Department: County Library
Department Head/Elected Official: Edward Melton, Executive Director
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Financial Authorization
Project ID (if applicable): N/A
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): N/A
MWDBE Contracted Goal (if applicable): N/A
MWDBE Current Participation (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% MWDBE Participation Goal: N/A - Goal not applicable to request
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
title
Request for approval to purchase food and related supplies for multiple upcoming workshops using grant funds in the amount of $729.06 received from the Public Library Association for the FY 2022 Digital Literacy Workshop Training Incentive Program.
end
Background and Discussion: Harris County Public Library is one of the nation’s largest public library systems,
serving 4.71 million people, and is home to Houston, one of the most diverse cities in the United States.
Unfortunately, 8.4% of its population, or 396,000 people in Harris County do not have a home computer or
smart device access, and 13.6% of its population, or 641,012 people, do not have broadband internet access.
This lack of access to devices and internet affects some of Harris County’s most diverse communities, which
limits these communities’ abilities to achieve digital literacy. Harris County Public Library is committed to
providing Chromebooks and hotspots to those in need in order to bridge the digital divide that is
disproportionately affecting our communities of color, but due to the volume of need and the spread-out
nature of our county, our library system is limited in its ability to provide adequate digital literacy training to all patrons who are interested in learning these skills. Those residing in low socioeconomic area often do not
have access to transportation to travel to a library branch for digital literacy classes, especially those who live
in the most rural and urban areas of our county where there is not a nearby branch.
Expected Impact: At Harris County Public Library, we strive to make lifelong learning available to all through
our work at local branches, community centers, and outreach events. Currently, these efforts include teaching
computer skills classes to a variety of age groups at branches and at several community centers. These
incentive funds would allow us to bring basic computer skills classes to partner venues that have the common
mission of serving the underserved in a variety of ways, such as providing interview preparation and
professional clothing to women through the Dress for Success program and preparing low-income job seekers
who face significant barriers to employment for the job-hunting process by providing coaching and
occupational training through the SERJobs organization. Being digitally literate is essential for those wanting to start or advance their career so that they may support their family, and by bringing these classes to partner
venues focused on community service, we will be able to reach those who need the skills the most. As part of
our outreach plan, these funds would allow us to expand offerings to patrons by teaching classes at
community centers in areas that do not have access to our library resources. These community centers are
integral to family life in these communities, and constituents' range in age from birth to seniors. As part of our
mission of providing services to all patrons, we would use funds to teach classes in Spanish and Farsi at
community centers in areas where these are the predominant languages spoken, with the Farsi program being
in partnership with Catholic Charities’ Refugee Resettlement Program. In addition, we would also offer a
virtual class in American Sign Language in order to bring these resources to the widest audience possible.
First, we plan to promote our classes by utilizing Facebook advertising. This way information about the
class offerings will reach as many people as possible across Harris County on a platform with which most
patrons will already be familiar. We also plan to use traditional advertising methods, such as posting posters
of various sizes at participating partner locations. In the case of community centers, they will also be aiding us
in the advertising process by posting the class information on their online portal and by putting it on their
center’s calendar.
Alternative Options: We could utilize Harris County General Fund monies instead of grant funds to purchase refreshments for Harris County citizens participating in the workshops.
Alignment with Goal(s):
_ Justice and Safety
X Economic Opportunity
_ Housing
_ Public Health
_ Transportation
_ Flooding
_ Environment
X Governance and Customer Service
Prior Court Action (if any):
|
Date |
Agenda Item # |
Action Taken |
|
6/28/2022 |
172 |
Approved to apply for grant |
|
10/18/2022 |
170 |
Approved to accept grant funds |
Location:
Address (if applicable):
Precinct(s): Countywide
|
Fiscal and Personnel Summary |
|
Service Name |
Library Literacy Program |
|
|
FY 23 |
FY 24 |
Next 3 FYs |
|
Incremental Expenditures (do NOT write values in thousands or millions) |
|
Labor Expenditures |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Non-Labor Expenditures |
$729.06 |
$ |
$ |
|
Total Incremental Expenditures |
$729.06 |
$ |
$ |
|
Funding Sources (do NOT write values in thousands or millions) |
|
Existing Budget |
|
Grant |
$729.06 |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Total Current Budget |
$729.06 |
$ |
$ |
|
Additional Budget Requested |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Choose an item. |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Total Additional Budget Requested |
$ |
$ |
$ |
|
Total Funding Sources |
$729.06 |
$ |
$ |
|
Personnel (Fill out section only if requesting new PCNs) |
|
Current Position Count for Service |
- |
- |
- |
|
Additional Positions Requested |
- |
- |
- |
|
Total Personnel |
- |
- |
- |
Anticipated Court Date: 01/31/2023
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date):
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: Not an emergency, disaster, or COVID-19 related item
Contact(s) name, title, department: Ashley Phillips, Executive Assistant, County Library
Attachments (if applicable): Food/Supply Cost Breakdown, Grant Award Letter and Court Approval