Who Are the Winners?

Fairview Heights Public Library

Fairview Heights Public Library receives full funding ($200) for their Community Partnership Initiative, a targeted outreach effort to strengthen collaborations between the library and nearby businesses and organizations. Unlike many other towns, Fairview Heights lacks the traditional "Main Street" district populated with beloved local businesses; instead, this library must forge partnerships with a mix of small businesses and larger corporate organizations with nearby stores. This presents a challenge in creating a partner outreach program that suits both an international coffee shop chain and a little local shoe store. 

The IHLS Marketing Microgrant funds will allow them to acquire branded gift bags to give to 30 businesses and organizations during their Community Partnership Initiative Tour. On this tour, they will engage with the community through face-to-face visits and an online survey to gather data for a database to improve their outreach and partnerships over the year. These efforts will allow Fairview Heights Public Library to develop stronger individualized relationships with each unique potential partner.

Mississippi Valley Library District–Fairmont City Library Center

We are also pleased to provide partial funding ($400) to the Mississippi Valley Library District – Fairmont City Library Center for their Ready-To-Go Kit for staff to use at outreach events targeting a primary hard-to-reach audience. Spanish is the primary or only language at home for over half of Fairmont City's roughly 2,200 residents. While the library has created a number of bilingual promotional materials, they find that their Hispanic community is best reached via word of mouth. In response, the Fairmont City Library Center has made a targeted effort to strengthen their presence at local community events like back-to-school events, health fairs, and the village's Christmas tree lighting ceremony. 

Fairmont City Library Center's microgrant-funded Ready-To-Go Kit will help library staff set up an appealing and useful booth to better reach their target audience. The kit will include engaging items like a Plinko-style prize drop board, valuable demonstration pieces like a Wifi hotspot and a tablet for demonstrating digital resources & on-site library card registration, and essential brand-visibility items like a branded tablecloth. This kit is carefully designed to attract, inform, and "sell" residents on the Fairmont City Library Center and its services, forging vital connections with the whole community.