Needs addressed:
By establishing a connection between the children’s programming offered by the library and the parent programs offered by the PTA, it was hoped that the effectiveness of both agencies in serving the school age public and their parents could be improved.

Target audience:
Students in the Canajoharie School District along with their parents; several programs were specifically targeted at middle school and high school audiences.

Community partners and their roles:

• Canajoharie Central School District – School principals provided input for the project during the planning stage. Schools provided space for some programs and assisted with publicity. School staff assisted with evaluations.
• Canajoharie PTA – Worked with library staff to develop the project; assisted with scheduling; assisted at programs and helped with publicity and evaluations.
• Canajoharie Library and Art Gallery – Together with cooperating agencies, developed the project, set the topics and scheduled the programs, and designed evaluation instruments. Librarians ordered materials to support the topics discussed at programs.

Specific activities:

• Meetings held with cooperating agencies to plan and schedule topics for programs
• Eleven programs (5 societal and 6 curriculum based) were held
• 120 books and videos were purchased by library to support interest in topics addressed
• Four exhibits of student work were held in conjunction with programs
• Evaluation measures were compiled and analyzed

Staffing:

• Library Staff – 120 hours
• Cooperating Agencies – 41 hours
• No volunteer or project staff

Costs:

• Purchased Services - $ 2,690
• Supplies and Materials - $2,645
• Cooperating agencies spent an additional $660 on programs
• Library spent $100 on refreshments and contributed publicity

Evaluation:

• Quantitative Measures – program attendance, circulation statistics
• Qualitative Measures – surveys, evaluations, anecdotal interviews

Changes/recommendations:

• Hire additional project staff to coordinate project activities.
• Promote follow up activities between parents and children.
• Do more publicity to promote the related library materials purchased through the project.
• Maintain the excellent relationship with the PTA that was established. It is essential to the success of the programs.

Categories of service:

1. Family Programs
2. Services to School Age Children
3. Services to Young Adults

Last modified on February 29, 2000/djr
URL: http://www.nysl.nysed.gov/libdev/parchld/canajoh.htm