Collection Equity Award - Kenai Community Library

Approximately 78% of the health-related titles the library currently owns are more than 5 years old. This includes adult, young adult, and juvenile titles. While we recently weeded these sections, we still have much work to do to provide our patrons access to recent and reliable information and to replenish what we removed.If we are awarded this grant, we will purchase titles in various formats (e.g., print, audio, and DVDs) for all age groups. We believe that now more than ever libraries must promote the principles of inclusion, diversity, equity, and access. If we are awarded this grant, we will focus our efforts on including quality, own-voices titles that support the health information needs of the Kenai Peninsula’s underrepresented or marginalized groups, based on the most recent available census data and informal community conversations. This also includes reaching out to local organizations and community partners, such as the Kenaitze Indian Tribe, to spread awareness of the resources we offer. We plan to coincide this work with health reference training for staff and at least one health literacy program for patrons.