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G2S Project Code: 2020-FL-84415
State: Florida
Fiscal Year: 2020
Grantee
LAKE COUNTY LIBRARY SYSTEM

Project Director
Director Name: Sean O'Keefe
Director Phone: 352-253-6180
Director Email: sokeefe@mylakelibrary.org
General Information
Title: CARES Act: Lake County Employment Revitalization Project
State Project Code: 20-CARES-07
Start Date: 11/25/2020
End Date: 09/30/2021
Abstract: The Lake County Library System worked with partner agencies to promote usage of the LinkedIn Learning database to foster and revitalize employment, workforce development, and small business opportunities in Lake County. The library system purchased access to the database for the residents of Lake County. In coordination with Lake County schools, Elevate Lake, Goodwill, United Way, Lake-Sumter State College, Lake Tech, CareerSource, SCORE, and Chambers of Commerce, Lake County Library System promoted the courses to job hunters and small business owners. Lake County Library System also worked with local municipalities to offer training to their employees.
As of June, 2020, Lake County had an unemployment rate of 14.3%. Based on estimates from Elevate Lake, the county has over 10,000 small businesses.
The library offered in-person and virtual meetings to train partner agency staff and their clientele on using LinkedIn Learning. The library also hosted workshops for the residents of Lake County in regards to job hunting and skill development, and specific workshops for small business about managing and growing their business.
LinkedIn Learning offers classes and training for any individual with a library card. Classes are all virtual and have an option to download to take offline if needed. The resident is given a certificate at the end of the course, as well as suggested topics to explore to expand the topic just completed. The courses can be anything from "Learning to Teach Online" to "Advertising on Instagram" to "Communicating through Disagreement."
The Florida Electronic Library  (FEL) is composed of databases that contain not only journals for businesses and individuals to peruse for information, but also provides access to Employ Florida and SBDC (which does provide online training for individuals trying to start a business and sometimes they are fee based).
LinkedIn Learning is all training, no access to journals for research. FEL is mostly for research and very few trainings, but the trainings offered are geared solely towards small businesses.

State Goal: Goal 2 - Strengthen Libraries: Floridians use libraries with staff, resources and facilities that transform to meet user needs.
Budget Information
LSTA
MATCH-State
MATCH-Other
Total
$15,000.00
$0.00
$0.00
$15,000.00
Intent(s)
Improve users' general knowledge and skills.
Business & Finance
Small Business
Activities
Activity Details
Title: Acquire LinkedIn Learning Database
Narrative: The Lake County Library System acquired LinkedIn Learning in February 2021.

Intent: Improve users' general knowledge and skills.

Activity: Content
Mode: Acquisition
Format: Digital


Quantity
Number of hardware acquired: 0
Number of software acquired: 0
Number of licensed databases acquired: 1
Number of print materials (books & government documents) acquired: 0
Number of electronic materials acquired: 0
Number of audio/visual units (audio discs, talking books, other recordings) acquired: 0


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: General


Locale
Is the activity state-wide: No
Specific Locations: Yes
Name: LAKE COUNTY LIBRARY SYSTEM
Address: 2401 WOODLEA RD.
City: TAVARES
State: FL
Zip: 32778
Activity Details
Title: Staff Training, Communications Plan, Partner Agency Training, and Workshops
Narrative: Library staff sent out emails to system-wide staff. Instruction was also provided at library director and supervisor meetings. Due to COVID-19 staffing and library closures, full-scale in-person training was not possible. The Program Specialist for Communications for Lake County Library System created a two-page marketing plan that included social media posts. Due to COVID-19, many partner agencies were not able to meet or attend meetings for training. Partner agencies reported they were understaffed and could not attend any training at all. Due to decreases in library staffing, fewer open hours, and the pandemic, only two virtual workshops were held. Two workshops were held for Lake County staff and focused on logging in and navigating LinkedIn Learning.


Intent: Improve users' general knowledge and skills.

