GRANTS LET LIBRARIES HELP NEW READERS

Jessica Andersen selects a book a Cape Girardeau public library.

Sally Pierce displayed new study aid books Jackson public library acquired with it's grant money.

Nearly every morsel of information you wanted to know can be found at the library.

Reference books, fiction, biographies, books on tape, videotapes and plenty of other educational aids line the shelves at area libraries. But even with all the readily available resources, there are people in Southeast Missouri who still cannot read.

Combating illiteracy is not just a job for the libraries but a task for the community. Youth Education Literacy Learning, or YELL, is an area campaign designed to promote literacy programs.

Local libraries and schools received thousands of dollars in grants to aid their literacy programs last year.

Public libraries in Cape Girardeau, Jackson and Scott City received $2,500 in grants last year. The grants allow libraries to buy books and materials for their shelves.

"We try to encourage innovation and different ways to address literacy," said Nancy Jernigan, executive director of the Area Wide United Way.

With its $300 YELL grant, Riverside Regional Library in Jackson has created learn-to-count kits for young readers that are so popular "we can't keep them on the shelves," said Paula Gresham-Bequette, assistant director at the library.

Originally, the library wrote its grant for a die-cutting machine hoping to buy dies later. But with the help of Friends of the Library, the Jackson branch was able to purchase the machine and a start-up kit. The learn-to-count kits are so popular that Gresham-Bequette plans to create alphabet kits and other shapes soon.

Sometimes the YELL Foundation cannot award every agency its full grant request. There are always requests for more money than is available, she said.

"We may not do 100 percent of what they ask for, but what we try to do is give everybody a little bit."

The library in the past has bought books with its YELL grant money, which is what the Scott City branch did with its $300 grant.

By combining efforts in some ways, each of the Riverside Regional branches was able to purchase supplies or books that can be checked out on inter-library loans. "Everybody wins," Gresham-Bequette said.

The grants "are pretty simple, not like some grant applications," Jernigan said. In its grant application, each agency must include a program description, a budget, a target population and the number of people the program expects to reach, and any methods for evaluation.

Applications are available now at the Area Wide United Way office, 1858 Broadway, or by calling 334-9634. Grants should be awarded by late September or early in October, Jernigan said.