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G2S Project Code: 2015-CA-74999
State: California
Fiscal Year: 2015

Grantee
SAN DIEGO COUNTY LIBRARY

Project Director
Director Name: Heather Cummins
Director Phone: (707) 553-5730
Director Email: hmcummins@solanocounty.com

General Information
Title: Play to Learn
State Project Code: 40-8594
Start Date: 08/01/2015
End Date: 05/30/2016
Abstract: “Play to Learn” provided opportunities for over 300 children from low-income and poverty-level households to learn new skills and discover interests. “Play to Learn” provided partners with enhancements to existing youth services and met a stated community need for youth recreational opportunities in Vallejo. “Play to Learn” was portable and delivered to project partners. This delivery method was in direct response to the community’s concern over transportation barriers. “Play to Learn” was conducted mainly by library partners at after school programs, Child Development Centers (CDC), and shelters for unhoused families. The project coordinator and library staff conducted outreach visits to at least one partner site, once per month, from October 2015 to May 2016. Visits included story times, free play, availability to answer library questions, and providing information on the essential role of play in learning. Fifteen thematically organized “Play to Learn” kits were created and housed in portable bins. Examples of kit themes were dramatic play, science, and math.

State Goal: Goal VIII: Ensuring Library Access for All

Budget Information

LSTA

MATCH-State

MATCH-Other

Total

$4,731.00

$0.00

$13,608.00

$18,339.00

Intent(s)
Improve users' general knowledge and skills.
After-school activities

Activities
Activity Details
Title: Project outreach engagement
Narrative: Engagement with project partners and users were conducted by library staff at rotating partner sites once per month from October 2015 to April 2016, with the exception of December and May due to school and family holiday schedules. Library staff conducted initial meetings with project partners to go over the concepts and format of “Play to Learn” to orient partners to the service, introduce components of the kits, and to answer questions about the project starting in October 2015. Additionally, library staff visits to partner sites included story times, availability to answer questions about the library, activities created from “Play to Learn” kits, which included early literacy concepts and discovery. Engaging participants with “Play to Learn” activities was mainly conducted by community partners, using community volunteers, teachers, and nonprofit staff.

Intent: Improve users' general knowledge and skills.

Activity: Instruction
Mode: Program
Format: In-person

Quantity
Session length (minutes): 30
Number of sessions in program: 12
Average number in attendance per session: 26
Number of times program administered: 25

Partner Information

Organization Type of Partner Organization(s):
Libraries: Yes
Historical Societies or Organizations: No
Museums: No
Archives: No
Cultural Heritage Organization Multi-type: No
Preschools: No
Schools: No
Adult Education: No
Human Service Organizations: No
Other: No

Legal Type of Partner Organization(s):
Federal Government: No
State Government: No
Local Government (excluding school districts): No
School District: No
Non-Profit: No
Private Sector: No
Tribe/Native Hawaiian Organization: No

Beneficiaries
Is the activity directed at the library workforce: No
For a targeted group or for the general population: Targeted
Geographic community of the targeted group: Urban
Suburban
For what age groups: 0-5 years
6-12 years
For what economic types: Below Poverty
For what ethnicity types: Ethnicity Not Applicable
Is the activity directed at families: Yes
Is the activity directed at intergenerational groups: No
Is the activity directed at immigrants/refugees: No
Is the activity directed at those with disabilities: No
Limited functional literacy or informational skills: No
Is the activity category not already captured: No

Locale
Is the activity state-wide: No
Specific Locations: Yes
Name: Christian Help Center
Address: 2166 Sacramento Street
City: Vallejo
State: CA
Zip: 94590
Name: Highland Elementary School CDC
Address: 1309 Ensign Ave
City: Vallejo
State: CA
Zip: 94590
Name: Vallejo Family Housing Partnership/Avian Glen Community Housing
Address: 301 Avian Drive
City: Vallejo
State: CA
Zip: 94591

Activity Details
Title: Presentations
Narrative: Library staff conducted informal presentations and initial meetings with project partners to go over the concepts and format of “Play to Learn” in order to orient partners to the service, introduce components of the kits, and to answer questions about the project starting in October 2015. Formal presentations on the results of “Play to Learn” were planned for in May but unfortunately were cancelled. The project coordinator planned to present at the Friends of the Vallejo Library on May 18 but due to a large city demonstration, the meeting was cancelled. The project coordinator was able to successfully present on the project’s results at the Solano County Library’s quarterly general meeting on June 10, to 61 staff from all branches.

