Future Ready with the Library

Future Ready with the Library: Connecting with Communities for College and Career Readiness Services

Future Ready with the Library: Connecting with Communities for College and Career Readiness Services

Through funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and in partnership with the Association for Rural and Small Libraries (ARSL), YALSA is implementing an innovative project that will build the capacity of small, rural and tribal libraries to provide college and career readiness (CCR) services for and with middle schoolers. YALSA and ARSL will work with library staff to build needed skills while also developing, testing and refining turn-key resources, which other libraries can adapt for their own use. The project is aimed at school, public, and college library staff in libraries with a service population of 15,000 or fewer, as well as libraries that are 25 miles or more from an urbanized area.

Future Ready with the Library Goals

  • Library staff at rural, small, and tribal libraries will learn effective methods for planning and implementing , with a local partner, CCR initiatives for and with middle schoolers and their families
  • Middle schoolers and their families in rural, small, and tribal communities will gain valuable future ready information that will better prepare them for starting a career and/or focusing on academics related to a career after high school
  • Middle schoolers in rural, small, and tribal libraries will engage in valuable career exploration and workforce preparation experiences
  • Library staff in small, rural, and tribal libraries around the U.S. will develop a set of model programs and tools that can be used by a wide range of communities and libraries

Cohort 4 participants announced:

  • Caum, Nicholas. Library Lane District Library; Creswell, OR
  • Cole, Jenny. Burlington Public Library; Burlington, WA
  • Cutright, Judith. Clay County Public Library ; Celina, TN
  • Davis, Abby. Laurel Public Library; Laurel, DE
  • Herstine, Lynne. Sandy Valley Branch Library; Magnolia, OH
  • Hilton, Kelli. Stanberry R-II Library Media Center; Stanberry, MO
  • Hopkins, Mega. Sullivan County Public Library; Blountville, TN
  • Jenkins, Austin. Oglethorpe County Library; Lexington, GA
  • Juhlin, Lori. Hawarden Public Library; Hawarden, IA
  • Madsen, Nick. Community Library Network Hayden; Hayden, ID
  • Martinez, Zulema. Dalles Wasco County Library; The Dalles, OR
  • Miller, Raven. Union County Library System; Union, SC
  • Raszi, Michelle Hanna. Mt Everett Regional School ; Sheffield, MA
  • Reisig, Kelly. Sidney-Richard County Library; Sidney, MT
  • Thompson, Pam. Calispel Valley Library; Cusick, OR
  • Vogt, Leslie. Josiah Carpenter Library; Pittsfield, NH
  • Walsh, Morgan. Island Free Library; Block Island, RI

View a map displaying where members of each of the four cohorts in this project are from.

You can read about the work library staff are doing in this area on the YALSAblog.

Resources

As a part of the project, cohort members develop resources and locate materials for use in Future Ready with the Library activities. A list of resources used by cohort members is available and being updated on a regular basis. (Check back for new entries as well as a new list of materials developed by cohort members.