
The New York Library Association is working to convince the state to increase construction grant funding this year. For more information, or to contact your local officials with a handy pre-drafted letter, visit NYLA's advocacy page.
*Of course, January is an interesting time to start this series, since we never know what those lake effects bands are going to do, but still. We do what we can with the tires we have.
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