The Moline Public Library received a state grant for the 11th year in a row.
The local library was awarded a $16,000 grant from Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias. The Project Next Generation Grant (PNG) supports interactive learning on STEAM concepts in afterschool programs for grades 5-12.
Young Adult Services Coordinator Jan LaRoche said the library will now hold weekly afterschool STEAM programs every Wednesday at 3:30. She said one of their most popular programs is the PNG Dissection: Sheep Eye and Brain program.
LaRoche said the PNG grant helps bridge the gap between students becoming lifelong learners and library users.
“We’re not only bringing in new students that we haven’t seen before, but they’re also staying,” LaRoche said. “That kind of middle school age is typically where kids stop coming to the library. So being able to offer fun and new things for them, hopefully, also translates into them becoming lifelong library users.”
PNG grants were also awarded to the Rock Island Public Library, Black Hawk College, the Regional Office of Education, Western Illinois University’s Board of Trustees, and Augustana’s Public Radio Information Services, which is included in our station.
LaRoche said some programs require registration. The library’s event calendar lists all PNG programs online.
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