Using LSCA Grants to Unite Neighboring Communities

The Homewood Public Library District and the East Hazel Crest Library District currently enjoy the benefits of a mutually satisfying library service contract arrangement. Homewood, the larger of the communities with a population of 19,278, provides library service to the 1,570 residents of the East Hazel Crest community. The communities border one another and are part of the south suburbs of Chicago. What is unique about the Homewood and East Hazel Crest arrangement is that it has evolved from a common contract business agreement into a growing cooperative effort that enhances the community of East Hazel Crest and continues to contribute to the growth of the Home-wood Library. While a portion of the success of this collaboration can be attributed to administrative planning and qualify community leadership, a significant amount of credit must also be given to the Illinois State Library and the federally funded LSCA Project PLUS Program of 1991. This grant money served as an impetus leading the Homewood Library to assist the Village of East Hazel Crest in establishing a library district.

Prior to applying for grant assistance, the Homewood Library recognized that East Hazel Crest was not able to provide library service to its residents. As some East Hazel Crest residents regularly purchased fee cards from the library, the hope was that these individuals might support the formation of a library district. The Homewood Library Board of Trustees met with East Hazel Crest officials to suggest forming a library district and contracting with the Homewood Library for library service. Suggesting that East Hazel Crest residents look to the Homewood Library for service seemed logical as many of these residents were within walking distance of the library and it had recently moved into a new spacious facility. East Hazel Crest officials agreed that forming a library district and contracting with Homewood would benefit the community, but they were not optimistic as they believed they lacked the necessary funding to begin this endeavor. The Homewood Library, assisted by the Suburban Library System, was able to alleviate this apprehension as they explained the LSCA Project PLUS program. East Hazel Crest leaders were excited about the prospect of funding and voted to support the efforts of the Homewood Library in applying for an LSCA grant. In July 1991, the Homewood Library was awarded the grant and began its task of assisting the Village of East Hazel Crest to establish a library district.

Homewood Library and East Hazel Crest officials realized that the successful formation of a library district was dependent upon East Hazel Crest voter approval. To insure this support it was decided that a major library awareness campaign should precede the upcoming election. The initial grant funding of $18,840 proved vital to this objective as it allowed the Homewood Library and East Hazel Crest village leaders to conduct this awareness program while also beginning service to new library patrons. To gain a presence in the community, grant money was used to hire additional staff that could regularly visit East Hazel Crest schools and senior facilities explaining library services and encouraging library card sign-up. Funding also was available for neighborhood teas and ice cream socials that provided staff an opportunity to meet East Hazel Crest residents and promote the benefits of library use. The library also was able to circulate its newsletter to East Hazel Crest residents using the grant to cover the additional expenses or printing and mailing. The campaign proved to be successful as the Village of East Hazel Crest voted to support the formation of a library district during the March 1992 election.

The second year of LSCA grant funding allowed the Homewood Library to continue its commitment to serve East Hazel Crest residents for another year without compromising its own budgetary commitments. Illustrating to Homewood residents and new board members that adding library service to East Hazel Crest did not infringe upon their current level of service was an important concept that needed to be understood by the community. By repeatedly mentioning the grant in promotional pieces and then outlining the future contract components, the library was able to demonstrate to its patrons that extending library service to East Hazel Crest would become cost effective. The 1992

* Cindy Rauch, Administrator, Homewood Public Library District.

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grant money provided the only means available to the East Hazel Crest Library District to finance a second year of library service as they were not yet able to collect their first tax levy. That year, the library used the grant money to purchase computers and establish a lab for public use. This service was heavily employed by East Hazel Crest and Homewood residents and further illustrated the dividends of collaboration between the library districts.

The focus of work during the second grant year was the development of a three-year contract between the two library districts. Because the trustees of the Homewood Library Board and the members of the East Hazel Crest Board were able to work on the contract throughout the entire year, they were able to make well planned decisions based on research and study. Both districts were able to evaluate library statistics, tax levies and demographics prior to contract negotiations. Homewood was able to enter contract discussions with a clear estimate of the additional money they would need each year to adequately serve the residents of East Hazel Crest. Also, East Hazel Crest began negotiations with the confidence that contracting with Homewood would be the most practical and affordable method for offering long-term library service to its residents. Bringing these attitudes to the contract table would not have been possible had the library boards not already been cooperating with the funding of the LSCA grant. On June 15, 1993, the districts signed a three year contract establishing a payment schedule for each year. In 1996, a 10 year contract was signed tying the annual payment to East Hazel Crest's assessed evaluation.

The commitment and cooperation initiated with the LSCA funding has proven to be a strong base for a library relationship that continues to grow and benefit both communities. Each year the number of East Hazel Crest library card-holders rises and the number of items borrowed by these card-holders increases. The practice of making regular school visits during the library awareness campaign of the first grant year has continued. During the last two years, the library has expanded upon this commitment by establishing a student book discussion program at an East Hazel Crest elementary school. This school and another private school in the district also have received sets of Newberry and Caldecott award winning books for their libraries, donated by the East Hazel Crest Library District. Each of the books bears a bookplate noting it was a gift intended to encourage reading throughout the community. In the spirit of the first library awareness campaign, the East Hazel Crest Library Board has established a publicity committee. This committee meets regularly to plan for events that will increase library interest. As both communities share a local newspaper, this has been extremely beneficial to the Homewood Library as it has served to increase library interest among Homewood residents as well. Recently, the two districts connected on another level as Homewood Library staff developed an East Hazel Crest Library District home page. The district's home page was then linked to the community home page being maintained by the library. All these activities presently work together and benefit both the Homewood Library and the Village of East Hazel Crest.

Would all these advances have come to be without the introduction of federal funding? Would someone have taken the initiative to begin offering library service where none existed? These are questions that remain unanswered. Applying for a grant and responsibly managing it when received requires dedication of the library administrator. Report filing and record keeping are extremely time consuming and exhausting. Yet, as this article illustrates, the benefits of grant funding can far outweigh the extra frustrations and responsibilities. A very successful business and neighbor partnership was formed through the use of LSCA funding when the Homewood Public Library District and the East Hazel Crest Library District were joined together. It is a partnership that continues to grow and work well for both districts and has allowed the Homewood Library to improve its service to all its patrons.

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