Eugene Public Library has been chosen to receive an Oregon State “Ready to Read” grant for $20,242 to support enhanced services to the youngest Eugeneans.
The funds will support early literacy services including training workshops for childcare providers and preschool teachers; expert presenters for Terrific Twos Storytime, Sensory Storytime, and Spanish-language “Cuentos y Canciones”; and the purchase of picture books and other materials.
Additionally, the grant will help Eugene Public Library continue its “Books for Babies” outreach to parents of newborns, and the Storytime-To-Go project, which sends trained volunteers to provide storytimes in daycares in low-income neighborhoods.
Eugene Public Library staff and volunteers reach many thousands of young children and their parents each year in collaboration with partners including United Way, Parenting Now!, WIC, Centro Latino Americano, Eugene and Bethel School Districts, Springfield Public Library, Relief Nursery, Head Start, Healthy Start, EC Cares at the University of Oregon, Friends of Eugene Public Library, and Eugene Public Library Foundation.
The annual Ready to Read Grants were established by the Oregon State Legislature in 1993. Administered by the Oregon State Library, the grants assist local libraries in helping to achieve the Oregon Benchmarks for childhood learning and development.