Washington’s City Council, during its June 13 meeting, accepted a $4,566 EZ Edge Technology grant for Brown Library.

The grant, from the State Library of North Carolina, will be used by the city-operated Brown Library to acquire equipment to help its patrons several ways. Funding for the grant is authorized under the federal Library Services and Technology Act. The State Library of North Carolina awards LSTA grant to eligible libraries in North Carolina. The city is not required to provide a grant match. The grant was awarded May 25.

Under the grant terms, Brown Library may buy computer hardware such as monitors and laptops, software, servers or routers, printers, computer furniture and presentation and multimedia equipment.

“We’re going to be purchasing three laptops, one iPad and a projector,” said Kim Davenport, Brown Library’s library-services coordinator. “The purposes of the items will be to provide additional equipment for patron usage, particularly for people who are doing on-line education, for jobs and for creating resumes, that sort of thing. Hopefully, we’ll be able also do some adult-education classes with those pieces of equipment.”
Under the Edge initiative, libraries will evaluate and improve their public technology for their communities by providing a snapshot of a specific library’s current public technology services along with steps leading to improvements and better service to the community it serves.

The Beaufort-Hyde-Martin Regional Library, which has its headquarters in Washington, received a $34,540 grant to develop a five-year strategic program and service plan with the assistance of a consultant. The planning process will include two phases: an assessment of community needs and strategic planning phase.

The State Library of North Carolina’s LSTA plan for 2013-2017 contains four goals. Each of the goals listed below is related to one or more of the eight LSTA purposes, is based on identified need and strives toward excellence and equity in North Carolina’s libraries.

• Partnerships and collaboration — North Carolina libraries will partner with each other, with businesses, and with other organizations to extend their reach and enhance their capacity.

• Continuing education — North Carolina library staff will have the necessary planning and learning opportunities that enable them to provide exceptional library programs, services, and resources.

•  Literacy and lifelong learning — North Carolina libraries will equip users for success in life, school, and work through library programs and services that support literacy and lifelong learning.

•  Access, digitization and preservation — North Carolina libraries will expand access to information resources by strengthening, sharing, digitizing and preserving our valuable and unique collections.