Past My Library Is ... Grant Recipients

Academic Libraries 

Recipient: Benedictine University  

Title: My Library Is... A Welcoming Space for All Users 

Project Description: The Benedictine University Library seeks to create a collection of sensory materials and adaptive supports for our community. These items include sound cancelling headphones with case, weighted blankets, happy lights, white noise machines, soundproof earmuffs, wraparound sunglasses, fidgets, and calm strips.    

Recipient: Black Hawk College Library  

Title: My Library Is... Plugged In 

Project Description: The “My Library is Plugged In” project will provide portable charging blocks and chargers to BHC students. With many open areas in both libraries and across both campuses, there are several spaces where students sit to study that are not close enough to an outlet for students to use.  

Recipient: Illinois College  

Title: My Library Is... Making Mental Health a Priority 

Project Description: Through this project, Illinois College enhances their library’s role as a space for mindfulness, creativity, and relaxation by incorporating interactive stress-relief programming. This grant will fund stress reduction programming, the purchase of a craft cart, and additional materials for the library’s relaxation room. These initiatives will create an inviting atmosphere that encourages students to take needed breaks, recharge, and build resilience.  
 

Recipient: Illinois Institute of Technology  

Title: Creating Inclusive Spaces: Enhancing Library Resources for Neurodivergent Students  

Project Description: The Illinois Institute of Technology’s Galvin Library uses funding to enhance library resources and create a more supportive, inclusive environment for neurodivergent students. This grant will allow the library to purchase a curated selection of books focused on neurodivergence, as well as develop tranquility kits to support students in managing sensory sensitivities while using library resources. 

Recipient: Moraine Valley Community College  

Title: My Library Is... Connecting communities and cultures 

Project Description: Moraine Valley Community College will use grant funds to build a collection of foreign language titles, focused on titles in Spanish and Arabic. The proposed project centers on starting this new collection of foreign language titles, marketing it to the community, and developing programming supported by it. 

Public Libraries 

Recipient: Bartlett Public Library District  

Title: My Library Is... Connecting Patrons with Local History 

Project Description: With the aid of the “My Library Is…” Grant, BPLD will digitize the library’s collection of local newspapers to make the collection accessible, discoverable, and browsable for those in the Bartlett community. This collection is in high demand for its obituaries and extensive coverage of local events and has long been vital for genealogical research and for individuals seeking to understand the history and milestones of the community. 

Recipient: Crystal Lake Public Library  

Title: That's a Game Changer - Stimulating Imaginations of Children, Teens and Adults 

Project Description: Their project aims to enhance the Crystal Lake community’s access to diverse learning materials and experiences at the library.  They are launching a Library of Things collection this Spring and plan to expand this collection to include board games and bilingual resources for children, teens, and adults. By doing so, they strive to ignite curiosity and foster a love for learning among individuals of all ages and backgrounds. Through this project, they will support our mission of helping people learn, enjoy, and better their lives.  

Recipient: Des Plaines Public Library  

Title: My Library Is... Making Life Easier, One Gadget at a Time 

Project Description: Des Plaines Public Library will increase the number and types of collection materials for patrons to use in and out of the library, related to accessibility and assistive technology. These items are often used by and developed for those with disabilities, but they can be helpful for everyone, on a spectrum of physical/sensory limitations and no limitations. This is generally known as the Curb-Cut Effect - a well-known phenomenon that occurs when a service or device is made for those with disabilities, limitations, or those of different ethnicities but ends up aiding the rest of society. Specifically, this originated because curb-cutouts were originally a disability-friendly feature that later was found to be enjoyed and appreciated by other people such as those who were pushing strollers or who found it difficult to step up or down from curbs for a variety of reasons.

Recipient: Hinsdale Public Library 

Title: BNSF Line Libraries Commuter Ad 

Project Description: Grant funds will be used to increase the number and types of collections materials to circulate outside of the library related to accessibility and assistive technology. They have consulted with local organizations who have hands-on expertise with assistive technologies that benefit those experiencing limitations. They have included suggested items which were suitable for library circulation, fit into our budget, and collection policy.    

Recipient: LaGrange Public Library 

Title: Share the Shelf: School Public Library Initiative 

Project Description: The Share the Shelf: School & Public Library Book Initiative is designed to bring more books into the hands of young readers while strengthening connections between the library and local schools. This project will provide three key grade groups—1–2, 3–4, and 5–6—with multiple copies of 15 popular, age-appropriate titles. These books will circulate in the library for a year (May 2025 – June 2026), helping to meet the high demand for engaging, relevant reading materials. 

Recipient: Pontiac Public Library Story Walk  

Title: Reading is a Walk in the Park 

Project Description: The Pontiac Public Library is seeking the My Library Is… Grant for the creation of the first ever, permanent Pontiac Public Library StoryWalk display for the promotion of literacy and library services, and for the enhanced engagement of the community of Pontiac. The funds will be used for displays, all marketing materials to promote the StoryWalk, backerboards, and 12 children’s storybooks.  

Recipient: Streator Public Library 

Title: My Library Is... Expanding Library Resources for Domestic Abuse Survivors 

Project Description: The Streator Public Library wishes to provide resources for domestic abuse survivors. We will do this by purchasing internet hot spots available for checkout and materials such as books that include many perspectives of abuse, such as male and LGBTQ experiences. The library will also curate a collection of reference material to make it easier for those needing counseling, social services, and charitable outreach. 

Recipient: White Oak Library District 

Title: My Library Is... Turning up the Volume on Picture Book Reading 

Project Description: With funding from a RAILS “My Library Is…” Grant, they will purchase each of their library branches a core collection of VOX Books that children and adults in their community will utilize through in-house library programs, in their community through outreach programming and at home through their library circulation.  

School Libraries 

Recipient: Cristo Rey Jesuit High School  

Title: My Library Is... Responsive to the Needs of Our Students 

Project Description: Cristo Rey Jesuit High School will use grant funds to purchase new titles for their collection, with an emphasis on Spanish-language, graphic novels, and non-fiction texts. To be flexible and responsive to varying student interests, they will purchase books that have been requested and searched for during the last year. 

