By J. Sara Paulk
The American Library Association (ALA) announced recently grants of $20,000 to 77 libraries that continue to experience substantial economic hardship due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The Houston County Public Library was the only library in Georgia to receive one of the grants.
“The majority of the grant will be used to amplify the existing eBook and eAudio collection,” said Library Director J. Sara Paulk, “with the addition of some specific fiction collections and accompanying programming. Starting in July, the new titles will be in a featured list – called ‘Listen UP!’.”
The primary activity is “The Universal Challenge: Exploring identity and discovering a different point of view through fiction.” The challenge is to read or listen to at least three books from the “Listen Up!” collection over the next six months. Patrons and staff are encouraged to read fiction beyond the comfortable and familiar. The grant dates run from July 1, 2022 to December 30, 2022.
Starting in July, new titles were added on a regular basis. The downloadable eBooks and eAudios are available through Libby and Overdrive from any library in GADD – Georgia Download Destination (gogadd.com) consortium. GADD libraries that use Beanstack can include the Universal Challenge as an option for patrons.
Staff support was provided by the Houston County Public Library, Mercer University Assistant Professor Dr. Laura Simon, Overdrive, Beanstack, and library staff from libraries that are members of GADD.
The ALA COVID Library Relief Fund is supported by Acton Family Giving as part of its ongoing response to the pandemic. For more information, contact J. Sara Paulk – jspaulk@houpl.org.
To learn more about the Houston County Public Library, go to https://houpl.org/.