NNLM AoU Community Award: Health Literacy Outreach through Family Programming and Creative Engagement Kits

Health Literacy Outreach through Antelope Lending Library (ALL) would aim to reach underserved and underrepresented populations to provide health
literacy learning through 12 weekly programs at Open Heartland, distribution of 450 activity kits over 3 months, collection development of health literacy
books, and distribution of All of Us materials with all programs, kits, and books provided through this grant. Our goals are to (1) grow our children’s,
young adult, and adult nonfiction collections by adding accurate, current, unbiased health literacy books, (2) provide hands-on, activity-based kits that
would teach families about COVID-19, dental health, and neurodiversity, and (3) provide engaging health literacy programming to children and families
with whom we have existing community relationships. We want to reach individuals and families in the communities we currently serve in partnership
with Open Heartland, Home Ties Child Care Center, and Iowa City’s South District Neighborhood Association. We want to assist in reaching these
communities because we know the need and we have the current rapport with these neighborhoods as a trusted resource. Our continued partnership
with the South District includes ALL’s assistance in stewardship of local Little Free Libraries, reaching community members in their own neighborhoods.
Antelope ROAMS (Requested Open Access Material Service) provides fees-free, no-contact home book delivery, including delivering to local childcare
facilities like Home Ties. These connections provide us pathways to spread reliable, accurate, unbiased information to traditionally underreached
communities through individual, trusted, personal interactions with patrons.