Recipient: School District 109  

Title: My Library Is... Relevant 

Project Description: Deerfield School District 109 will weed and replace a significant percentage of their nonfiction collections, implementing student and teacher suggestions. They will improve their nonfiction book displays to reduce confusion and help students find books of interest more easily. Visual signage, front-facing shelving, and organization which is logical to elementary students will be implemented. 

Recipient: Glenbrook South High School Library - Northfield Township High School District #225 

Title: My Library Is... Building Community with New Collections 

Project Description: "My Library Is…” building community with new collections. Grant funds will be used to purchase a base collection of World Language material in Spanish, Russian, Mongolian, Ukranian, and Korean languages. Additionally, funds will purchase updated signage for this collection. 

Recipient: Kaneland Community Unit School District #302  

Title: My Library Is... Supporting Middle School Readers Through the Inclusion of Large Print Books 

Project Description: The My Library is…Grant will support the purchase of 77 large print fiction books across various genres at upper elementary and middle school reading levels, including diverse authors and perspectives. Additionally, it will support the purchase of new book easels and signage for the collection.  

Recipient: Prairie Crossing Charter School  

Title: My Library Is... Creating Natural Leaders 

Project Description: Prairie Crossing Charter School (PCCS), a K-8 school committed to fostering environmental stewardship and academic excellence, is seeking funding through the Illinois RAILS My Library Is…Grant to implement a comprehensive program that utilizes the Rebecca Caudill, Bluestem, and Monarch book awards to advance our CARES values (Collaborative, Aware, Respectful, Empowered, Sustainable).  By leveraging these thoughtfully curated book lists, Prairie Crossing Charter School will build a more collaborative, aware, respectful, empowered, and sustainable school community. 

Recipient: Prospect High School 

Title: Prospect High School 

Project Description: With the My Library Is… Grant, they will purchase a variety of books in the predominant first languages spoken in the school community (Spanish, Ukranian, and Polish) as well as titles that assist with the progression of students’ English capabilities. 

Recipient: Rondout School District 72  

Title: Your Library...Your Way 

Project Description: Your Library … Your Way is designed to enrich the offerings of the library to better serve the changing interests and needs of our students through the purchase of audiobook resources. The yearlong program will begin with gathering information about students’ preferences and interests to develop a collection of approximately one hundred fifty audiobooks and add approximately twenty-five addition high interest low reading level print resources. 

Recipient: Thomas Jefferson Elementary School Media Center  

Title: My Library Is... Expanding STEM Access: Inclusive Makerspace & Family STEM Kits 

Project Description: Grant funds will help establish an inclusive makerspace that fosters STEM engagement and literacy for all students. This space will serve as a hub for discovery and skill-building, introducing students to STEM fields and careers in a welcoming, supportive environment. Lastly, a portion of the grant will be used to create take-home STEM kits, which will contain engaging, age-appropriate STEM challenges, coding activities, and books to go along with the robots and building kits. These kits will extend learning beyond the school day and encourage family involvement in STEM education." 

Recipient: Traughber Junior High School Oswego CUSD 308  

Title: My Library Is... ME! Seeing Myself in Books 

Project Description: Grant funds will purchase a curated list of books that encapsulates the diversity, interests, reading levels, etc. of the 6th-8th graders at Traughber Junior High. This will enhance the library’s collection to make it more representative of the school’s student population.  

Specialized Libraries

Recipient: American Academy of Pediatrics, Backwin Library  

Title: Listen to This! My Library Is... An Important Part of our Organization 

Project Description: The grant will fund the Listen to This! Program: A project that aims to create an audio tour of the Bakwin Library’s informational services, historical collections, and building amenities. The audio tour will detail library services such as how staff can access our electronic journals, the benefits of librarian assisted literature searches, and article retrieval services. Listen to This! will allow the library to integrate knowledge of library services directly into the spaces where organizational processes happen. 

Recipient: Gerber/Hart Library and Archives  

Title: Gerber/Hart Library and Archives: Building Community through Technology 

Project Description: With funding from the RAILS My Library Is… Grant, they will purchase technology and equipment necessary to fulfill the potential of their new community room, a multi-purpose gathering place for the LGBTQ+ community, and expand access for new patrons to discover Gerber/Hart’s holdings, history, and relevance.   

Academic Libraries 

Recipient: A.C. Buehler Library at Elmhurst University 

Title: Ready Player One Lounge: A Collaborative Student Veteran/Traditional Student Library Social Space 

Project Description: In collaboration with the SVA- EU (Student Veterans of America - Elmhurst University chapter), the Elmhurst University Library plans to fund a "Ready Player One" Lounge with gaming events scheduled weekly and monthly for use by the entire student population; repurposing underutilized afterhours library spaces and creating an ongoing draw for student veterans to come into the library.  

Recipient: The Ames Library 

Title: My Library Is…Storied 

Project Description: Illinois Wesleyan University (IWU) will be celebrating its 175th anniversary in 2025, and their project will chronicle the contribution of its libraries, and those who interacted with them – librarians, library staff, faculty and students. Student researchers supported by the grant will develop and create an in-person and online exhibit to celebrate how libraries at IWU support the campus using archival materials and interviews of current students, faculty, and staff.   

Recipient: Aurora University Phillips Library  

Title: Reaching Students with Technology and Books 

Project Description: Their project aims to equip students with the necessary technology to enhance their learning experience, catering to students of all learning types. To this end, they will add an OCR Smart Scanner to their collection, which can assist students with dyslexia or reading difficulties. They will update the Spanish language literature selection in the library. Additionally, they will add a portable DVD player for increased access to the library's DVD collection, and a staff scanner to be utilized for Interlibrary Loan requests. 

Recipient: Concordia University Chicago 

Title: Children and College Students Embracing the Future Together 

Project Description: In collaboration with the Early Childhood Education Center (ECEC) on campus, the Klinck Memorial Library will utilize grant funds to improve their childhood literature collection with the purchase of current books to represent more inclusive and diverse voices, which will prove additionally helpful for expanding their story time experience during popular holidays and celebrations, such as Black History Month, Disability Prode Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, etc.  

