An outdoor space with sensory gardens, StoryWalks and other trails, outdoor musical instruments and a teen center are among the new projects that eight rural libraries in southeast Michigan will be able to do thanks to $500,000 in grant funds in a new program from a Detroit-based foundation.
The new Southeast Michigan Rural Library Grant Program will provide the eight libraries in the region funding for projects to help them innovate as hubs for their communities. The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation awarded the grants and plans to give another $1 million in funding to projects at rural libraries in the region over the next two-and-a-half years.
“In many rural communities, libraries have built upon their role as hubs for learning, growing into trusted and dynamic spaces where residents can connect with resources, ideas, and one another,” Maura Dewan, foundation vice president of programs and corporate affairs, said in a release. “We arevery proud to support library-led projects that reflect the aspirations and opportunities of the local communities and people they know best.”
The grants will be administered through The Library Network in Novi, in partnership with the Suburban Library Cooperative and the Woodlands Library Cooperative.
Sixty library buildings across seven counties in southeast Michigan are eligible as rural counties for the program, according to the release. Any library facility located in a city, town or village with a population base of 25,000 or less, regardless of the library’s total population served, and libraries being 5 miles from an urbanized area with a larger population and city infrastructure are eligible for the program, according to The Library Network’s website.
Libraries are more than places to borrow books, it says, providing larger spaces where people can gather, learn and connect, have digital connectivity and other resources.
DJ Bond, communications and member engagement manager at The Library Network, said there were 11 applications in the first round for the grants, which closed May 8. The three applicants not selected can reapply, he said, adding more details to their applications.
Bond said the grants could cover part or all of a particular project, adding: “We know how much of a difference this can make in some of these communities.”
New teen center to fill gap
The Fowlerville District Library is getting $151,000 to transform an undeveloped 1,024-square-foot storage area into a dedicated teen center. Money will support renovation and furnishing costs, including construction, flooring, lighting, electrical work, technology, a kitchenette, tables, seating, shelving, computers and 3D printer, according to the release.
Library Director Isabella Rowan said the grant is helping the teen center come to fruition much faster than otherwise would have been possible and will pay for the entire project. The bid process is to start in November, she said, with completion in November 2027.
“This grant award is hugely important because it will help the library address a need that is particularly significant and usually lacking in rural communities: the need for a dedicated, safe, supervised space where teens can gather, build relationships, explore technology and career pathways, get homework help, build job readiness skills, and more,” she said in an email.
“The need for a designated teen center at the library emerged as a clear priority during the library’s recent strategic planning process. Surveys and focus group discussions involving teens, educators, and parents consistently identified the need for a designated teen space. Local teens expressed a strong desire for a place where they can gather after school, collaborate with peers, and simply feel a sense of belonging.”
She said Fowlerville has a senior center and a training center for adult students with special needs, but no dedicated teen center to serve young people. The library’s new teen center will fill that gap. Without the funding, she said, a teen center may have come, but not as quickly.
Here are the other libraries that also received grants:
The foundation also is providing $1.5 million over the same three-year period to rural libraries in western New York, for a total $3 million investment between Michigan and New York. Wilson, who died in 2014, was the founder and longtime owner of the Buffalo Bills NFL football team, and he lived in metro Detroit.
In western New York, 24 rural libraries in nine counties will receive grant funding, ranging from about $1,800 to $80,000, according to a separate release earlier this month.
The next round of funding in southeast Michigan will be made available in September, and interested libraries should go to www.tln.org/wilson for the latest information, according to Deb Mikula, The Library Network consultant.
Contact Christina Hall: chall@freepress.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @challreporter.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Rural library projects a go with new Ralph C. Wilson Foundation grants
Reporting by Christina Hall, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Christina Hall, Detroit Free Press | USA TODAY Network