Intent: Improve users' general knowledge and skills.

Activity: Instruction
Mode: Presentation/performance
Format: In-person

Quantity
Presentation/performance length (minutes): 15
Number of presentations/performances administered: 20
Average number in attendance per session: 4

Partner Information

Beneficiaries
Is the activity directed at the library workforce: No
For a targeted group or for the general population: Targeted
Geographic community of the targeted group: Urban
Suburban
For what age groups: 18-25 years
26-49 years
50-59 years
60-69 years
For what economic types: Below Poverty
For what ethnicity types: Ethnicity Not Applicable
Is the activity directed at families: Yes
Is the activity directed at intergenerational groups: No
Is the activity directed at immigrants/refugees: No
Is the activity directed at those with disabilities: No
Limited functional literacy or informational skills: No
Is the activity category not already captured: No

Locale
Is the activity state-wide: No
Specific Locations: Yes
Name: Beverly Hills Elementary School After School Program
Address: 1450 Coronel Ave.
City: Vallejo
State: CA
Zip: 94591
Name: Cave Elementary School CDC
Address: 770 Tregaskis Ave
City: Vallejo
State: CA
Zip: 94591
Name: SOLANO COUNTY LIBRARY
Address: 1150 KENTUCKY ST.
City: FAIRFIELD
State: CA
Zip: 94533

Activity Details
Title: Consultation
Narrative: The project coordinator and library staff provided information and resources on the mechanics and concepts of the “Play to Learn” project to partners through discussion and hands-on instruction. Explanation of the project’s mechanics was discussed with project partners when kits were delivered for the first time at partner sites. Throughout the project year, library staff was available to answer questions and visit partner locations through scheduled follow-up meetings past the initial delivery of “Play to Learn” kits.

A “Play to Learn” brochure introduced the concept of “Playto Learn” and explained how play is an essential component of learning. Thebrochure also contained a bibliography and listed the fifteen kits that wereavailable for check-out. The brochure was distributed to partner sites andincluded in each bin. Library staff also created an original logo in order tobrand “Play to Learn” as an easily identifiable library service. The logo wasaffixed to each bin and was included in the brochure.
Intent: Improve users' general knowledge and skills.

Activity: Instruction
Mode: Consultation/drop-in/referral
Format: Combined in-person & virtual

Quantity
Total number of consultation/reference transactions: 23
Average number of consultation/reference transactions per month: 4

Partner Information

Organization Type of Partner Organization(s):
Libraries: No
Historical Societies or Organizations: No
Museums: No
Archives: No
Cultural Heritage Organization Multi-type: No
Preschools: No
Schools: No
Adult Education: No
Human Service Organizations: No
Other: No

Beneficiaries
Is the activity directed at the library workforce: No
For a targeted group or for the general population: Targeted
Geographic community of the targeted group: Urban
Suburban
For what age groups: 18-25 years
26-49 years
50-59 years
60-69 years
For what economic types: Below Poverty
For what ethnicity types: Ethnicity Not Applicable
Is the activity directed at families: Yes
Is the activity directed at intergenerational groups: No
Is the activity directed at immigrants/refugees: No
Is the activity directed at those with disabilities: No
Limited functional literacy or informational skills: No
Is the activity category not already captured: No

