Recent $25K Grant to New Orleans Public Library for Educating the Youth
The New Orleans Public Library has announced that the organization received a $25,000 grant from the Andrew Carnegie Foundation.
The grant has allowed them to be selected as one of the 10 libraries in the country to participate in the Urban Libraries Council's Civic Makers Lab for Youth project.
Andrew Carnegie Foundation
Andrew Carnegie founded the Andrew Carnegie Foundation in 1911 originally as the Carnegie Corporation of New York. Today, their funding supports education, democracy, and peace, which were Carnegie's top concerns. The foundation has also funded the building of both the Cita Dennis Hubbell Library in Algiers Point, which opened in December 1907, and the Children's Resource Center Library, which opened in January 1908. Carnegie's donations towards the various free public libraries came from his belief that knowledge should be free for all.
This grant to the New Orleans Public Library, an organization which has focused its work on individualism and activism, will help the library work toward that goal.
Civic Makers Lab
The Urban Libraries Council's Civic Makers Lab for Youth Project is a recently founded concept that aims to empower youth and young adults to get involved and actively contribute to their community. The Makers Lab is coordinated with the 10 selected Carnegie libraries to teach the country's youth how to practice democracy and lead community change. This civic learning experience welcomes anyone aged 15 to 18 to events at the Public Library and the city's two Carnegie libraries, with hands-on learning to complement school education, in partnership with community organizations and families to deepen civic impact.
In addition to events hosted by the Makers Lab, the Urban Libraries Council (ULC) will have library staff participate in monthly virtual lessons and two in-person conventions to further educate staff on civic education and media literacy. The bipartisan program will focus on civic skills such as dialogue, problem-solving, and collaboration.
Urban Libraries Council
The ULC connects public library leaders and drives transformative change to enrich the lives of individuals and the next generation. The organization believes that free public libraries are the first step to an educated and innovative community. The ULC dedicates itself to spreading the message that public libraries are essential institutions that transform people and societies. With a focus on researching and creating data models on urban library innovation, the ULC prioritizes data-driven solutions and original research products.
To learn more about the ULC and the Civic Makers Lab, check out the ULC's website.
