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G2S Project Code: 2020-IN-85839
State: Indiana
Fiscal Year: 2020

Grantee
Indiana State Library

Project Director
Director Name: Beth Yates
Director Phone: 317-234-5649
Director Email: byates@library.in.gov

General Information
Title: Indiana Children's Literacy Statewide Project
State Project Code: 730-ECL-01-1900
Start Date: 10/01/2020
End Date: 09/30/2021
Abstract: This project is helps to sustain statewide statewide support of early literacy initiatives in Indiana. The Children’s Services consultant provided youth statewide access to professional development opportunities, including those meant to aid libraries in creating and improving programming focused on literacy and academics for children and young adults. As the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the usual face-to-face training impossible for much of the year, staff continued to reach youth librarians virtually via live webinars and Moodle courses - online, self-paced modules.
The children's services department loans Indiana public libraries materials for storytimes and book clubs, as well as STEM, LEGO, and virtual reality kits. In addition to providing Indiana public libraries with summer reading support, the children's consultant continued to serve on the national Collaborative Summer Learning Program committee – and was elected Present-Elect, with her term beginning in January 2022. Children and young adults around the state benefited by having access to quality library programs, books, technology, and literacy materials.

State Goal: Enhanced Services

Budget Information

LSTA

MATCH-State

MATCH-Other

Total

$131,390.67

$0.00

$131,390.67

Intent(s)
Improve the library workforce.
Early Literacy
Reading Program (Summer Reading)

Activities

Activity Details
Title: Collaborative Summer Library Program
Narrative: The Indiana State Library continues to heavily invest time and funding in support of the Collaborative Summer Library Program - which maintains approximately an 85% rate of participation by Indiana libraries. 236 flash drives containing CSLP materials were distributed statewide.
CSLP training and roundtables were all virtual in 2020 and 2021. While this allowed many people who otherwise would have been unable to attend to take part, it did lack some of the person interaction attendees have appreciated in the past. Nationally, ISL's Children's Coordinator was voted in as President-elect and will start her term in January. She has held the Membership Chair since January 2020, during which time she instituted new "Input Sessions" for state reps and public library staff in 2021, allowing for direct feedback to the CSLP committee. She also initiated a new national CSLP Summer Symposium virtual conference that will happen December 2021; the bulk of the planning for it took place in Fall 2021.

Intent: Improve the library workforce.

Activity: Content
Mode: Acquisition
Format: Combined physical & digital

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: 0
Number of electronic materials acquired: 236
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: Yes
For a targeted group or for the general population: General

Locale
Is the activity state-wide: Yes
Specific Locations: No
Library Types

Public Libraries: 236
Academic Libraries: 0
SLAA: 1
Consortia: 0
Special Libraries: 0
School Libraries: 0
Other: 0

Question 1: I am satisfied that the resource is meeting library needs.
Strongly Agree: 0
Agree: 0
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 0
Disagree: 0
Strongly Disagree: 0
Non-Response: 0
Question 2: Applying the resource will help improve library services to the public.
Strongly Agree: 0
Agree: 0
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 0
Disagree: 0
Strongly Disagree: 0
Non-Response: 0

Activity Details
Title: Read to Me program for correctional institutions
Narrative: The Read-to-Me literacy program, a cooperative effort between the Indiana State Library and the state’s correctional facility libraries, enables incarcerated parents an opportunity to share the joys of reading with their children. Parents record themselves reading the text directly onto a recordable compact disc; the book and CD are then sent home to the child. Publishers donate the books and LSTA funds were used for packaging, supplies, and postage. Unfortunately, the number of participants in 2020 dropped from 228 to 55, as only four correctional facilities chose to take part. Facilities that traditionally participate cited COVID-related reasons (staff shortages, some prisoners being moved to work release or released entirely to avoid illness).
Intent: Improve the library workforce.

Activity: Content
Mode: Lending
Format: Physical

Quantity
Total number of items circulated: 55
Average number of items circulated / month: 5
Total number of ILL transactions: 0
Average number of ILL transactions / month: 0

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: Yes
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: Yes
Specific Locations: No
Library Types

Public Libraries: 0
Academic Libraries: 0
SLAA: 1
Consortia: 0
Special Libraries: 4
School Libraries: 0
Other: 0

Activity Details
Title: Impacting Lives - Teen Services Workshop
Narrative: Indiana State Library provided a cohort of 17 teen services staff at public libraries a six-week workshop based on the YALSA/IMLS/COSLA "T3" Transforming Teen Services initiative, called "Impacting Lives: A New Approach to Teen Services". The Children's Services consultant partnered with a public YA librarian to adapt the in-person format to a virtual one. The course consisted of weekly assignments in Canvas and group Zoom discussions, for a total of 20 hours on Connected Learning and Computational Thinking in library programs for teens. In the spring, ISL offered a slightly scaled down version, resulting in 14 learning hours for 22 teen services library staff.

As a a part of the overall YALSA T3 project, the consultant/librarian team offered a three standalone trainings at various conferences. Training on teen development and connected learning, and community asset had a total of 248 attendees.

