MARYSVILLE — If adults can’t go to the library, the library will go to them. Or at least reach out to them.
The Sno-Isle Libraries Foundation has received an $85,000 grant from the Paul G. All
en Family Foundation
“We feel some adults are not getting the full potential out of their libraries,” said Angelique Leone, the foundation’s executive director.
The money will be used to train 10 librarians in adult education. The objective is to teach adults how to use library reference tools, library databases, the Internet and other resources for personal projects such as researching genealogy or starting a small business, Leone said.
“When they learn how to use them, people will use them better and more often,” she said of the tools.
The library foundation is a charity that supports services provided by the Sno-Isle Libraries.
The project, named “Librarians as Information Guides: Piloting Adults to Information and Services,” is scheduled to have its first meeting Tuesday. That’s when the librarians will discuss the project curriculum, goals and expectations.
Training is scheduled to begin in April and will continue until August or September. Outreach will begin immediately afterward, Leone said.
Classes are planned in places where the community gathers, including senior centers or chambers of commerce. Cities in Snohomish County where classes are planned include Edmonds, Mountlake Terrace, Lynnwood, Snohomish and Stanwood. Oak Harbor in Island County also is included.
These communities were chosen because they have a large population of adults, seniors, retirees and independent learners.
The project can expand to other cities in the future, Leone said.
The foundation applied for the grant in May 2010. The grant was awarded in November.
The grant given by the Seattle-based foundation is the biggest Sno-Isle Library Foundation has received from a private foundation in its 10 years of existence, Leone said.
Half of the grant was given last December. The rest will be given in December 2011. The grant will support the project for two years, but Leone hopes the Sno-Isle Libraries could have the capability of making it go further.
This grant is part of the $8.5 million the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation gave last year to 84 nonprofit organizations in the Pacific Northwest. Sno-Isle Libraries Foundation was one of 56 organizations in the state of Washington to receive a grant.
Alejandro Dominguez: 425-339-3422; adominguez@heraldnet.com.
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