North Liberty Library has been selected as one of 310 libraries to participate in round two of Libraries Transforming Communities (LTC): Accessible Small and Rural Communities, an American Library Association (ALA) initiative that provides community engagement and accessibility resources to small and rural libraries to help them better serve people with disabilities.

The competitive award comes with a $10,000 grant that will help the library install hearing loops in library meeting rooms.

“We are so appreciative to be awarded for another LTC accessibility grant and to be given this wonderful opportunity to better serve our community,” said Library Director Jennie Garner. “Removing barriers to access is a priority for the North Liberty Library team. This grant will allow our library to provide even more quality program experiences and to ensure people with hearing challenges to feel welcome and comfortable in our space.”

As part of the grant, North Liberty Library staff will take an online course in how to lead conversations, a skill vital to library work today. Staff will then host a conversation with residents about auditory accessibility and use the grant funds to install hearing loops.

Hearing loops deliver intelligible, distortion-free speech and sound in our public meeting rooms where distance, ambient noise and challenging acoustics otherwise make listening and understanding with hearing aids and cochlear implants virtually impossible.

This is the third grant the North Liberty Library has received as part of ALA’s Libraries Transforming Communities initiative, totaling $33,000, since 2021. These grants have allowed the library to host in-depth community conversations as well as fund the installation of automatic restroom door openers to improve the accessibility of the library.

Since 2014, ALA’s Libraries Transforming Communities initiative has re-imagined the role libraries play in supporting communities. Libraries of all types have utilized free dialogue and deliberation training and resources to lead community and campus forums; take part in anti-violence activities; provide a space for residents to come together and discuss challenging topics; and have productive conversations with civic leaders, library trustees and staff.

Libraries Transforming Communities: Accessible Small and Rural Communities is an initiative of the American Library Association (ALA) in collaboration with the Association for Rural and Small Libraries (ARSL).