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Warren-Trumbull County Public Library is Awarded $235,000 Grant to Provide Pop-Up Library Services to Youth and Families

(01/11/2023) – The Warren-Trumbull County Public Library (W-TCPL) has been awarded $235,000 from the Ohio Department of Education to help fund the library system’s new literacy outreach initiative.

The W-TCPL will use the funds to implement a Student Engagement Initiative that uses Pop-Up Library services to provide collections and programs specifically designed to meet the growing needs of schools and students in Trumbull County.

According to W-TCPL Deputy Director Kimberly Garrett, Pop-Up Library services will allow the W-TCPL to expand literacy in the community and reach young people and families who may not have the opportunity to use the traditional library.

“Every student should have access to all the resources offered by the library,” Garrett said. “We are thrilled that this award will allow the W-TCPL to offer young people and their families the opportunity to discover library materials and services in a new and exciting way.”

Taking the library out into the community will be a cornerstone for the initiative. A mobile Pop-Up Library vehicle that can travel throughout Trumbull County will be purchased, and the W-TCPL will employ additional staff to implement the project.

The Student Engagement Initiative is centered around three core goals of accelerated literacy learning, future success, and family engagement. The library has identified several strategic ways it can begin achieving those goals:

• Initiate the distribution of library cards to all students enrolled in public schools within the 15 school districts that are serviced by the W-TCPL.
• Offer depository book collections at targeted schools within the library’s service area.
• Support post-high school transition preparation by enlisting students to serve as Student Library Assistants in schools where W-TCPL depository collections are located.
• Provide PreK Pop-Ins to preschools located in the library’s service area. These Pop-Ins will consist of recurring monthly storytime sessions and rotating depository collections for children who are preparing for kindergarten.
• Encourage parent and family involvement in fostering lifelong learning by taking programming including summer reading activities to places where families may already be congregating such as schools hosting summer enrichment programs, day camps, churches, parks, and shelters.
• Build relationships between families and the library through outreach events such as school-sponsored open houses, farmers markets, activities in the park, and community celebratory events.

“We are very excited with this new opportunity to broaden our partnerships with area schools, students, and community organizations that serve youth,” Garrett said. “We believe that by beginning these new programs, the library will be able to make a significant, positive impact on our young people and, ultimately, on our entire community.”

The W-TCPL system includes libraries in Brookfield, Cortland, Howland, Liberty, Lordstown, and Warren; a Bookmobile; and Library-By-Mail service.

For more information about the W-TCPL and its libraries and services, visit www.wtcpl.org.

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For more information, contact: Cheryl Bush, Marketing & Public Relations Manager, at bushc@wtcpl.org.