The ARPA Grant provided patrons the opportunity to meet with a social worker/community advocate at five libraries within Brevard County Libraries (BCL). They were very appreciative of the one-on-one assistance that was provided for a variety of personal challenges.  Many patrons lack the computer skills the online applications require and having someone there that could also provide that part of the assistance was truly beneficial. 

Most patrons needed assistance in finding affordable housing, obtaining employment, and navigating online benefits.   Dr. Lisa Montgomery, Community Support Advocate, conducted six hundred sessions during the grant period.  Assistance with housing was the most frequently provided service, followed by benefits, and employment assistance.

I Need My Social Security 

• A patron approached me on his scooter in an agitated state at the beginning of his appointment insisting that the Social Security Administration thought he was “freeloading off of his [relative]” and was going to take away my disability. My first attempts to calm him were unsuccessful but eventually I convinced him to try some calming techniques as we reviewed his documentation. It turned out that he was not “losing” his social security as he feared. I explained to him the three different categories of Social Security benefits: SSI-low income; SSDI-disability benefits; and SSA-retirement benefits. Since he recently moved to the area, his benefits were transferred to FL and his SSI benefits were discontinued as the letter indicated. He was very much relieved and grateful. 

Housing Assistance 

• A patron was a walk-in looking for assistance with finding housing. She was unaware of the Emergency Rental Assistance program. I asked her if she was financially impacted by COVID. She initially said no. After talking with her about her financial situation, she casually mentioned she lost her job when she had COVID. I informed her she thus qualified for the ERA program and should complete the application with her partner. She returned to the library some time later with a friend who was looking for housing assistance. C.J. stated that she found a place to stay and submitted her ERA application for assistance.  

Staff appreciated having the added help as well, having her here also freed up staff to assist other patrons and work on other projects. It was also helpful knowing that there was a resource here weekly that had more knowledge and experience with some of the social services that our patrons need. We felt confident referring patrons to her, knowing that they would get the help they needed.  This grant allowed our libraries to see the value of the position which is now being made into a permanent one.

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New River Public Library Cooperative

The Union County Public Library hosts the newly formed Senior Social Club programs. The programs take place on the first and fourth Tuesdays of each month at 10:00 am. The bi-monthly programs consist of a wide variety of crafting projects, informational speakers, and interesting activities.

During the springtime, the Senior Social Club had fun at an outdoor picnic event sharing yummy dishes, relaxing in lawn chairs, and even learning how to play disc golf and cornhole games. Other programs featured local agencies such as the Health Department and Elder Options. The library staff have presented as well with fun programs about “life hacks” and Bingo. They also hosted parties at Christmas time and a summer Luau event!

A library staff member stated, “Covid was a difficult time, especially on our seniors. We are so happy to provide a place for them to gather where they feel welcome and safe. The ongoing programs are an important outlet for the seniors in our area. They enjoy just hanging out and socializing and having fun together!”

The New River Public Library Cooperative worked with the Baker Council on Aging to provide craft programming and monthly book club meetings for senior citizens in the community.  The events were well-attended and enjoyed by the patrons at the Council.  Programs for senior citizens will continue in Baker County both at Council on Aging and at the library.   

The Bradford County Public Library hosts weekly programs for students with disabilities who are in the ESE (exceptional student education) program at Bradford County High school.  The students are transported to the library weekly, and enjoy games, arts, crafts, and other enriching programs.  The programs offer students a chance to collaborate and work together with other students, their teachers, and library staff.  The programs include up to 45 students per session.   

The tri-county libraries provided a much-needed chance for our communities to get together and resume social activities following several months of quarantine during the Covid pandemic.  The program participants enjoy socializing and participating in projects and games, and learning new skills.  These programs will continue indefinitely.

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St. Johns County Public Library

Patrons responded well to the news that the library system would be circulating thirty hotspots. Each branch was given several hotspots, and they were made available on a first come, first served basis to residents of the county with library cards in good standing.

Devices check out for three weeks at a time with no holds or renewals. After the initial few weeks, we redistributed devices so that the areas of the county where fewer residents could afford internet service received more of the devices.  There were a total of 183 circulations of the hotspots.

Devices have been used for school, travel, research and more, and patrons seem to be very grateful that we are providing them! We wish we had requested more!

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Three Rivers Regional Libraries

The Three Rivers Regional Library received a $20,000 ARPA grant through our grant administrator, NEFLIN. The purpose of the grant was to increase the availability of materials that the public could access remotely. The funds were used to purchase both e-book and e-audio book titles for the online platform that we use, CloudLibrary.

These funds allowed us to purchase 110 titles using the traditional model of purchasing the electronic rights to a title for a set period of either time or a number of circulations. Additional, we were able to purchase 4,248 titles through the platform’s pay per use function. This allows the library to make the item available to the user on an on demand model. The 110 items that were purchased have circulated 1,036 times, and the pay per use items have circulated 4,248 times, for a total of 5,248 circulations.

We are quite happy with the results that this infusion of funds have allowed for our remote materials platform. This product’s usage has continued to increase rapidly. From calendar year 2019-2020 there was a 74% increase in circulation, The next year saw a 98% increase, and three quarters of the way through this year we already have a 17% increase over the entirety of last year. At the end of September we have circulated 4,382 more items than we did the whole of last year. For the third quarter of fiscal year 2021-2022 our CloudLibrary had more circulations than any of our individual county libraries.

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Volusia County Public Library

Unfortunately, the AWE Company had a server issue and lost a large amount of the data.  We were able to access data for two of the six AWE computers.  These two AWE computers were placed in smaller branch libraries.  The AWE computer at the John H. Dickerson Heritage Library in Daytona Beach had, from 2/3/22 – 9/19/22, 9,958 minutes of usage in 498 sessions.  The AWE computer at the Hope Place Public Library in Daytona Beach had, from 2/3/22 – 9/19/22, 11, 054 minutes of usage in 553 sessions.  We believe we would have similar statistics from the Pierson Public Library.  We believe the two AWE computers at the Deltona Regional Library and the DeLand Regional Library would have higher usage statistics.

Children, parents and caregivers respond well to using the equipment.  Young children 2 years – 8 years old love using the AWE computers. The mouse is the correct size for their small hands.  The keyboard is color-coded and the buttons are large.  The computer software provides a wide range of fun, educational programs in math, reading and science. 

We chose these computers, because the software provided is bi-lingual in English and Spanish, which allows us to serve all of our young population. 

Purchased digital content from Overdrive for five public libraries (Alachua, Brevard, Clay, St. Johns and Volusia), and the NEFLIN Overdrive Group (Public libraries serving Calhoun, Columbia, Baker, Bradford, Flagler, Holmes, Jackson, Levy, Marion, Putnam, Suwannee, Union, and Washington).

Library.                            eBooks.  Audiobooks.   Combined.

Alachua.                           1,070.    997.               2,067.

Brevard.                           183.       264.               447.

Clay.                                246.       358.               604.

St. Johns.                        2,473.    844.               3,317.

Volusia.                           1,012.     0.                  1,012.

NEFLIN Overdrive Group.  2,555.    1,001.  3,556.

TOTAL.                            7,539. 3,464. 11,003.