Brimfield Public Library District has been selected as one of 300 libraries to participate in the fourth and final round of Libraries Transforming Communities: Accessible Small and Rural Communities, an American Library Association (ALA) initiative that provides community engagement and accessibility resources to small and rural libraries to help them better serve people with disabilities. The competitive award comes with a $10,000 grant that will help the Library improve programs and services for patrons with vision and hearing loss.

“We are so proud to be chosen again for this amazing opportunity,” said Library Director, Katie Hahn. The Library received a $20,000 round two LTC grant in 2024 and used it to upgrade the children’s area to make it more welcoming and accessible to children with sensory and learning disabilities. “During the last grant cycle, we received a lot of great feedback about additional ways we could make the Library’s programs and services more accessible for patrons of all ages. With this new funding, we are looking forward working with the community to improve the library experience for patrons who are blind, low-vision, deaf, and hard-of-hearing.”

As part of the grant, the Library is hosting two Community Conversations with residents to gather feedback on how to best use grant funds to make the Library more accessible for individuals with vision and hearing loss. The Conversations are scheduled for Friday, April 17 3:15-4:00pm and Saturday, April 18 10:00-10:45am.  If you are interested in providing feedback but cannot attend a Conversation event, please contact Katie Hahn at director@brimfieldlibrary.org or 309-446-9575.

“Libraries Transforming Communities: Accessible Small and Rural Communities is an initiative of the American Library Association (ALA) in collaboration with the Association for Rural and Small Libraries (ARSL).”