|
| |
Home :: LDB :: LSTA :: lstafact
|
| |
Support the Re-Authorization
of the
Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA)
What
is LSTA?
The Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) is
the only federal program specifically for libraries.
Grants made possible by a $4 million annual appropriation
provide seed money for improving library services
in New Jersey. Today’s 21st century library
is not just a provider of books. Libraries coordinate
a complete and comprehensive approach to community
development and services. The LSTA program is designed
to “level the playing field” so that everyone
can have the information resources that they need
for school, work and their daily lives. It is especially
targeted toward technology and meeting the needs of
the underserved. Federal dollars make possible stronger
libraries which support life-long learning, economic
development and cultural development in the communities
they serve.
As
you may know, last year’s LSTA re-authorization
bill never reached the floor of the House. January
7, 2003 Congressional Representatives Hoekstra and
Boehner introduced a new bill whose name is the Museum
and Library Services Act of 2003 which contains the
Library Services and Technology Act. Congressional
Representatives may cosponsor the bill by contracting
Congressman’s Hoekstra’s staff person
Rebecca Hunt (202-225-4401) or Subcommittee staff
person Rich Stombres (202-225-4527).
LSTA
Funded Programs in New Jersey
In
New Jersey today’s 21st century library is not
just a provider of books. Libraries coordinate a complete
and comprehensive approach to community development
and services. The following are some ways that LSTA
funding assists libraries to provide new and innovative
services:
-
Supporting
Life-Long Learning
20 public libraries installed computer training
centers and are providing hands-on Internet and
business application software training. In addition
to senior citizens, who represent the largest users
of this service, libraries provide training to:
people in the workforce who are learning to use
PCs or upgrading their skills; job seekers learning
to search for positions posted on the Internet and
to use software to prepare resumes; people researching
their family histories; people looking for health
and investment information, etc.
-
Serving
People with Disabilities
12,000 New Jersey residents who are blind or who
for some other reason can not read regular print
materials are provided with Talking Books and a
radio reading service where local newspapers and
national magazines articles are read over the airwaves.
10 public and 4 academic libraries purchased adaptive
technology to provide training, programs and services
to people with visual, hearing and learning disabilities.
-
Encouraging
Business Development and Job Training
Many public libraries support Business Centers by
providing reference materials for community businesses
and programs on developing small businesses. They
also support Career Centers and job training programs
that provide the unemployed or those seeking new
career opportunities with: information on careers;
PC based training in searching for jobs and preparing
resumes; programs on job hunting and interviewing;
and training in using business application software.
English as a Second Language training for new immigrants
assists them to succeed in operating small businesses,
which are often part of the redevelopment of downtown
urban cities.
-
Promoting
Reading and Family Literacy
48 public libraries, in partnership with Literacy
Volunteers of America, coordinate literacy programs
providing: one on one tutoring; family literacy
programs that train and assist parents to read to
their children; and ESL training for people for
whom English is not their first language. For many
adults, the programs at the public library provide
the only source of free literacy training in their
community.
How
LSTA Funded Programs Have Benefited New Jerseyans
The
following are just a sample of the success stories
out there about how LSTA funding has allowed New Jersey
libraries to offer programs and services that have
increased the quality of their customer’s lives:
-
A senior gentleman had been out of work for more
than two years. The Career Center program provided
him with instruction in word processing, the Internet
and resume writing. He used these new skills to
search for job opportunities on the Internet and
to e-mail his enhanced resume. He obtained a position
he wanted and told the library staff that he would
never have found or secured this position without
the instruction he received via the library.
-
Families
reported that after attending a family literacy
program their children showed an increase in their
desire to read and to have books read to them. Teachers
noted that the children showed increased attention
span, better listening skills, better comprehension
and asked more questions.
-
Children
who regularly participated in the library’s
Homework in Progress after-school program brought
in report cards with A’s and B’s to
show the HIP coordinators. Several children who
used to hang out on the other side of the library
and make trouble joined the group, brought in their
homework and went to work.
-
A
man with no previous knowledge of the Internet,
after taking the beginning class, was able to use
the Internet to do a family genealogy study. He
found two relatives residing in Florida and they
planned a family reunion.
For
Further Information:
The
LSTA program is administered by the New Jersey State
Library, Library Development Bureau. For further information
contact:
LSTA Program
Coordinator
New Jersey State Library
P.O. Box 520
Trenton, New Jersey 08625
Phone: (609) 292-2992
To
see what LSTA grants
have been awarded in your congressional district
visit the State Library’s web page.
A
detailed description of the New
Jersey’s LSTA program is also available
on the web site.
For
more New Jersey LSTA Success Stories see https://cs.ala.org/lsta/
(please note that the URL is https:).
|
| |
|
| |
Last updated:
April 30, 2004
.
Comments to: Webmaster@njstatelib.org
|
| |
|
Click here for search tips