Recipient: McHenry County College  

Title: Increasing Public Awareness and Access with the Archives 

Project Description: With this grant, MCC will increase the diversity of the people who interact with the MCC Archives to better reflect the diversity of their patrons. Funds will support the purchase of two display cases for digital and physical materials to be located in public areas of the library. Photo and negative sleeves will increase storage space, allowing the library team to launch a campaign to collect photo donations from within the college and surrounding community. Mailable thumb drives will allow the library to respond to digital archive requests from across the state and even country. 

Recipient: Rockford University  

Title: Capturing Our Story at Rockford University 

Project Description: Rockford University will use the grant funds to invest in multimedia equipment for podcasting and other activities, in accordance with their ongoing library renovation, to better support the collaborative nature of modern learning. By investing in multimedia equipment, the library will empower students and alumni to explore new modes of expression and communication. 

Recipient: Roosevelt University Murray Green Library  

Title: Roosevelt University Right to Read Poster Project 

Project Description: The Right to Read Poster Project seeks to commemorate the passage of the “Right to Read” legislation while highlighting the crucial role libraries play in preserving intellectual freedom. Through this initiative, students in DES346 will design visually compelling posters based on catchy slogans, emphasizing the significance of unrestricted access to information. These posters will be printed, framed, and prominently displayed in both Roosevelt campuses—Chicago and Schaumburg. Read More! 

Recipient: Sauk Valley Community College  

Title: My Library is Visible, Accessible, and Vital  

Project Description: The LC Library plans to implement new marketing and visibility efforts by installing a vinyl sign that clearly labels the Learning Commons area. Additionally, they will use updated marketing materials to promote the services of the LC Library to all students, community members, and employees, clarifying their presence on campus. Read More! 

Public Libraries 

Recipient: Downers Grove Public Library  

Title: Summer Reading Club for All 

Project Description: The Downers Grove Public Library (DGPL) Summer Reading Club is an annual cornerstone program that promotes literacy, community engagement, and lifelong learning for all ages. To further enhance inclusivity at DGPL and reach a greater audience than ever before, they will translate their Summer Reading Club program brochures into additional languages other than English for children, teens, and adults. This project aims to make program information and participation more accessible to everyone in their community: children, parents, caregivers, and other community members, fostering greater diversity, engagement, and a more robust and exciting Summer Reading Club program. Read More! 

Recipient: Lake Bluff Public Library  

Title: My Library Is…Planning for the Future: A Community Engagement Initiative for Lake Bluff Public Library 

Project Description: "My Library Is...Planning for the Future: A Community Engagement Initiative for the Lake Bluff Public Library Community" grant project will help Lake Bluff Public Library increase engagement, awareness, and participation in much-needed short term and long-term planning efforts for the library. The library will soon embark on a new Strategic Planning process to determine a direction for the next three year's of the organization with strategies, outcomes and goals that are community-informed and community-centered. The grant funds will be used to facilitate this planning process.  

Recipient: Manhattan-Elwood Public Library District  

Title: Mi Biblioteca Es…Inclusiva 

Project Description: Manhattan-Elwood will use grant funds to purchase materials for their new branch that reflect and enhance the growing diversity of the Elwood community. In particular, they will purchase books, audiobooks, e-books, kits, and other media that center storylines and characters who speak languages other than English, who come from areas outside of the United States or from underrepresented communities within the United States, who have different abilities and socioemotional skills, and who hold diverse experiences and worldviews.  

Recipient: Moline Public Library & Rock Island Public Library  

Title: Your Free Pass to…Joint Marketing Campaign 

Project Description: “Your Free Pass to…” is a cost-effective marketing campaign to increase awareness, visibility, and library use in communities served by project partners Rock Island Public Library and Moline Public Library. This project promotes and builds greater awareness of the free nature of library services and library cards among targeted populations. 

Recipient: Park Forest Public Library  

Title: My Library Is…Becoming Dementia Inclusive 

Project Description: Park Forest Library will create and maintain 3 memory kits for patrons with dementia of different stages and their caregivers. Additionally, they will hold memory cafés, monthly programs with guest speakers and special topics designed to help patrons with dementia and their caregivers. The library will promote the kits and programs through the library’s e-newsletter, the website and social media, and printed promotional bookmarks, pamphlets, and flyers. 

Recipient: Prairie Creek Public Library District  

Title: Let Us Introduce the Library 

Project Description: The library will use grant funds to prepare to meet the needs of residents from new subsidized housing facility downstairs, while continuing to meet the needs of their existing patrons. The funds will be used for technological upgrades; such as new patron laptops, a new children’s library computer, and an Eco tank printer for updated outreach materials. This will introduce the library to new patrons and continue to benefit their returning patron base.  

Recipient: Washington District Library  

Title: Washington District Library StoryWalk® 

Project Description: Washington District Library plans to partner with the Washington Park District to install a permanent StoryWalk® in Washington Park.  The StoryWalk® will consist of 20 posts with plexiglass frames.  Each frame will contain one or more pages from a picture book. The posts will be placed along a path that takes the reader through part of the park. Stories will have additional questions and activities near the picture book pages that will encourage deeper reflection about the story and additional movement and exercise. 

Recipient: Worth Public Library District  

Title: Removing Barriers: Translating Collateral into Community Languages 

Project Description: The funds will go towards translating their quarterly newsletter into Arabic, Polish, and Spanish as those are the languages most spoken in their community and schools. They will translate their library card application and their Welcome Brochure to make it easier for non-English speakers to get a library card and use their library. Lastly, they will hold quarterly storytime events in each language by a native speaker to continue to welcome and encourage the use of the library by non-English speakers.  

Recipient: Zion-Benton Public Library District  

Title: Sensory Kits for Children 

Project Description: The purpose of this project is to enable the Youth Services department at Zion-Benton Public Library, which serves children from birth through grade 5, and their caregivers, to create a collection of sensory kits that will support young children experiencing sensory processing issues during their visit to the library. 

School Libraries 

Recipient: Beach Park Community Consolidated School District 3  

Title: My Library Is…More Than Books 

Project Description: Beach Park Middle School started a student chosen advisory period this year, where students can choose to learn a new activity every 6 weeks. Their teachers are sharing crocheting, art, crafting, music, puzzle solving and more. With this increased interest in hand crafts and learning outside of the traditional classroom, they will extend the learning that is beginning through the facilitation of activities and purchase of more supplies for these activities.  

