DATE: June 20, 2017
TO: Board of Supervisors
SUBMITTED BY: Kelley Worman-Landano, County Librarian
SUBJECT: Library Innovation Lab Grant Award
RECOMMENDED ACTION(S):
TITLE
1. Approve and authorize Chairman to ratify former Librarian’s previous execution of grant agreement with California Humanities for the ”Exploring New Ways of Engaging California’s Immigrant Communities” program providing grant funding for the period of January 1, 2017 through January 31, 2018 ($5,000); and
2. Adopt Budget Resolution increasing the FY 2016-17 appropriations and estimated revenues in the Library Grants Organization 7517 in the amount of $5,000 (4/5 vote).
REPORT
There is No Net County cost associated with the recommended actions. California Humanities (“Cal Humanities”) has awarded the Fresno County Public Library a $5,000 Federal grant for the period of January 1, 2017 through January 31, 2018. Approval of the recommended actions will ratify the former Librarian’s previous execution of the grant agreement and allow the Library to accept the grant funding and implement the “Exploring New Ways of Engaging California’s Immigrant Communities” program. The program will allow the Library to create an original Cal Humanities program that will benefit immigrant communities in Fresno County.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION(S):
Your Board may choose to decline the Library Innovation Lab grant award, which will result in the Library not creating new programs based on community assessments that foster inclusivity and respond to the needs and circumstances of immigrants and immigrant communities.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is No Net County cost associated with the recommended actions. The $5,000 Cal Humanities grant will be used for advertising, supplies, food, and rental costs associated with the series of public programs.
The grant requires matching funds of at least 1:1 ratio with in-kind resources. For FY 2016-17, the Library met this requirement with an in-kind contribution of $401 (January 1, 2017 through June 30, 2017). For FY 2017-18, the Library will meet the grant matching requirements with an in-kind contribution of $5,140 (July 1, 2017 through January 31, 2018). The in-kind contribution covers a percentage of salaries and benefits for one Librarian II with indirect costs calculated at 10%.
The second recommended action will increase appropriations and estimated revenues in the Library Grants Org 7517 for FY 2016-17 in the amount of $5,000. This grant will span two fiscal years and will disburse funding of $5,000 in FY 2016-17.
Sufficient appropriations and estimated revenues for the staffing costs are included in the Library’s Org 7511 FY 2016-17 Adopted Budget. In-kind costs and grant expenditures associated with the program in FY 2017-18 will be included in the FY 2017-18 Requested Budgets for Orgs 7511 and 7517 respectively.
DISCUSSION:
The Library is the direct recipient of a Library Innovation Lab Grant from California Humanities that will provide encouragement, guidance, and resources to a cohort of ten California librarians from rural, suburban, and urban areas of the state over the course of the 2017 calendar year.
The recommended agreement is not retroactive. Funding for the grant in the amount of $5,000 has been received, and will be accepted after your Board’s approval. The grant period is from January 1, 2017 through January 31, 2018, and the program began in February 2017 with a planning/introduction phase that introduced participants to the techniques that allowed them to begin the process of research and design for their individual projects. During this initial planning period, participants drew upon the knowledge and expertise of the group and project experts as they designed their programs. Humanities field experts will enrich the process of individual and group learning and discovery along with the support of material resources, including the $5,000 grant that will provide “venture capital” to experiment with new programming that may provide models for the future. In addition, the grant funding will be used to fund the experimental public programs during the implementation phase in the summer and fall of FY 2017-18.
California Humanities is a non-profit that promotes the humanities and an open state of mind for residents of California. The non-profit organization aims to initiate important conversations among diverse populations. The mission of the organization is to connect Californians to ideas and one another in order to understand our shared heritage and diverse cultures, inspire civic participation, and shape our future.
“Exploring New Ways of Engaging California’s Immigrant Communities” will consist of a program that reflects the research and community assessments conducted beyond the library walls. The purpose of this grant program is to develop creative and innovative programming that will respond to the needs and circumstances of immigrants and immigrant communities in Fresno County to foster more inclusivity within the County.
Outcome data will be collected by the Library through paper and/or electronic surveys following the program. Library staff will be on-site at the program to offer information on additional programs and services.
ATTACHMENTS INCLUDED AND/OR ON FILE:
On file with Clerk - Agreement with Cal Humanities
On file with Clerk - Resolution (Org. 7517)
CAO ANALYST:
Samantha Buck