RAILS Grants Awarded

We would like to host multiple events in the library to expand experiential learning opportunities for our diverse undergraduate student body. These events will: teach students how to use specific hardware and software (allowing students to gain skills and confidence with new tools and creative expression), encourage students to use the library in a non-research method (to alleviate library anxiety when research support is critically important), and enforcing the knowledge of libraries as a place for creativity and collaboration (which helps students transition to ever-expanding public library services and resources post-graduation).

The project, My Library Is… Where Stories Take Flight, transforms an outdoor reading space into an immersive learning environment built around the natural metamorphosis of a caterpillar into a butterfly. Visitors will move through a series of interactive stations that mirror the stages of growth—caterpillar, chrysalis, and butterfly—using books, art, science exploration, and storytelling to illustrate how curiosity develops into confidence through reading. Each stage includes tactile learning tools, interpretive signage, and hands-on activities that encourage children and families to engage with both literature and the natural world. 

The Crafter’s Innovative Hub is a mobile makerspace that will expand and enhance our well-loved Crafter Days and crafting programs by introducing advanced creative technology and tools. Grant funding will support the purchase of a Cricut Maker 4, a Cricut Joy Xtra and a variety of essential crafting tools and accessories. This innovative collection will foster creativity, provide hands-on digital skills training, and strengthen our library’s mission of lifelong learning. 

My Library Is... Making a Creative Community would be an initiative to expand our library’s makerspace, designed to transform it from a technology-heavy focused space to a truly welcoming and engaging creative community hub. Our space currently has higher-end equipment that can be intimidating and lacks the basics and essentials of a creative and artistic space. Currently, our makerspace is most frequently used by adults, with senior participation in specific tactile programs like sewing, and children's participation in low tech programs like large coloring sheets, button making, and Perler Beads. However, we see a sharp drop in attendance for any program involving advanced software or complex equipment.

Our library is seeking the My Library Is… Grant specifically to purchase materials for use by young families in the dedicated children’s/family space. Adjacent to the current children’s book room is our planned children’s/family room. This room currently serves as a large storage room, but our aim is to, instead, fill the space with materials that facilitate learning and connection for our youngest patrons and their family members, including dramatic and imaginative play toys, low-tech maker space supplies, technology, and family education materials. Through the “My Library Is… Connecting with Young Families” project, the library also aims to improve its programming efforts, in order to extend its reach and spread the word about the library’s offerings to as many families as possible. 

A recent community-wide survey revealed that a significant majority of area residents are unaware of the innovative services public libraries provide. To bridge this awareness gap, we are proposing a makerspace creation project entitled, "My Library Is... a Community Workshop." By integrating makerspace technology with our existing services, we will provide a tangible demonstration to our patrons that the library is an evolving laboratory for 21st-century skills, moving beyond the traditional image of a quiet repository to become a vibrant center of activity. 

As we continue to innovate, identifying new high-impact services has become increasingly challenging; however, advances in technology now allow us to introduce interactive projection programming that will serve patrons of all ages. An interactive projector will enable the library to offer immersive, educational, and recreational programming for homeschool families, children visiting the library, and seniors seeking social interaction and cognitive stimulation to support overall well-being. 

We have been able to secure lots of resources through grants and donations: books, technology, manipulatives, and even day-to-day care things for our students. The only problem is that it gets harder for them to find these resources-especially the books-if there are no labels and specific places for our resources. I am asking for this grant to secure a laser color printer and front-facing book browsing bins that will really help make all of our resources more accessible. The laser printer will definitely add an essential new resource they can use to print out projects, images, templates to go with our various makerspace activities, student-made stickers, and signage and labels to help them navigate our library with ease.

My Library Is... Reading Aloud to Every Child is a project to intentionally enrich and modernize our school library collection by adding high-quality Spanish, English, and bilingual audio-enabled books. These are print books with built-in audio that read the story aloud while students follow along with the text. If approved, this program will directly support all 546 students we serve by strengthening listening comprehension, pronunciation, vocabulary, and fluency in their target languages in an engaging, independent, and confidence-building way, and it will continue to serve future classes for years to come.

This grant will help establish accessibility of leveled books for students in kindergarten and first grade. While we have picture books available in our library, very few are leveled for independent reading by students. The books in our library have an average age of 2001, so many of our books are also irrelevant or "boring" to the students. I would like to set up an "Early Readers" section in the library for our youngest/low scoring students. I will be able to purchase over 200 hard-cover books for the new section, and class libraries in K-1 will be given 30 paper-back books each. These books will tie into the curriculum by subject, and also have sight words that students will be able to read. 