Locale
Is the activity state-wide: No
Specific Locations: Yes
Name: Grace Patterson Elementary School Encore
Address: 1080 Porter Street
City: Vallejo
State: CA
Zip: 94950
Name: Steffan Manor Elementary School CDC
Address: 815 Cedar Street
City: Vallejo
State: CA
Zip: 94591
Name: Steffan Manor Elementary School Encore
Address: 815 Cedar Street
City: Vallejo
State: CA
Zip: 94591

Activity Details
Title: Kit Contents
Narrative: Fifteen “Play to Learn” kits were created by library staff and packaged in portable, secure packaging and checked out to partner sites for two weeks to one month during the grant project. Kits were organized thematically with examples such as dramatic play, music, gross and fine motor skills, puppetry, and science. “Play to Learn” kits were lent to participatingpartners on a bi-weekly to monthly basis from October 2015 to April 2016. Kitswere delivered to partner sites by library staff in their personal vehicles.Delivery of kits was time consuming and labor intensive but partners weregrateful and impressed with kit contents. Participating sites chose to incorporate the kits into their curriculum or use them in free play contexts such as after school programs. Kits contained toys, props, and manipulatives that were selected for a balance of play behaviors that would support social, intellectual, and creative areas of development. Toys and props that were selected responded to the diverse motor skills, interests, gender, and cultural backgrounds of the project’s participants. Each “Play to Learn” kit contained one laminated list of materials and a “Play to Learn” brochure. A laminated list of items was included to ensure the thorough return of contents and to explain the monetary value of each kit. The brochure introduced the concept of “Play to Learn” and explained how play is an essential component of learning. The brochure also contained a bibliography and listed the fifteen kits that were available for check-out. The brochure was distributed to partner sites and included in each bin. Partners also received an electronic spreadsheet of the "Play to Learn" kits; the list contained itemized information of the kits' toys and books. Bibliographic records were created in the library catalog to facilitate the circulation of the kits to project partners, and to enable staff to track the location and analyze the circulation of each kit.

Intent: Improve users' general knowledge and skills.

Activity: Content
Mode: Acquisition
Format: Physical

Quantity
Number of hardware acquired: 0
Number of software acquired: 0
Number of licensed databases acquired: 0
Number of print materials (books & government documents) acquired: 40
Number of electronic materials acquired: 0
Number of audio/visual units (audio discs, talking books, other recordings) acquired: 0

Partner Information

Beneficiaries
Is the activity directed at the library workforce: No
For a targeted group or for the general population: Targeted
Geographic community of the targeted group: Urban
Suburban
For what age groups: 0-5 years
6-12 years
For what economic types: Below Poverty
For what ethnicity types: Ethnicity Not Applicable
Is the activity directed at families: Yes
Is the activity directed at intergenerational groups: No
Is the activity directed at immigrants/refugees: No
Is the activity directed at those with disabilities: No
Limited functional literacy or informational skills: No
Is the activity category not already captured: No

Locale
Is the activity state-wide: No
Specific Locations: Yes
Name: Highland Elementary School CDC
Address: 1309 Ensign Ave
City: Vallejo
State: CA
Zip: 94590
Name: Solano County Library - Springstowne Library
Address: 1003 Oakwood Ave
City: Vallejo
State: CA
Zip: 94951
Name: Vallejo Family Housing Partnership/Avian Glen Community Housing
Address: 301 Avian Drive
City: Vallejo
State: CA
Zip: 94591

