Rural Library Services Get $7.2 Million in Stimulus Funds

Various grants support renovations, furnishings; a few large loans/grants for construction

Norman Oder -- Library Journal, 04/16/2010

• Part of $193 million via USDA
• $2.6 million for library in North Carolina
• $1.5 million for library in Tennessee

Library services in rural communities will receive more than $7.2 million in loans and grants, thanks to stimulus funding from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). More than $4 million will go to two library construction projects, while smaller outlays will go to renovations, furnishings and equipment. Some $1.2 million will go to a hospital library.

The sums—$5,266,204 in loans and $1,968,200 in grants—are part of $193 million in USDA funding provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to address local needs including library renovations, construction, and equipment upgrades.

“As society continues to shift online for personal communications, distance education, e-government services, and much more, closing the digital divide in rural areas is critically important,” American Library Association (ALA) president Camila Alire said. “In addition to purchasing and keeping technology equipment up to date, many rural libraries require basic facility upgrades and renovations. This assistance will give them a means to meet those increasing needs, and the ALA thanks the USDA for recognizing the importance of supporting rural libraries and the communities they serve.”

The list of library grants
The following list is culled from the official announcement:

Delaware
Seaford District Library Commission: $81,000 grant to furnish a library that was built in 2008.

Georgia
Cherokee Regional Library System: $100,000 grant to renovate the public library.

Illinois
Eldorado Memorial Public Library District: $34,500 grant to renovate the public library.

Moyer District Library: $5800 grant to purchase shelving, signs, and a computer workstation.

Indiana
Cambridge City Public Library: $111,800 grant to furnish a relocated library.

Rockville Public Library: $9,850 grant to improve citizen services.

Dubois Branch Library: $200,000 grant to purchase new equipment for the branch library.

Iowa
City of Fontanelle: $150,000 grant to construct a 2340-square-foot addition to the Fontanelle Library.

City of Lewis: $187,250 grant to construct a new city library. 

Maine
The Swans Island Educational Society: $398,000 grant to renovate a fire-damaged library.

Minnesota
Northome Library: $15,000 grant to purchase library equipment and furnace. 

Missouri
Scotland County Memorial Hospital District: $706,000 loan and $500,000 grant to construct a new library and conference room. 

New York
Town of Waddington: $116,390 loan and $100,000 grant for library infrastructure improvements. 

North Carolina
Harnett County Public Library: $2,600,000 loan to provide a full service branch library for the rural areas of Western Harnett County. 

Ohio
The Leeper Library Association: $227,000 loan and $75,000 grant to provide new shelving, a new computer, and telephone systems for a library expansion. 

Oklahoma
City of Antlers: $107,814 loan for construction to expand a library

Tennessee
Friends of Tellico Village Library, Inc.: $1,509,000 loan to construct a 5500-square-foot "green facility" for operational space and storage at the library.