Recipient: District 50 Schools 

Title: My Library Is…Overhauling Our History 

Project Description: My Library Is... funds will be used to curate a more diverse biography section of the collection, by adding important figures from the ethnicities that the schools serve. The money will also purchase higher interest level history books, like graphic novels to encourage engaged learning.  

Recipient: Gower School District #62  

Title: Meeting the Needs of Our Diverse Student Population 

Project Description: The first goal of the grant fund will be to increase the number of recently published books by authors of color to better represent the student population. Another focus will be to update books from the nonfiction section so students can learn and conduct research. Additionally, they will purchase more lower-level books for EL and special education students who are reading well below grade level, as well as audiobooks and books in other languages. 

Recipient: Hibbard Elementary School, City of Chicago School District #299  

Title: My Library is Transforming 

Project Description: My Library is... funds will update the fiction, biography, and countries of the world collection at Hibbard Elementary School. They will also purchase more recent publications and a diverse selection of books to better represent their school and community demographics. 

Recipient: Horizon Science Academy, McKinley Park  

Title: HSA McKinley Graphic Novel Development 

Project Description: The grant funds will be used to increase the number of graphic novel titles for elementary and middle school students. The project includes plans to add high interest titles, increase access and circulation of graphic novels, and to organize the collection. The HSA McKinley library will focus on purchasing graphic novel titles in three main categories: high interest series, novels in Spanish, and non-fiction graphic novels. 

Recipient: Lake Zurich CUSD 95  

Title: Bilingual Books to Meet My Students’ Needs 

Project Description: For this project, funds will purchase bilingual and foreign language fiction books from Follett for the English language learners at Lake Zurich Middle School North. Currently we service students who speak over fourteen different languages including Ukrainian, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Tagalog, Tamil, and Urdu. This grant would allow over seventy students to read books in their home language. 

Recipient: Marist High School  

Title: Project Renew: Ignite Imagination with Games and Making 

Project Description: The funds will be used to purchase a curated selection of board games and basic maker materials, gradually expanding based on student interest and feedback. They will host regular weekly mini events filled with activities as well as provide daily access and opportunity for gaming during lunches and after school.  

Recipient: River Trails School District 26 

Title: Adding Diverse Titles to the River Trails Middle School Library Collection 

Project Description: My Library Is... grant funds will purchase 33 graphic novels by authors from ethnically and racially diverse backgrounds so that students can gain insight into others’ lived experiences–particularly, those who are different from them. Additionally, funds will purchase 10 copies of 9 diverse, inclusive, and excellent novels for use in a library facilitated book club. 

Recipient: Virginia Community Unit #64  

Title: High School Fiction and Elementary Nonfiction Expansion 

Project Description: They will purchase up to date and diverse nonfiction books that can be used for classroom projects as well as reading for leisure for elementary level instruction. For the upper grades, grant funds qwill be used for fiction books ranging across the genres, reading levels, and interest levels to update their selection options.  

Recipient: Woodland Middle School  

Title: My Library Needs the Truth…in Spanish!  

Project Description: This grant will double the number of nonfiction Spanish books in our library collection. We currently have only 103 books in this category. They will purchase print, eBooks, and digital audiobooks covering a wide variety of topics, such as, animals, art, ancient civilizations, biographies, sports, space, science, dinosaurs and the human bodies. 

Specialized Libraries

Recipient: Old Town School of Folk Music  

Title: Library Signs: Powerful Tools for Enhancing Visibility in a Community Music School 

Project Description: Resource Center (RC) staff at the Old Town School of Folk Music (OTSFM) will use grant funds to increase visibility and promote the role of the library within the organization by creating permanent signs to hang in classrooms, faculty lounges, and high frequency areas across the School's campuses. There are two elements of the signage that RC staff see as vital: bilingual evergreen text stating the role of the RC, and a refreshable element that promotes the library's new programming efforts, heritage months, and featured sound recordings. 

Recipient:
Hononegah Community High School District #207

Project Description:
By making the library’s collection more inclusive and offering new ways to use the library, Hononegah Community High School District #207 hopes to see a positive impact on the students’ attitude toward the library and draw in new library users. The library will use the grant funds to add multicultural and high-interest nonfiction titles and also toward library promotional materials made from equipment already in the makerspace.

Recipient:
Batavia Community Unit School District #101

Project Description:
Nothing brings people together more than food, making cookbooks the perfect genre for

fostering relationships. Batavia Community Unit School District #101 will use the grant funds to obtain a variety of diverse cookbooks with teen appeal which will also facilitate into many of the school’s student clubs.

Recipient:
Northbrook Glenview School District 30

Project Description:
For its project, Northbrook Glenview School District 30 will use grant funds to reinvent their STEAM kits. Students in the DEI STEAM club will share the student-designed alternative through an online video.

Recipient:
Trinity High School

Project Description:
To update and to refresh the BFF (Books for Fun) collection, Trinity High School will use the grant funds to purchase books that are published within the last 5 years and feature diverse characters to reflect the student body.

Recipient:
Troy Comm. Consolidated Elementary SD 30C

Project Description:
The purpose of this project is to build empathy and understanding for diverse communities through literature for the staff and students at Troy Community Consolidated School District. The money from this grant will be used to purchase at least ten copies of ten books with characters of diverse backgrounds, including, but not limited to, those of Mexican, African American, Indian American, or Asian heritage.

Recipient:
Sterling CUSD #5

Project Description:
The pandemic challenged the mental health needs of students in grades K-12, so librarians at Sterling CUSD #5 will use the grant funds to establish a collection that allows the school’s mental health professionals an opportunity to practice “bibliotherapy” with students.

Recipient:
Fox Lake School District 114

Project Description:Students at Fox Lake School District 114 will be able to create their own books, becoming an author and/or an illustrator. The grant funds will go toward the purchase of book kits, art supplies, writing utensils, display bookshelves and also signage to promote the young authors and illustrators.  

Recipient:
High Point School

Project Description:
To meet the STEAM outreach needs of students at High Point School, grant funds will go toward creating thirty “Maker Backpacks” that can be checked out by students to use at home with their families.  STEAM activities will include engineering challenges, robotics, and other hands-on activities that promote creativity and critical thinking.

