GRAVETTE, Ark. — The Gravette Public Library has received a $30,000 grant from the ALA COVID Library Relief Fund.
The ALA COVID Library Relief Fund is a non-federal grant generously supported by Acton Family Giving and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and is administered by the American Library Association. The Gravette Public Library was one of 34 libraries nationwide that was selected to receive a grant.
This grant has allowed the library to add an After Hours Pick Up Station. The station was added in December 2021, and placed in front of the building. Patrons can now reserve items through the library's website and pick them up after hours. This addition is just one of the improvements the library was able to make thanks to the grant.
“We’re very grateful to have been selected for this grant,” said Karen Benson, Library Director. “It has allowed us to replace the broken microfilm reader, add laptops and other equipment, improve book collections, and implement new programs for the benefit of our community.”
Other improvements made to the library include a new microfilm reader and Ancestry Library Edition that provides genealogy resources for library patrons and new laptops that expand the library’s code club and digital skills programs.
The library currently offers genealogy workshops on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month at the Billy V. Hall Senior Activity Center.
That grant has also funded new book acquisitions for all ages, materials for a new Sensory Story Time that is planned to begin in 2022, and Discover Kits. Discover Kits will available for check out and contain equipment, materials, and supplies for a variety of science and technology projects, including gravity, rocks and minerals, circuits, mechanics, electricity, magnetism, virtual reality science projects, and more.
The library is located at 19 Main St. SE. open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays.