Grant Proposal

Needs Assessment

Using the LSCA guidebook, Information is Empowering - Developing Public Library Services for Youth at Risk, we developed a survey instrument for people ages 10-16 which was used in individual and group interviews, and which was also filled out by individuals. The survey was conducted in March and April, 1995.

The young people surveyed represented every school on the Westside, as well as Santa Cruz's Eastside high school. 30% of the respondents did not have library cards, and probably were not regular library users.

From a long list of possibilities, every person identified access to technology as a need. 83% requested access to CD-ROM products, 67% requested access to word processing, and 48% requested access to the internet. Happily, nearly everyone also wanted access to "cool books."

Most (88%) young people said they used the library "to find information to do homework assignments" and "to find books to read for book reports" (76%). When asked to list the subjects they needed information about the most, 56% asked for science/science projects, 43% asked for math, 36% asked for history, and 33% asked for the arts (drawing and writing, particularly).

93% said that the best thing about the library was the helpful staff, and 97% said the best change we could make was more open hours. The students confirmed to us that they like to be with their friends in a congenial setting--to be a part of things.

So it seemed to us that the Garfield Park Branch should be a place for young people to be involved. It should be a place to find information alone, and in a group. It should also be a place to volunteer, to share experiences, and to communicate with peers in person and via the internet.

The Plan for the Two-Year Project

"The Santa Cruz Library System seeks to improve its services to youth by developing a young adult branch library within an existing facility (the Garfield Park Branch) on the Santa Cruz westside." -from A PLACE OF OUR OWN LSCA Proposal, Year One

With the results of the needs assessment in hand and the generous advice of community members in schools and organizations, a plan for A PLACE OF OUR OWN was created.

We were ambitious. With local money we would paint the interior of the building, and rewire it to accommodate late twentieth century requirements. With grant money we would build an electronic homework center, load it with appropriate CD's and software, and hook it up to the internet. We'd encourage our users to design and create an electronic newsletter, and launch it on the library's homepage. We'd add books and other materials in the two most requested subjects from the needs assessment: science/science projects and math. Overseeing it all would be a Teen Advisory Council having regular meetings fueled by pizza.

In Year Two, we would cruise along with all elements in place and everything falling into a routine. We'd add materials in history and the arts, as had been requested in the needs assessment.

That was the plan. And although the timeline did not always work, we actually accomplished all of those things.