Wilsonville Library Procurs Grant to Fund Outreach Program
The Wilsonville Public Library, through the Wilsonville Public Library Foundation, received a $10,090 grant from The Oregon! Ready to Learn Fund of the Oregon Community Foundation.
The grant will fund the library’s Book Bridges program at the Coffee Creek Correctional Facility. Library staff currently works with the Early Head Start program at Coffee Creek to provide library services to incarcerated mothers and their children ages’ birth to three years old.
The Book Bridges program will expand this partnership to include:
• Monthly Storytime sessions
• Monthly Parent Training sessions to address early literacy development and storytelling techniques
• Monthly selection and delivery
of appropriate library books
• Development of a personal library for each participant and her child, to consist of the books presented at Storytime
• Community library introduction
for each released participant, to include location, hours, Storytime schedule, and library card (or application)
to the library in her new community.
“The goal of the program is to extend the benefits of Storytime to some of the most vulnerable children in our society. It give parents the skills and encouragement to read and tell stories to their children and to increase understanding of the role of reading and stories on children’s literacy and learning development,” said Wilsonville Library Director Pat Duke. “Our staff will also work to introduce released parents to their future local library in order to encouragethem to attend Storytime with their children and continue to read to their children.” Director Duke said the program was developed by Youth Services Librarian Keren Joshi, and Children’s Assistant Terri Wortman. Keren’s Doctorate from the University of Illinois focused on children’s early literacy development.