Recipient:
Geneva Community Unit School District #304

Project Description:
The library staff at Geneva Community Unit School District #304 will seek to improve their space. After a significant weeding of the library’s collection, grant funds will go toward appropriate signage and giving students new ways to find the books they need.

Recipient:
Vernon Hills High School

Project Description:
To create a welcoming place for readers of all languages, Vernon Hills High School will use the grant money towards expanding the World Languages collection and to add an inclusive, colorful mural to welcome readers to the Library Media Center.

Recipient:
Glenbard East High School

Project Description:
For their project, Glenbard East High School will purchase 100 books that address pressing societal issues and reflect the interests of AP English Language & Composition courses,  All new nonfiction print books will focus on authors from marginalized communities such as BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and authors with disabilities.

Recipient:
Community High School District #94

Project Description:
Funds from the grant will be used toward expanding the collection of more diverse material in order to attract and better serve the English learners and special education students at Community High School District #94.

Recipient:
Oak Lawn Community High School District #229

Project Description:
With its project, Oak Lawn Community High School District #229 hopes to promote literacy and cultural appreciation by showcasing the works of diverse women comic creators. Funds will go towards purchasing nonfiction graphics no and as adding an immersive art experience in the library's media center.

Recipient:
Libertyville School District 70

Project Description:
Students at Adler Park School love graphic novels. This grant will fund the purchase of a collection of new diverse and inclusive graphic novels as well as a special project with students designing a bookmark featuring one of the new graphic novels. The student-designed bookmarks will be handed out at the school and also at Cook Memorial Public Library.

Recipient:
C.T. Vivian Library at Macomb High School

Project Description:
In partnership with two English teachers, the school librarian, WIU Archives and Special Collections Library, and the President of the Illinois Historical Society, students at Macomb High School will expand their materials for their class research projects. Grant funds will go toward the purchase of a one year subscription to EBSCO MAS Ultra online database, the purchase of ten wireless microphones, and to cover transportation costs to the Western Illinois University (WIU) Archives and Special Collections Library.

Recipient:
Plainfield CCSD 202 - Crystal Lawns Elementary

Project Description:
The grant funds will go toward updating and enhancing the library collection and reading experience for students at Plainfield CCSD 202. The project includes plans to add relevant books, organize the collection, address specific student needs, increase access to bilingual books, introduce a graphic novel section, and purchase bookshelf dividers to improve book accessibility for all students.

Recipient:
Saint Patrick High School

Project Description:
Grant funding will be used by Saint Patrick High School to create a modern space for reading, researching, gaming, and collaboration through the purchase of a poster printer, white boards, signage, camera and also Adobe Creative Cloud-Suite license. Additionally, the collaboration with the Chicago Public Library will provide students with online resources, and the library plans to promote its offerings with the help of a therapy dog named Patrick St. Patrick.

Recipient:
City of Chicago School District #299

Project Description:
Brentano Math and Science Academy serves a diverse group of students from preschool to 8th grade. With the help of a grant funds, the aim is to enhance the Spanish language library collection to better align with the school's diverse student population, as well as to promote the new books in the library to encourage reading and engagement among students and teachers.

Recipient:
Rochelle Township High School District # 212

Project Description:
Through a partnership with Creston-Dement Public Library District and Flagg-Rochelle Public Library District, Rochelle Township High School’s Library-Media Center invites students and staff to use new promotional tools to teach each other about the libraries’ materials, programs, and services. Funding from the grant will be used to purchase equipment to produce podcasts, READ posters, and social media posts.

Recipient:
Plainfield CCSD 202 / Wallin Oaks Elementary School

Project Description:
Wanting to make the library the “heart of the school,” Wallin Oaks Elementary school will use the grant funds to add books that celebrate the students’ lives, countries, cultures, and also their interests. To foster student creativity, critical thinking and collaboration, funds will also go toward a makerspace collection.

Recipient:
City of Chicago School District #299 / John T Pirie Fine Arts and Academic Center

Project Description:
In an effort to redesign the library and allow students to more easily find materials, John T Pirie Fine Arts and Academic Center will use the grant funds to add new signage in the library. Included in the project will be the addition of book bins for popular series, new library book bags, and a button maker to showcase student’s creativity and love of books while promoting the library.

Recipient:
Grace Lutheran School

Project Description:
The Grace Lutheran School Library is giving teachers what they wished for: more multicultural books, books on Black history, and titles by diverse authors. This projects will enhance the depth, quality, and quantity of its collection. The grant funds will be used to update the collection reflecting the faces and needs of the students.

Recipient:
Rondout School District 72

Project Description:
The Rondout School District 72 will use funds to expand the current equity, diversity, and inclusion collection as well as to promote the use of the library not only for the students and staff, but also to the families and the larger community.

Recipient:
Summit Hill Junior High

Project Description:
Summit Hill Junior High School plans to use the grant funds to build an updated mental health print collection. The project will include new signage that would point students to these resources without having to ask for assistance, include information hotlines, and also links to school social workers.

Recipient:
Alan B. Shepard Middle School Learning Commons

Project Description:
Because of the grant, middle school students at Alan B. Shepard Middle School Learning Commons will have the use of two head-mounted virtual reality (VR) displays. With the new equipment students can be transported to places all across the world and to time periods otherwise impossible to visit for an immersive, engaging, visceral learning experience.

Recipient:
Zion-Benton Township High School District 126

Project Description:
As an opportunity for students to share their stories with one another and with the community, Zion-Benton Township High School will put the grant funds toward equipment to create original graphic novels of the students’ stories.

Recipient:
Highland Middle School

Project Description:
With a goal of a more balanced, inclusive biography, autobiography, and memoir section, Highland Middle School will add 150 new titles with the grant funds. The budget for this project also includes multimedia materials for mini exhibits to further student experiences and conversations.

Recipient:
Hampshire High School

Project Description:
From a low-tech makerspace to a next level makerspace, Hampshire High School will use the grant funds to purchase a variety of new equipment. Students will see the new maker tools out in the open within the library so that they stay front and center in the minds of the students.