The Meta Quest 3S (256GB) devices are an incredible technology that can be integrated into the library curricula in conjunction with other departments to enhance student engagement, interactivity, and accessibility. Students will immerse themselves in 3D environments and locations without having to travel. The Meta Quest 3S (256GB) devices will also support experiential learning in which students will participate in hands-on learning through simulations and virtual labs. These devices can be tailored to different learning styles and pacing, allowing teachers and librarians to personalize learning. 

The "My Library is a Maker Hub" initiative is a transformative project designed to add to our library a maker hub for our PK–8 community. While our library has traditionally been a place for research and reading, this project reimagines it to include a maker hub for upper elementary and middle school (Grades 3–8). At this developmental stage, students are shifting from being passive consumers of information to active creators. By introducing 3D printers, 3Doodlers, and stop motion animation kits, we are providing tools for this transition.

This project seeks to transform the library experience for elementary students at our library media center (LMC) by addressing "library anxiety," particularly for those who feel marginalized by being in a self-contained area of the school, such as our students in the program. The program is designed for students on the autism spectrum who require intensive support for deficits in communication and emotional regulation. By introducing a "Read with a Stuffy" program, our LMC will provide a non-judgmental reading companion—a plush toy—that students can read to within the library. This initiative replaces the "stress" of book returns with the "joy" of shared reading, offering a positive alternative for students who may have restricted borrowing privileges due to overdue materials.

In our library, service learning and community service is not a special event, it is the way learning happens. Over time, students understand that the library is a place where curiosity meets compassion and where ideas are meant to be used in service of others. In our library, students have created interactive picture books for children receiving care at a local hospital, packaged meals to fight food insecurity, led sustainability initiatives, and helped build a library in Zimbabwe. Each project has reinforced the same message that learning matters most when it improves lives. These experiences have shaped a library culture where students see themselves not just as learners, but as contributors to their community and the wider world. This project represents the next chapter in that ongoing story. By introducing assistive technology design through the Makers Making Change platform and the IATP (Illinois Assistive Technology Program), the library will expand its service-learning mission in a new and powerful way. Makers Making Change provides a unique opportunity to combine engaging STEM learning with real-world social impact. Through 3D printing, students will build open-source assistive devices for people with disabilities. These tools support independence, access, and dignity. We plan on participating in various programs such as STEM with Purpose, Hacking for the Holidays, and Clubs that Care. All of these organizations align naturally with our library’s long-standing focus on empathy, problem-solving, and action. This work allows students to see, in concrete ways, how their skills can remove barriers and improve daily life for others.

7% of our students are English Language Learners and require library materials in languages other than English. Other students are interested in pursuing learning languages other than their home language, and our limited resources at our libraries are unable to currently support that new learning. Other students are passionate about the musicality of language and the various ways language and the spoken and written word impact people’s lives. To address these language needs at each of our six buildings, and because the school librarians in each of our buildings serve all students, all of our librarians have identified specific language needs that their current library collections fail to support. Our librarians are seeking ways to establish a robust library collection that encourages students to explore the power of language.

With nearly 40% of students from low-income households, many families cannot afford to purchase books for academic assignments or leisure reading. Additionally, many students struggle to access grade-level texts due to reading difficulties or learning differences. For these students, ebooks and audiobooks would provide a bridge, enabling them to engage with complex texts to build comprehension skills and foster a true love of reading. Our English Language Learner (ELL) students need access to texts in their native languages as well as translated versions of classroom titles to support both language acquisition and content mastery. The digital collection of ebooks and audiobooks would directly address these barriers by providing free, immediate access to materials in multiple formats and languages. To meet this need, our library will partner with Sora to build a robust digital collection that supports curricular goals, diverse learners, and student interests.

This project will focus on the year-long digitization of the periodical "Main Currents in Modern Thought" (32 volumes), a significant interdisciplinary journal edited by Fritz Kunz. Kunz was a native of Freeport, Illinois, and his wife, Dora Kunz, served as president of our organization for twelve years, establishing a meaningful and direct connection to Illinois history. Using a new archival-quality scanner, the library will safely digitize all volumes at preservation standards and make them publicly accessible through platforms such as the International Association for the Preservation of Spiritualist and Occult Periodicals (IAPSOP), the Internet Archive, and ProQuest Religious Archives. This project will significantly expand public access to a rare resource while highlighting Illinois-based contributions to international scholarly discourse.