BREEDEN LIBRARY RECEIVES NATIONAL GRANT FOR SMALL AND RURAL LIBRARIES

$3,000 Grant Will Help the Library Work with Residents on Balancing Tradition and Opportunity

Breeden Memorial Library has been selected as one of 300 libraries to participate in Libraries Transforming Communities: Focus on Small and Rural Libraries, an American Library Association (ALA) initiative that helps library workers better serve their small and rural communities.

The competitive award comes with a $3,000 grant that will help the library work with county residents of all ages balance community tradition with opportunities for growth.

“We are so pleased to be offered this incredible opportunity to work with the community and discuss progress in Leavenworth and Crawford County,” said Library Director Tina Brison. “This grant will allow our library to get to know our residents better and help us build a happier and more productive future for all of our families.”

As part of the grant, Breeden Memorial Library staff will take an online course in how to lead conversations, a skill vital to library work today. Staff will then host three conversations with residents about balancing tradition and opportunity. Grant funds will be used to finance those meetings and to supplement the library’s Summer Reading program and a Teen Book Club, both of which will focus on the theme ‘Be the Change.’

Leavenworth is a proud, beautiful town full of potential just waiting to be tapped. Starting in July, Breeden Memorial Library will host a series of 3 town hall-type meetings for the community to discuss how to balance reaching that potential while maintaining its small-town traditions.

If you are interested in getting involved or taking part in the conversation, please contact Tina Brison at tbrison@breedenmemoriallibrary.org or 812-739-4092 or visit www.breedenmemoriallibrary.org for more information.

Since 2014, ALA’s Libraries Transforming Communities initiative has re-imagined the role libraries play in supporting communities. Libraries of all types have utilized free dialogue and deliberation training and resources to lead community and campus forums; take part in anti-violence activities; provide a space for residents to come together and discuss challenging topics; and have productive conversations with civic leaders, library trustees and staff.

“Libraries Transforming Communities: Focus on Small and Rural Libraries is an initiative of the American Library Association (ALA) in collaboration with the Association for Rural and Small Libraries (ARSL).”