Recipient:
Heyworth CUSD #4

Project Description:
The Heyworth Junior-Senior High School Library has a goal to re-engage middle school readers left behind by covid interruptions and help them discover the rich and diverse world around them. The library will put the grant funds toward the purchase of hi/lo titles, graphic novels, Illinois reader’s choice award nominated books, novels-in-verse, and titles from a variety of genres whose characters are diverse and whose focus is on an age range from 11-14.

Recipient:
Beach Park Community Consolidated School District 3

Project Description:
Beach Park Community Consolidated School District 3 will use their grant funds to build STEM knowledge and highlight diverse professionals in STEM. They will purchase books, coding and engineering supplies to provide a minimum of once a month after school programs that will showcase a scientist.

Recipient:
Queen Bee Public Schools #16 / Glenside Middle School

Project Description:
Glenside Middle School will use grant funds to turn transform their daily announcements. The library will use grant funds to purchase video editing software, cameras, and even a green screen.

Recipient:
City of Chicago School District #299 / Burbank Elementary School

Project Description:
Students will now be able to participate in a student-led journalism club at the Burbank Elementary School library. With this grant to purchase equipment, students will have an opportunity to tell the news through their voice by producing student news clips and uploading the clips to the school’s YouTube channel. 

Recipient:
Riverside Brookfield Township District #208

Project Description:

Riverside Brookfield Township District 208 library will use funds to organize the shelves with new dynamic shelving. The plan is to ditch the traditional format of the DDS, and create a system that is more unique to our school and its collection. 

Recipient:
Coal City Middle School

Project Description:
Coal City Middle School is partnering with Coal City Public Library District to create a video podcast. “Between Two Shelves” will be a student-produced effort on making fun crafts or cooking. The grant funds will include podcast production, the creation of “Bags to Go” for students to make the project on their own, and the promotion of “Book Club to Go”.

Recipient:
Peoria PSD #150 / Peoria High School

Project Description:
Students will participate in helping preserve the history of their school.. Grant funds will be used toward the purchase of equipment to build the high school library digital archives program with student input and assistance.

Recipient:
East Elementary School / Zion School District 6

Project Description:
With a goal to fill in the collection for student readers, East Elementary School will focus on purchasing books on Spanish and bilingual fiction, graphic novels, history, current topical biographies, and also books on important women and men of all nationalities.

Recipient:
Roberto Clemente Community Academy

Project Description:
After being awarded two RISE Garden towers, Roberto Clement Community Academy will use the grant funds to create a lunchtime “Sprouts Squad” club in the hopes that students will get excited about fruits, vegetables, and herbs. The grant would allow students to check out everything from cookbooks to food sovereignty to horticulture education.

Recipient:
Medinah Elementary School District #11

Project Description:
With a goal to have every student at Medinah Elementary School identify as a reader, no matter their cultural background, identity, ability or reading level, the grant money will be used to create personalized READ posters. Funds will be used to purchase READ® Design Studio software, equipment, and supplies.

Recipient:

Alan B. Shepard Middle School

Project Description:

With specific parts of the library remaining off-limits due to the pandemic, the Alan B. Shepard Middle School will build a digital twin for its Learning Commons. Using funds to acquire a platform called Matterport, the virtual learning commons will allow users to explore the space and learn more about resources available to all students.

Recipient:

Batavia High School

Project Description:

The best solution for addressing social emotional wellness is to offer multiple avenues for students to access reliable information and resources when they need it. With grant funds, Batavia High School will purchase an e-book collection of resources to support the mental wellness of students.

Recipient:

Beach Park Community Consolidated School District 3

Project Description:

By using grant funds to create a StoryWalk®, Beach Park Community Consolidated School District 3 seeks to help families bond and talk about literatures while they exercise. Working together with the local public library, park district, and a community health task force, the school district will add titles to support StoryWalk® materials.

Recipient:

Curie Metropolitan High School

Project Description:

After identifying a gap in the collection, Curie Metropolitan High School will use grant funds to establish a World Language collection of books in the following languages: Spanish, French, Mandarin, Polish and Arabic. Additionally, funds will be spent to help promote the new collection via print and digital materials.

Recipient:

Deer Creek-Mackinaw CUSD #701

Project Description:

Deer Creek-Mackinaw CUSD #701 will use grant funds to purchase four 3D printers. Working cooperatively with teachers, this project will expose students to new technologies and the opportunity to explore non-curricular interests.

Recipient:

Durand CUSD #322

Project Description:

Durand CUSD #322, which serves as both the local school and public library, will use grant funds to purchase new materials and to help promote the availability of library services for all community members. The plan for the library includes specifically targeting families with preschool children.

Recipient:

Kaneland High School

Project Description:

To help stir the motivation for students to read non-curricular materials, Kaneland High School will create a competition with The Million Words Book Club. The library will use funds to create promotion material and software to help track student reading.

Recipient:

Kankakee SD 111

Project Description:

Kankakee SD 111 will partner with Kankakee Public Library to host a Young Authors Contest. The grant funds will to towards creating promotional materials including bookmarks, posters, and stickers.

Recipient:

Lockport School District 91

Project Description:

Lockport School District 91 will parter with KGTV, a school webcast technology, to provide videocasts/vlogs to students around e-books and virtual book talks. Grant funds will be spent on technology which will students to more easily create excitement around reading and book exploration.

Recipient:

Prospect Heights School District 23

Project Description:

Prospect Heights School District will use grant funds to participate in eRead Illinois, a cooperative e-book program. This will allow students district-wide access to e-books and audiobooks that they would not otherwise be able to purchase individually.

Recipient:

Reed-Custer CUSD 255U

Project Description:

Reed-Custer CUSD 255U seeks to upgrade their current collection especially to add nonfiction titles. Having estimated a current average publication year of 2000, the district will look forward to new, relevant resources for their students.

Recipient:

Woodland CUSD 5

Project Description:

Woodland CUSD 5 will use grant funds to purchase "mirror" books (books that reflect ourselves and our own culture in the world) and/or e-content. These titles will be promoted on their social media pages, local media, and within the building to get the community reading about their own culture, the culture of their community, and the cultures of others.

Recipient:

Woodland Middle School

Project Description:

For several years, Woodland Middle School has been working on increasing the diversity of their collection. Under the title of the MOSAIC Initiative, the school will use this grant to purchase promotion materials to help students learn more about cultures, ethnic groups and languages that coexist in a society.

