Libraries, Literacy and Federal Support in the Time of COVID
Two federal bills, the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and the Build America's Libraries Act, are coming to help our library and educational community. Both bills will help our Literacy Center students and their families by providing, among other things, emergency assistance for financial aid, increasing broadband access, and safely reopening our schools.
As part of the $1.9 trillion ARPA of 2021 passed by Congress, libraries are eligible for billions of dollars in recovery to meet critical needs, including:
$360 billion to state, local, and tribal community governments to offset potential cuts to public health, safety, and education programs
$130 billion for education costs associated with the safe reopening of K-12 schools; hiring additional staff; reducing class size; modifying school spaces; and addressing student, academic, and mental health needs
$40 billion for colleges and institutions of higher education to defray pandemic-related expenses and provide emergency assistance to students, with half the funding dedicated to student financial aid
$135 million each for National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities to support state and regional arts and humanities agencies. Forty percent of this funding is designated for grants and administration for state arts and humanities agencies, while forty percent will go for direct grants eligible to libraries.
The Build America's Libraries Act would provide funding to construct and modernize public libraries in underserved communities, creating jobs while revitalizing our neighborhoods. Our Sonoma County libraries have challenges with our current buildings, building new branches and maintaining old ones, and providing technology and hotspots to our patrons.
Our own Congressman Jared Huffman is co-sponsoring this bill, saying:
"Libraries need our support, even during the pandemic when access is limited, and we're reading a lot of e-books and audiobooks. Most communities have libraries that are helping educate, connect and enlighten people in significant ways. We need to support that everywhere. While technology and services are changing, I can't imagine a time when we will not need libraries. That's why I'm proud to be co-sponsoring the bipartisan Build America's Libraries Act, which upgrades to the nation's library infrastructure to address challenges such as natural disasters, COVID-19, broadband capacity, environmental hazards, and accessibility barriers - including improving library facilities in underserved communities across the country. That's all. Just a plug for libraries. Have a great day.”
Our Literacyworks staff constantly searches for new funding opportunities that will improve our students and their lives. We appreciate any additional suggestions from you, our wonderful supporters.
The Center serves a very diverse and capable group of individuals. One particular student that stands out is facing extraordinary challenges.
She is learning English as a second language, working on her High School Equivalency, and she is non-sighted. Navigating public transportation, finding classrooms, completing her homework, and buying groceries are situations most of us don’t have to face without the ability to see. Despite these challenges, she is extremely happy, social with a warm circle of friends that support her and learn from her. She has the unique gift of openly asking and accepting others, and both are better for it. So how can she attend classes remotely in this time of the pandemic?
She has learned to use a computer with specialized software that reads her assignments to her. She can participate in zoom meetings and complete her work online. She is also completely capable of using a phone. When I check in on her, she answers using my name. Her long-term plans include the desire to get a degree and to become an interpreter with the goal of helping others. We are regularly inspired by the people we work with at the Center.
EOP&S at SRJC
Extended Opportunity Program and Services (EOP&S) is a well-established program throughout the California Community College system. It provides extensive support services to students not fully prepared for college-level academics. The outcome of this considerable support and personal attention is that EOP&S students succeed at a higher level than the average entering freshmen.
Literacyworks Center is delighted to extend its services to the EOP&S staff and students at Santa Rosa Junior College. This opportunity will be beneficial to our students during this period of distance learning due to the pandemic.
