Excerpts from an article by by Melissa Davlin, Idaho Reports
State Librarian Stephanie Bailey-White presented the commission’s budget request, pointing to millions in one-time federal funds available for certain construction and digital improvements. This is the last year these funds are available.
The commission’s budget request includes:
- $1.25 million in federal ESSER funds, including $561,000 utilized for 95 grants for public and school libraries for after-school and summer programs;
- $564,000 in federal funding for the Digital Access for All Idahoans program;
- Up to $1.75 million in federal funds for a Digital Access Implementation Grant to expand connectivity in rural Idaho;
- $3.5 million in one-time ARPA dollars for one-time grants that will allow about 23 libraries to fund construction and digital infrastructure upgrades;
- $40,000 in ongoing general funds to supplement Kindergarten Readiness sub-grants to libraries, which fund early learning groups and workshops and training for staff, and;
- $6,000 for virtual hard drive storage for recordings for the Idaho Talking Book Service.
The commission highlighted libraries that could potentially benefit from the construction grants, including a 16-person capacity library in Donnelly that provides after-school care and educational programs for students. Currently, the library utilizes two outdoor tipis to expand its learning space.
Last year, the legislature sliced the $3.5 million in ARPA funding from the commission’s original request after concerns that libraries were allowing children to check out inappropriate materials. That legislative debate preceded months of contentious library board hearings across the state.
Read the full article HERE.
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