Needs addressed:
Many people who are using on-line resources have little or no expertise in using the Internet and do not realize how the library may serve to connect them more efficiently to the electronic resources they may need. This program was designed to introduce children, parents and educators to the library’s central role in their community’s information network.

Target audience:
The target audience consisted of the children of the Jamestown area, preschool through high school, and the adults – parents, teachers and community leaders – who contribute to their education.

Community partners and their roles:

• Jamestown Public Schools and PTA’s
• First Covenant and Zion Covenant Preschool
• Joint Neighborhood Project
• Jamestown Boys and Girls Club
• Girl Scout Council of Jamestown
• Boy Scout Council of Jamestown
  The above community partners all served to publicize, promote and schedule and evaluate programs for the children, parents and educators of their organizations.
• James Prendergast Library - was responsible for hiring a program coordinator who planned, scheduled and presented all programs. Library personnel worked with the program coordinator to evaluate and improve programs.

Specific activities:

• Project Coordinator hired and equipment purchased. Library staff attended a workshop to familiarize them with on-line services.
• An average of 2+ programs per week (76 total) were presented at the library or at community agencies to demonstrate the use of the Library Home Page, the Internet and the PRESTO online catalog.
• A master lesson was prepared which could be easily modified to address the needs of specific audiences.
• An Internet counter was created to record the number of hits on the library’s home page, as well as individual counters for individual pages.
• Books were purchased to complement web pages visited and topics discussed at presentations.
• Evaluation data was analyzed in an effort to constantly refine and improve the program.

Staffing:

• Library Staff: Project Director – 20 hours/month; Clerical Staff – 1.5 hours/month; Reference/Internet Librarian – 24 hours per grant year; Custodial Staff – 12 per grant year;
• Project Staff: 21.5 hours per week (average)
• Volunteers: 1 – 2 hours per program
• Cooperating Agencies: 1 – 2 hours per program

Costs:

• Professional Salaries - $10,634.12
• Employee Benefits - $912
• Supplies and Materials - $1,664.65
• Equipment - $7,600

Evaluation:

• Quantitative Measures – Total number of programs; total number of participants; types of organizations attending programs; total number of times the library’s home page had been accessed; total number of hits to specific web pages.
• Qualitative Measures – Evaluations by program participants; feedback from members of participating organizations; reflections on effectiveness of each program by presenter; analysis by System Network Specialist to determine usefulness to other member libraries.

Changes/recommendations:

• The project is practical and can be replicated as designed.
• Patience and persistence are necessary when interacting with community partners as well as a willingness to adjust the program to meet different situations.

Categories of service:

1. Projects Involving Technology
2. Services to Young Adults

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