Albany Public Library: To provide library services to the residents of a homeless shelter.

Berne Public Library: To improve the overall literacy of the youth, elderly and homebound of the Hilltown area.

Bethlehem Public Library: To facilitate access for seniors to books on CD.

Brunswick Community Library: To provide library programming and discussion groups for older adults.

Cheney Library: To bring about cultural understanding between the Mexican and American communities of Hoosick Falls through the creation of a quilt and the purchase of Mexican Folktale kits.

Guilderland Public Library: To provide English as a Second Language materials for speakers of Chinese, Korean, and Japanese.

Petersburgh Public Library: To provide a summer drama workshop for youth at risk.

Poestenkill Library: To purchase special needs materials to update the existing collection.

Sand Lake Town Library: To purchase and update materials in the Parenting Center.

Stephentown Memorial Library: To reach out to Stephentown youth in grades 6-8 to increase their use of library resources.

2002 Outreach Mini-Grant Awards

Albany Public Library: To establish a CD collection of children’s music from many cultures to enrich early literacy experiences of children whose parent’s language is other than English.

Cheney Library: To develop a book and matching unabridged tape collection to be used by the hearing impaired, learning disabled, and people learning to read English.

Guilderland Public Library: To provide American Sign Language classes for the staff and public to assist the hearing impaired.

Nassau Free Library: To provide continuing education services and GED assistance at the library for educationally disadvantaged adults.

Petersburgh Public Library: To offer sign language classes, purchase materials on sign language, and offer signed storytimes.

Poestenkill Library: To purchase a collection of books on audiotape and CD to be used by senior citizens with failing eyesight and learning disabled children.

Sand Lake Town Library: To develop and establish a core collection of adult literacy materials.

Stephentown Memorial Library: To encourage literacy by connecting children in grades K-2 who have been identified as deficient in reading skills with senior citizens who will read aloud to them.

Valley Falls Free Library: To purchase a computer and provide regular training sessions for older adults.

William K. Sanford Town Library: To improve the ESL collection currently available at the library.

2001 Outreach Mini-Grant Awards

Albany Public Library: Project Read/Leer met the needs of Spanish-speaking people by purchasing 125 Spanish language books, establishing relationships with Latino community organizations, holding a program on Latin American literature and a Spanish-language storytime, sand generating new library patrons whose primary language is Spanish.

Bethlehem Public Library: Developed theme-based storytelling kits to be used by early childhood educators to enhance pre-literacy skills.

Brunswick Community Library: Purchased books on tape, videos, new books, and magazines for the bookmobile, and provided monthly bookmobile service to the senior center.

Cheney Library: Enhanced library service to older adults with failing eyesight by providing home bound library services and by creating rotating collections for three senior citizen housing units.

East Greenbush Community Library: Improved services to teens with learning disabilities by creating a Reading List section of the library, purchasing paperbacks and audio books of school reading list titles, and promoting the service to area schools.

Guilderland Public Library: Increased the foreign language collection to supplement the reading needs of the community, and promoted these materials to several area adult education programs.

Petersburgh Public Library: Provided library services to educationally disadvantaged and underserved pre-teens and teens by holding a series of babysitting skills workshops and creating a babysitter’s kit.

Poestenkill Library: Developed a collection of books, audios and videos to assist parents and children in understanding and living with special needs.

RCS Community Library: Provided family literacy outreach to educationally disadvantaged young children, their families, and caregivers, with biweekly storytimes.

Troy Public Library: Increased library services to educationally disadvantaged adults with additional support of GED subject areas, purchasing a site license to Learnatest, training staff on its use, adding books and videotapes to the collection, establishing relationships with community agencies, and holding orientation sessions for adult new users.

William K. Sanford Town Library: Purchased a Clearview 317 reader/enlarger to be used by people with limited vision.

2000 Outreach Mini-Grant Awards

Albany Public Library: Project Born to Read purchased children’s books for the patients of Whitney Young Health Center and their parents to read while in the waiting room, identified local human service providers, and generated new library patrons.

Bethlehem Public Library: Provided library services to the unemployed and those in need of job search and career discovery assistance. Created and printed a biannual career newsletter, purchased career interest inventory tests, and conducted programs

Brunswick Community Library: Provided monthly bookmobile services to three senior groups and purchased large print books.

Cheney Library: Developed the All About Me storytime for children and their caregivers; purchased board books, puzzles, puppets, manipulatives, and discovery books.

Guilderland Public Library: Purchased tape players with clearly marked function keys, for use by residents with low vision, particularly the elderly.

Petersburgh Public Library: Provided afterschool watercolor workshops for latchkey children, with an exhibit of their work at the conclusion of the program.

Poestenkill Library: Purchased cassette players for use by patrons who have difficulty reading print materials.

Rensselaerville Library: Through the Snuggles and Stories Cuddletime at the Library project, provided programs for parent/baby participant teams teaching the importance of reading and awareness of library resources available to parents and children.

Sand Lake Town Library: As part of the Books on Wheels project, purchased canvas tote bags, developed a brochure, and provided services to homebound adults.

Stephentown Memorial Library: Increased accessibility to information services for the aged and persons of low vision by providing a computer workstation with Zoomtext.

Troy Public Library: Improved services to educationally disadvantaged adults through the purchase of high interested, controlled reading level materials, and by working with local GED, ESL and ABE programs.

Valley Falls Library: Increased attendance and utilization of the library to underserved people, especially seniors and children, through programs geared toward each population segment.

Voorheesville Public Library: Worked on the development of an online catalog Instruction video.

William K. Sanford Town Library: Increased staff awareness of the needs of deaf people by hiring a sign language teacher to teach sign language to the staff.

1999 Outreach Mini-Grant Awards

Albany Public Library: Promoted library resources to enhance job skills and successful job searching to the residents of Albany’s South End.

Cheney Free Public Library: Worked with LVA-Eastern Rensselaer County to provide tutoring and space for the educationally disadvantaged.

Cohoes Public Library: Purchased books and held programs for the Family Reading Circle to promote family literacy.

Garfield Library of Brunswick: Improved access to the online catalog and Internet for people with low vision and provide training for library staff and the public.

Nassau Free Library: Made an OPAC and Internet workstation accessible to people with low vision and provided training for staff and the public to use the new software.

Petersburgh Public Library: Upgraded services to the educationally disadvantaged and under-served pre-teen and teenagers by providing them with an experience in planning, shooting and editing a documentary video.

Rensselaerville Library: Provided readers advisory workshops for Camp Cass staff, and developed approved reading lists and bookmarks of recommended books for Camp Cass residents.

Stephentown Memorial Library: Developed programs to encourage educationally disadvantaged children (ages 2-4) and their parents to visit the library.

Troy Public Library: Improved library services to adults with developmental disabilities by purchasing materials, holding “book group” meetings, and working with ARC of Rensselaer County.

Valley Falls Free Library: Purchased a computer and held classes to provide increased library services to adults underserved by the library.

William K Sanford Town Library: Provided improved services to people with hearing disabilities by training staff members from all areas of the library to learn sign language for basic communication.