Activity: Instruction
Mode: Program
Format: Combined in-person & virtual


Quantity
Session length (minutes): 15
Number of sessions in program: 1
Average number in attendance per session: 6
Number of times program administered: 1


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


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: Yes
For a targeted group or for the general population: General


Locale
Is the activity state-wide: No
Specific Locations: Yes
Name: LAKE COUNTY LIBRARY SYSTEM
Address: 2401 WOODLEA RD.
City: TAVARES
State: FL
Zip: 32778
Question 1: I learned something by participating in this library activity.
Strongly Agree: 4
Agree: 2
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 0
Disagree: 0
Strongly Disagree: 0
Non-Response: 0
Question 2: I feel more confident about what I just learned.
Strongly Agree: 4
Agree: 2
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 0
Disagree: 0
Strongly Disagree: 0
Non-Response: 0
Question 3: I intend to apply what I just learned.
Strongly Agree: 3
Agree: 2
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 1
Disagree: 0
Strongly Disagree: 0
Non-Response: 0
Question 4: Applying what I learned will help improve library services to the public.
Strongly Agree: 5
Agree: 1
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 0
Disagree: 0
Strongly Disagree: 0
Non-Response: 0
Project Outcomes
Project Outcomes
List any important outcomes or findings not previously reported:
The effect of COVID-19 on the ability to offer partner and in-person training was greater than expected. Staffing issues for the libraries and partner agencies caused us to curtail any training to focus on serving patrons with traditional library services. The Lake County HR staff was thrilled with the project and recommended that County employees get a card and take courses. In combination with the student virtual card, we began offering a Lake County Employee Virtual Card to the 911 county employees. This project will increase usage tremendously. The use of LinkedIn Learning will be tied directly to County employee yearly evaluations. Engagement with social media was much lower than expected. Providing flyers and promotional material in-house was not enough to target individuals. Since the beginning of the project: • 416 hours of content viewed • 1,589 course views • 171 course completions • 8,764 video views • 6,845 video completions Popular courses: • Using LinkedIn Learning • Habits of High Performers • Excel Essential Training • Autodesk Training • Graphic Design • Word Essential Training • Photography • SQL Essential Training • Microsoft Teams Training • Accounting Foundations
Please briefly describe the importance of these outcomes and findings for future program planning:
• COVID-19 severely restricted the ability to offer in-person programs. Virtual programs had minimal attendance. A well-funded marketing program to attract non-users would be essential. This could be tied into all of the digital resources offered by the library. • Tailoring curated content to residents would be helpful. • Marketing and training materials will be created for partner agencies, including the ease of getting a library card.
Explain one or two of the most significant lessons learned for others wanting to adopt any facets of this project:
• Targeting partner agencies that work directly with clients that are looking for work or looking to improve employability is a necessity. • Assuring buy-in with partner agencies prior to launching the project would be beneficial. • Marketing to non-library users is essential.
Do you anticipate continuing this project after the current reporting period ends:
Yes
Do you anticipate any change in level of effort in managing this project:
Yes
Explain:
As we come out of the pandemic and staffing levels return to normal, we will focus our efforts on in-house training and working with partner agencies. We will be spending funds to increase our marketing of the program to non-users.
Do you anticipate changing the types of activities and objectives addressed by the project:
Yes
Explain:
A larger focus on printed training material will be budgeted for the upcoming fiscal years. This will offer a passive way to target residents and partner agency clients. We will also be working to target non-users in under-represented areas.
Was an evaluation conducted for this project:
No
Was a final written evaluation report produced:
No
Can the final written evaluation report be shared publicly on the IMLS website:
No
Was the evaluation conducted by project staff (either SLAA or local library) or by a third-party evaluator:
Third-Party
What data collection tools were used for any report outcomes and outputs:
Did you collect any media for the data:
What types of methods were used to analyze collected data:
Other:
How were participants (or items) selected:
What type of research design did you use to compare the value for any reported output or outcome:
Exemplary: No
Exemplary Narrative
Project Tags: