Blue Island Public Library is celebrating the award of two grants for the 2023 year. Adult Services Manager Micah Rademacher won the Will Eisner Graphic Novel grant for “Nos Vemos en los Cómics”, funding graphic novel based collections and programming in Spanish. Through this funding, the library aims to further engage with our largely Hispanic community through the medium of comics and comics culture. An interest in comic books and comic book characters is shared across cultures and generational lines. By bringing a host of comics related activities and events into the library, as well as expanding the existing graphic novel collection to include exponentially more titles in Spanish, the library plans to greatly improve the relationship with our local Hispanic community.
IT Manager Mike Byrne has been awarded the PLA/AT&T Digital Literacy Workshop incentive, which will afford the purchase of updated technology for the library's Technology Annex, along with bilingual digital literacy classes and workshops. There is great need in the community for digital literacy training, particularly for seniors and immigrants who may have experienced barriers to formal instruction in technology and internet use. Through this grant, the library will be able to expand our digital literacy classes and enhance community access to technology.