Kirwin City Library

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KIRWIN CITY LIBRARY RECEIVES NATIONAL GRANT FOR SMALL AND RURAL LIBRARIES
$20,000 Grant Will Help the Residents of Kirwin with Disabilities to access the library via a new ADA-compliant ramp and automatic door

Kirwin — Kirwin City Library has been selected as one of 300 libraries to participate in round three of Libraries Transforming Communities: Accessible Small and Rural Communities, an American Library Association (ALA) initiative that provides community engagement and accessibility resources to small and rural libraries to help them better serve people with disabilities.

The competitive award comes with a $20,000 grant that will help the library with expenses related to the construction of a new ADA-compliant ramp and installation of an automatic door.

As part of the grant, Kirwin City Library staff and Board of Trustees will take online courses in how to lead conversations, a skill vital to library work today. Staff will then host a conversation with residents about library accessibility and use the grant funds to improve access to the existing library building.

The project to install a ramp and automatic door is Phase I of a 3-phase project for the library to improve accessibility. This project directly addresses the shortcomings of the current non-compliant ramp and manual doors by engaging professional engineering services to design and implement ADA-compliant solutions. With library usage increasing by over 220% since 2019, driven largely by expanded adult and children’s programming, the inadequacies of the existing facilities have become increasingly apparent. Upgrading the entryway is not only a response to immediate accessibility needs but also a proactive step toward creating a more functional and inclusive space for the community.

Phase II of the project involves remodeling existing restrooms to create one ADA-compliant restroom, and Phase III of the project will focus on elevator access to the second story of the building, which houses a historic library, Kirwin Historic Room, and the Children’s library.

If you are interested in getting involved or taking part in the conversation, please contact Melissa Johnson at library@ruraltel.net, or visit https://cityofkirwin.net/library for more information.

Since 2014, ALA’s Libraries Transforming Communities initiative has re-imagined the role libraries play in supporting communities. Libraries of all types have utilized free dialogue and deliberation training and resources to lead community and campus forums; take part in anti-violence activities; provide a space for residents to come together and discuss challenging topics; and have productive conversations with civic leaders, library trustees and staff.

“Libraries Transforming Communities: Accessible Small and Rural Communities is an initiative of the American Library Association (ALA) in collaboration with the Association for Rural and Small Libraries (ARSL).”