The ODL (Oklahoma Department of Libraries) has awarded a $12,867.43 grant to the Ponca City Public Library to address impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. ODL offered targeted grants to Oklahoma public libraries as part of the agency’s plan for use of ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds.
Holly LaBossiere, Ponca City Library Director, stated “The grant will be used to purchase new Awe Learning stations, a new water fountain with a water bottle filling station, equipment to help social distance for programs, as well as improve our community’s awareness of library services and resources.”
LaBossiere added, “In addition to supplies and equipment, the Library has elected to use some of the grant funding to add materials to the print and online wellness and career collections. In the last two years, the Library has seen increased interest in staying healthy and looking for ways to pursue meaningful work and educational opportunities.”
Jackie Kropp, director of the Office of Library Development at ODL, said grants totaling $1.45 million have been provided to 93 municipal libraries and all eight of the state’s library systems. “The grants are funding a diverse array of items and projects to protect public health and assure continued services,” Kropp said. “The process allowed for a variety of options so that individual libraries could request grant funds to meet their most pressing needs.”
Kropp said libraries could purchase PPE and easily-cleanable furniture, fund network enhancements and Wi-Fi expansion, purchase connectivity devices for social distancing and remote access to online resources, support video conference capabilities, order health and wellness materials for their collections, and even pay for temporary staffing to help in the recovery process. The spending criteria was provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and based on ARPA legislation.
In addition to the public library grants, ODL is using ARPA funds to also provide grants to adult literacy programs, museums, and tribal libraries and cultural centers. Other ODL-sponsored ARPA projects in the works include an Online High School pilot with six public libraries, the launch of a telehealth pilot program, online resources for homework help, an early literacy program for 30 small and rural public libraries, and procurement of document scanning stations for selected libraries.