Recipient:

Zion School District 6

Project Description:

As a new PK-2 dual language school, East Elementary School will be utilizing their collection in ways previous not done. The school will use the collection to purchase new materials and promote the new collection to families in their district.

Recipient:

Evanston Public Library

Project Description:

Through the Racial Equity Outreach Video Series, Evanston Public Library aims to increase its visibility amongst historically marginalized communities; raise awareness of all the resources that are available; and engage in deeper conversations with underrepresented voices in our community. One of EPL's primary goals is to remove as many barriers as possible for equitable access to the Library's materials, programs, and resources.

Recipient:

Gerber/Hart Library & Archives

Project Description:

Gerber/Hart Library and Archives offers collections and programming that reflect the diversity and rich history of the LBGTQ community. Gerber/Hart will create an eight-episode podcast to make Gerber/Hart's collection and Chicago LGBTQ history more accessible to our community and reach a larger audience.

Recipients:

Elmwood Park Public Library and Elmwood Park Unit District #401

Project Description:

Elmwood Park Public Library and School District 401, are currently working with You Are Beautiful to develop an art installation that reflects our community values and the Library's role in supporting those values. The library plans to develop a promotional video that can be shared with their village, schools, real estate agents, and Chamber of Commerce to highlight Elmwood Park's belief in these pillars of a community.

January 2020

Recipients:

Eureka Public Library District, Chenoa Public Library District, and Pontiac Public Library

Project Description:

Eureka Public Library District, Cheona Public Library District, and Pontiac Public Library will work with a marketing consultant to perform several functions including auditing current marketing materials, designing branding guidelines, creating a series of templates for program promotion and, creating and teaching a coordinate social media plan.

Recipient:

Fox River Grove Public Library District

Project Description:

Fox River Grove Public Library District will use their funds to create two videos to highlight the value of the library – one aimed at homeowners to demonstrate the value of the library with regards to quality of life and property value, and one aimed at families to demonstrate the libraries' integral role in supporting youth education in Fox River Grove.

Recipients:

Rockford Public Library, Cherry Valley Public Library District, and North Suburban Library District

Project Description:

In 2015, Rockford Public Library, Cherry Valley Public Library District, and North Suburban Library District, began a collaboration to offer the 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten program at all their library locations. As regional library partners, these libraries will seek to market the 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten program on multiple fronts and breathe new life into public awareness around the importance of early childhood literacy.

Recipients:

Skokie Public Library and Skokie Morton-Grove School District 69

Project Description:

"My Library is a Partner in Growing Young Readers" extends Skokie Public Library's 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten initiative through collaboration with a local Preschool for All program. It encourages families to engage in early literacy practices via promotional videos featuring members from our ethnically diverse community, a bilingual lending library, cheerful reading incentives, and group celebrations.

Project Partners:
McHenry Public Library, Woodstock Public Library, and McHenry County Historical Society
Project Description:
Working together, the McHenry Public Library, the McHenry County Historical Society, and the Woodstock Public Library will digitize historic McHenry County newspapers and make them available to the general public, free-of-charge.

Project Partners:
Skokie Public Library, Village of Skokie, Skokie Park District, and Skokie School District 73.5
Project Description:
As a member of the Skokie Cares Collaborative, Skokie Public Library will team up the Village of Skokie, Skokie Park District, Skokie School District 73.5, and Skokie School District 69 with the goal of creating a more welcoming and equitable community, by expanding the SEED (Seeking Educational Equity and Diversity) Initiative.

Project Partners:
Waukegan Public Library, City of Waukegan, and Waukegan Park District
Project Description:
The Waukegan Public Library, along with the City of Waukegan, and the Waukegan Park District recognize the importance of the 2020 Census. Creating a grassroots awareness campaign, these institutions will work together to position the library as a safe resource for census participation.

Project Partners:
Westchester Public Library, Forest Preserves of Cook County, and Save the Prairie Society
Project Description:
The Westchester Public Library, Forest Preserves of Cook County and the Save the Prairie Society will guide Westchester youth in combining photography with naturalist-led hikes to discover the science, biology, and beauty of native lands.

Project Partners:
Evanston Public Library, Services for Adults Staying in their Homes (SASI), Chicago Center for Cognitive Wellness, and Dementia Friendly Evanston
Project Description:
The Evanston Public Library and three local partners will collaborate to create the Evanston Community Dementia Resource Center. This will build upon our fledgling Memory Cafe program to provide a new service for our community.

Project Partners:
Marist High School and Blue Island Public Library
Project Description:
Marist High School and Blue Island Public Library are excited to join together on a brand new "escape room" project offering hundreds of local teens amazing solution finding, critical thinking and teamwork opportunities.

Project Partners:
Lillie M. Evans Public Library District, Toulon Public Library, Dunlap Public Library District, Peoria Heights Public Library District, Wyoming Public Library District, and Rock Island State Trail - Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Project Description:
The Bike the Trail Library to Library project is a collaboration between five libraries and a state park. The Lillie M. Evans Library District, the Toulon Public Library District, the Peoria Heights Public Library, the Dunlap Public Library District, and the Wyoming Public Library District will use the funds to work with the Rock Island State Trail Park to promote library resources including five recently installed bike repair stations along the trail. The Bike the Trail project connects bikers and libraries in a unique partnership.

Project Partners:
Eureka Public Library District (EPLD)and Congerville-Goodfield-Eureka CUSD 140
Project Description:
Eureka Public Library District (EPLD) and Congerville-Goodfield-Eureka CUSD 140 will work together to provide "Book Bundles" for both public library patrons and CUSD 140 elementary classrooms to enjoy. The goals of the project are to supplement the curriculum used by CUSD elementary schools; strengthen the excellent relationship between the EPLD and the students and teachers of CUSD 140; strengthen the use of the new student cards available through CUSD 140/EPLD intergovernmental agreement; and to encourage young readers. With input from elementary classroom teachers, the EPLD children's librarian will be responsible for the selection of high-quality children's materials, which will be processed and added to the EPLD collection. "Book Bundles" will be supplied by the library to classroom teachers throughout the school year. The books will be available for checkout at the public library when not in use in CUSD 140 classrooms.