Project Outcomes
Project Outcomes
List any important findings or outcomes from your project:
The project coordinator of “Play to Learn” sought to assist children in learning new skills, to discover their interests, and to provide service enhancements to preschools and after school programs. The “Play to Learn” project coordinator surveyed three groups of users to assess the outcomes of the service. The groups were organized by participant grades preschool to first grades, participant grades second to fifth grades, and partners such as teachers and nonprofit staff. Distributing surveys was the main way of tracking the project’s outcomes but observation and conversations with partners also resulted in identifying outcomes. Surveys were distributed to children and partners on paper and then collected after “Play to Learn” bins were returned to the library. Completed surveys were uploaded to SurveyMonkey, which allowed the project coordinator to analyze up to 100 survey responses per category of project participant. For participants’ grades preschool to first grade, 92.47% reported they found they liked something new by engaging with items from “Play to Learn”. 88.24% of this age category reported they learned something new. For participants grades second to fifth grades, 80.61% reported they discovered they liked something new and 80% reported they learned something new after engaging with “Play to Learn” materials. Project partners reported that 92.86% believed that “Play to Learn” enhanced their curriculum and activities, 92.31% reported that the kits provided skill-building and recreational opportunities for their students, and 92.86% reported their students learned something new by their engagement with “Play to Learn”. All “Play to Learn” partners believed that the library was responsive to community needs.
Please briefly describe importance of findings:
The outcomes of “Play to Learn” illustrate that it was responsive to identified community needs and was significant to specific community barriers, such as transportation, by its deliverable format. “Play to Learn” outcomes were responsive to a thoroughly identified community need that was revealed from a community assessment conducted from October 2014 to March 2015. Community assessment results informed the project coordinator that transportation, lack of recreational resources in Vallejo, childcare, and costs of services were barriers to connecting children with opportunities to develop their interests, build skills, and enjoy their free time. Caregivers cited their concerns that television was a solution to childcare and that “fun things to do” were outside of Vallejo. Themes of skill building and wanting empowered youth in Vallejo were present throughout all results of target audience focus groups.
What methods did you use to determine your findings? Check all that apply:
Survey
Interview/Focus Group
Participant Observation
Other
Based on outputs, outcomes and/or other results, explain any significant lessons learned from these findings for either the SLAA or others in the LIS field:
A significant lesson learned during the process of identifying, creating, conducting, and evaluating the project was the responsiveness of the service to community need by creating and maintaining relationships. The project coordinator created new relationships with local Child Development Centers (CDC) and there was unanimous interest by all partners to continue using “Play to Learn” after the project year. One project partner reported that children at her after school program at a community housing apartment complex increased their interest and attendance at the library because they felt more comfortable being there and communicating with staff, which she had not observed prior to their participation in “Play to Learn”. Another significant lesson learned was how time intensive it was for library staff to deliver “Play to Learn” materials to project partners. Delivery of bins to project partners required communication via email and/or phone, partner selection of materials, circulation of materials, scheduling drop-offs, meetings to go over materials with partners, answering questions about the library, and scheduling the retrieval of materials from project partners.
Do you anticipate continuing this project after the current reporting period ends:
Yes
Do you anticipate any change in level of effort:
Yes: The project coordinator and library staff will be changing the level of effort in maintaining the “Play to Learn” service by inviting existing project partners to retrieve and return “Play to Learn” bins from the library, which would shift responsibility of delivery away from library staff to the user. Library staff is also promoting “Play to Learn” to local Child Starts (Head Start preschools in Vallejo) to expand its usage by community partners. The project coordinator designed "Play to Learn" to be sustainable without additional funding, except for replacement materials, which may be provided by the Friends of the Vallejo Library at a future time.
Do you anticipate any change in the project's scope:
Yes: The project coordinator and library staff intend to widen the scope of “Play to Learn” by offering it at outreach events and in-house library programs. Library staff offered an in-house, standalone “play date” program using a variety of “Play to Learn” bins in January with success and interest from attendees. Staff intends to schedule a similar event at the library in the future. Additionally library staff incorporates ”Play to Learn” materials such as a Kodo Wind Tunnel and balancing beams into post-story time “stay and play” activities. These items are tremendously popular with preschool age library customers and families. Library staff has also brought “Play to Learn” materials to outreach events such as Farm Day at Loma Vista Farm and at Harvest House, a transitional shelter for women with children.
Do you anticipate any other changes in the project:
No

Exemplary: Yes
Exemplary Narrative

Project Tags: deliverable service, community assessment, play