Intent: Improve the library workforce.

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

Quantity
Session length (minutes): 180
Number of sessions in program: 5
Average number in attendance per session: 20
Number of times program administered: 2

Partner Information

Public Libraries: 236
Academic Libraries: 0
SLAA: 1
Consortia: 0
Special Libraries: 0
School Libraries: 0
Other: 0

Question 1: I learned something by participating in this library activity.
Strongly Agree: 0
Agree: 0
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: 0
Agree: 0
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: 0
Agree: 0
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 0
Disagree: 0
Strongly Disagree: 0
Non-Response: 0
Question 4: Applying what I learned will help improve library services to the public.
Strongly Agree: 0
Agree: 0
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 0
Disagree: 0
Strongly Disagree: 0
Non-Response: 0

Activity Details
Title: Professional development for children's librarians
Narrative: Among the professional development offerings from ISL geared toward children’s librarians was the popular Leap Into Science – Light and Shadows training. “Leap” integrates books into STEM programs for preschoolers, element-aged children, and families, and teaches participants how to support inquired-based learning. In February through April 2021, the Indiana team (representatives from the Indiana State Museum, the Terre Haute Children’s Museum, and ISL’s children’s consultant offered four virtual trainings. They reached 87 librarians and gave away 37 kits that support the curriculum. Leap into Science is supported by the NSF and IMLS.

ISL also used LSTA funs to sponsor “Library Programming for Parents with Infants: What, Why, and How?”, a webinar from Dr. Betsy Diamant-Cohen (Mother Goose n the Loose). The webinar was viewed live by 129 people. In the 30 days the recording was available (per contract), it received an additional 197 views.
Intent: Improve the library workforce.

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

Quantity
Session length (minutes): 6
Number of sessions in program: 1
Average number in attendance per session: 69
Number of times program administered: 1

Partner Information

Public Libraries: 236
Academic Libraries: 0
SLAA: 1
Consortia: 0
Special Libraries: 0
School Libraries: 0
Other: 2

Activity Details
Title: Indiana Young Readers Center services and collections
Narrative:

LSTA funds were used to support key services of the Indiana Young Readers Center. IYRC’s book collection celebrates Indiana authors who write for youth; roughly 60 titles were added in 2021. ISL runs a circulating Book Club and Storytime Kit program, with LSTA funds going toward the purchase of 22 new Book Club kits a year. In 2021, ISL staff started a diversity audit of the kits, finding that although efforts to ensure that book club kits reflect a diverse audience have been largely successful, the storytime kits are still disproportionately white. Staff is taking measures to increase the diversity in the books included in those kits.

A small amount of LSTA dollars is spent on supplies for IYRC’s programs for children. This includes story times for the daycare in the adjoining Government Center Building, the Indiana Early Literacy Firefly Award (a book award voted on by Indiana children, 0-5 years) and the Field Trip program.

Intent: Improve the library workforce.

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: 80
Number of electronic materials acquired: 0
Number of audio/visual units (audio discs, talking books, other recordings) acquired: 0

Partner Information

Public Libraries: 236
Academic Libraries: 0
SLAA: 1
Consortia: 0
Special Libraries: 0
School Libraries: 0
Other: 0

Project Outcomes
Project Outcomes
List any important outcomes or findings not previously reported:
The Indiana State Library's children's staff continues to provide a wide variety of archived webinars; once staff transcribes webinars, they can be posted online, and are available on-demand. This makes training more flexible and accessible to librarians on tight budgets and tight schedules. Training provided by the consultant helped hundreds of librarians earn and maintain the continuing education required for state certification. Library staff and children statewide had access to books and materials for learning literacy through an ever-growing lending library of kits and children's materials. CSLP services reduced time and money spent by individual libraries on summer reading programs. The Indiana Early Literacy Firefly Award is meant to encourage parents, caregivers, and very young children to interact together with exceptional picture books. Each year, Children ages 0-5 are encouraged to vote for one of five nominated titles. While the number of votes received in 2020 (during the worst of the shut-downs) was a low 625, the numbers SURGED in 2021: 2,382 responses were submitted, representing 49 of Indiana's 92 counties.
Please briefly describe the importance of these outcomes and findings for future program planning:
All Indiana libraries had access to free training on a variety of topics (and in a variety of formats) to improve services to their patrons. Libraries had greater access to books and other materials including 255 book club kits, 48 storytime kits, and 13 Duplo or Lego kits, for a total of 316 circulating kits; 22 new book club kits were purchased this year.
Explain one or two of the most significant lessons learned for others wanting to adopt any facets of this project:
ISL's children's consultant wrote that "Community Asset Mapping has been a big initiative for me this year. [My public library partner] I have worked to encourage public library staff to get out into their communities and to make connections, especially as they seek to bring patrons back into the library - AND reach new patrons outside the library."
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:
No
Explain:

Do you anticipate changing the types of activities and objectives addressed by the project:
No
Explain:

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: children, early literacy