Project Partners:
Lisle Public Libraryand Naperville School District #203
Project Description:
Families Together: Reading Enrichment for Social/Emotional Learning is a project designed to build social and emotional learning for both birth to 5 year old children from the Ann Reid Early Childhood Center (ARECC), Naperville School District #203, and their parents in a weekly program at the Lisle Library District (LLD) that can be transferred from the school and library settings into the home. Traditionally, these types of skills are expected to be taught in the home environment. However, given that the limited English "at risk" parents in this program are not aware of customary behavior, learning characteristics, or social rules that affect their children being raised in the United States, this warrants attention to supporting their children. Giving at risk families the opportunity to learn and improve SEL by introducing them to books to use at home will reinforce the concepts being taught in the weekly program where adults learn English and SEL strategies in an adjoining room to where their children are being worked with in play groups to build their SEL coping skills.

Project Partners:
Prospect Heights Public Library Districtand Harper Community College
Project Description:
A collaboration between the Prospect Heights Public Library District and Harper Community College will provide 21st century technology to students and patrons, ages 5-12, living in our Prospect Heights community and afford them the opportunity to learn coding and programming skills on state-of-the-art Kindle Fire tablets. Some of these patrons might otherwise not have access to this technology.

Project Partners:
Gail Borden Public Library Districtand Elgin High School (Library and Guidance Department)
Project Description:
Gail Borden Public Library, Elgin High School Library, and the Elgin High School Guidance Department will engage a group of 11th grade students in the First2Go program. This seven week program will support junior level students who will be the first in their families to attend college. Activities will involve finding the right "college fit," discovering which factors impact the university admissions process, and participating in workshops on scholarships and financial aid. The First2Go program's culminating activity will be a school-day visit to local universities. GBPL and EHS libraries will collaborate on supporting the students' research, and the guidance department will assist with the college visits.

Project Partners:
McHenry School District 15 – Riverwoods Elementary School Libraryand McHenry Public Library District
Project Description:
The McHenry School District 15 – Riverwoods Elementary School Library and McHenry Public Library District wish to purchase and implement The Walking Classroom. This programs consists of mp3 listening devices with 100 preloaded student appropriate podcasts aligned to Common Core Standards that students listen to while walking. Beyond obvious health benefits of walking, research confirms the link between exercise and cognitive function. Students return to the classroom in better moods, more focused, and more likely to engage in discussions. This community partnership allows this program to be used in school during the school year and then transferred for similar use by the public library during the summer months. Homeschool lets will be housed at the public library all year long.

Project Partners:
Von Steuben Metropolitan Science Center, City of Chicago School District #299and National Cambodian Heritage Museum
Project Description:
The National Cambodian Heritage Museum and Von Steuben High School Library partnership will develop cross-cultural and cross-generational opportunities for high school students and members of the Cambodian community to engage in conversations about how history informs the present and the future. Students will experience a museum visit, guest speakers, and cultural performances with a focus on primary sources. A collaborative poetry publication and reading event will allow participants to increase social and cultural empathy among members of school and neighborhood communities.

Project Partners:
Indian Prairie Public Library and Hinsdale South High School - Library Media Center
Project Description:
This partnership will develop virtual reality learning experiences to support formal and informal education in a shared community. Students will have the ability to engage in activities that range from exploring the surface of Mars to visiting college campuses across the country. These new learning experiences have the potential to foster a deeper understanding and greater retention of relevant subjects.

Project Partners:
Theosophical Society in America - Henry S. Olcott Memorial Library and Carol Stream Public Library

Project Description:
This grant project will support a series of local authors to speak at the Carol Stream Public Library and whose works are available from the Henry S. Olcott Memorial Library. Topics for these author programs include meditation, hospice/living with dying, and symbolism/synchronicity/astrology. An exhibit will also accompany each author event.

Project Partners:
Peoria Public Library and Hines Primary School
Project Description:
This grant will help expand the "Barbers Love Books" program that was piloted in February 2017. The mission of this program is to support Peoria-area barbers in serving as reading mentors to children in Kindergarten through 8th grade. Read press coverage of this pilot program here. Based on positive community feedback and demand to include more locations, grant funding will support expansion of this program to include more locations and more titles.

Project Partners:
Illinois Valley Community College(Jacobs Library), and LaSalle Public Library
Project Description:
A partnership that will collaborate on a project called "Noise vs. News. . . . What's Your Source?" The four-event program will focus on topics that concern news and "fake" news, including the First Amendment and its protections, the ethics of journalism, the appeal of "fake" news, "fake" news detection, the importance of critical thinking, the importance of truth and courage in maintaining a democracy.

Project Partners:
Geneva Public Library District, Geneva Middle School North and Geneva Middle School South

Project Description:
Focused on STEAM(Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) , librarians from each of the three partner libraries will collaborate to offer monthly activities for students after school and at lunchtime. Project goals include giving students the opportunity to expand their creativity, grow their problem-solving skills, and develop perseverance through tinkering. This will also offer students the capacity to become leaders and teachers among their peers.

Project Partners:
Villa Park Public Library and North Elementary School
Project Description:
Project partners will establish a family literacy program for Latino families in Villa Park, modeled after the Latino Family Literacy Project. The intended result of this program will be to establish family reading routines for both Spanish-speaking and English-speaking parents and their children. As a result, both parents and school age children will learn English vocabulary and language together as a family.

Project Partners:
Caterpillar Technical Information Center, Morton High School Library and Morton Public Library
Project Description:
This collaboration will seek to expose students, parents and the community to STEM(science, technology, engineering and math). Components of this project include the creation of a circulating collection of STEM materials, programming in the school conducted by engineers or other technical staff at Caterpillar, as well as teacher training on programming and related activities.

Project Partners:
Homer Township Public Library and Hadley Middle School
Project Description:
Through the creation of a makerspace, project partners will seek to empower middle school learners and public library patrons to create, engage and build. This collaboration will also bring innovative programming to children ages 8 to 13 that will consist of eight year-round programs at the public library utilizing 3D printing, circuit building and the building of a variety of structures focusing on problem solving skills. These same resources will be utilized in the school library with a new set of criteria centered on 21st Century Learning Standards, including eight curriculum supporting lesson plans.