Greenhouse Fellowship

Greenhouse Fellowship

CONTENTS
Introduction 3

In

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Bringing Opportunities to Our Kids

The B.O.O.K. program is designed to be the bridge for connecting youth, community, and
the library in East Chicago, Indiana. Other libraries with similar demographics have used
innovative practices similar to the BOOK program to increase user-ship within the library.
They have proven it to be true that the more people are in libraries, the more inclined they
will be to pick up a book. When people read inside the library the more they begin to utilize
the services that the library provides and check out books; hence increasing check outs.

The B.O.O.K. program gives children the platform to create their own opportunities through
gaining knowledge and skills in a range of career preparation learning experiences. In
addition to these learning experiences all participants will have access to additional
resources offered through the librarys book collections. The BOOK program will bring in
volunteer facilitators to teach participants practical skills that can be used for a career or as
a source of income. Weve developed three career preparatory programs that will give its
participants exposure to some career options. Cosmetology, graphic design, and music
engineering will be the initial programs.

We hope that, as a result of these programs, East Chicagoans will be equipped with 21st
century practical skills to explore careers and create pathways for post secondary success.
After engaging in an eight month process to understand the needs of the people in East
Chicago, we found that music, graphics, and cosmetology were among the popular interests
of the youth in the community. East Chicago needs these programs to hone in the skills of

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East Chicagos youth and reNine them to prepare them for the work force. This will result in
a more skilled populous for the next generation of East Chicago.

What follows is a comprehensive plan that details: background information on the city of
East Chicago, why the proposal was created, the current state of the library, and a detailed
description for the three programs.

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Background Information
East Chicago is a city founded in... It has a population of roughly 30,000. East Chicago is
known for its deep industrial ties. At one point it was a right of passage to graduate from
high school and go to work in the mill. That was the ideal way to provide for your family
and still live in East Chicago. As steel production began to shift and East Chicago mills
werent hiring as they were in the past there began a decline in employment of East
Chicagoans. As East Chicago prepares to be a prosperous city in the 21st century there is a
need for its citizens to develop skills. Many of the older generation see the lack of skills as a
main issue in East Chicago and Nirmly believe that it is imperative that the youth develop
skills for them selves but ultimately so that the can use them to revive the city.
This proposal was created after an eight month long engagement process to gather the
ideas of library users from East Chicago and surrounding cities. We wanted to Nind out
what East Chicagoans knew about the libraries and how they would change the libraries to
meet their needs as a community and as individuals. We attended Library board meetings,
held a town hall meeting in our ofNice, spoke with staff that are involve with the reading
rooms in the centers, we also spoke to students from East Chicago Central High School, and
we visited YouMedia in the Herald Washington library in Chicago and other libraries. We
conducted numerous hours of research on 21st century modern libraries. We looked at
other modern libraries to see how their programs were structure, how they attracted
young people to the library, and the impact the programs had in the community. We also
conducted countless hours of research comparing the East Chicago library to other
libraries in Lake County. We compared usage data, circulation data, and program
attendance to understand how the East Chicago Library was allocating their resources in
comparison to other Lake County libraries.

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The current state of the East Chicago Public Libraries

The following pages describe the current state of the East Chicago Library through its

services, community engagement, usage, and location in addition to other factors that effect
the library and its users. These programs and data points are a reNlection of how the
library connects with the community and basic statistics depicting how often the average
citizen from East Chicago, Indiana uses the library, how often they utilize its services, how
many books the average patron will check out at a time, even listing the various reading
room locations through out East Chicago,. The East Chicago public libraries offers programs
to engage East Chicago residents, however, as the data shows, the community does not
often take advantage of them.

Provided Programs/Services
Bellow are the services that the East Chicago Library offers now. They all range in age, intended
audience and attendance. Some of the programs and services are fairly new and some of them are
considered library traditions.

Preschool Story Hour: Parents can bring their children ages 3 to 5 enjoy stories, Ninger
paint, music, crafts, and Nilms. The children are also exposed to and learn colors, numbers,
alphabets and other simple concepts. Toddler Time is also apart of Preschool Story Hour
where the same services are offered for children 18 months to 3 years.

Library Cinema: Circulation/Audio staff show a Nilm once a month at both Main and
Pastrick Branches. The Library Cinema program has been taking place for years. Showing
Nilms for adults and family audiences as well. Pop corn is sold to add to the movie theater
ambiance.

Class Visits: Classes can visit the library for Bibliographic instruction, general information,
celebration of holidays and special assignments. There are librarians on staff who are
proNicient with the things that are in the library. They are often seen as point people and can

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International Reading
Day: In the past several
years the EC Public
Libraries have
cooperated with
Northwest Indiana
Literacy Coalition to create Take time out for reading. On this day, many schools and
organizations set aside at least 15 minutes of reading time at 10:00 am and red noses are
distributed to students. The noses represent "Put your nose in the book".

Christmas Around the World: During the Christmas Season trees are decorated and put
on display at the Main Library branch honoring the different ethnic groups that reside in
East Chicago. Over the years, the exhibit included a program with a tree lighting ceremony,
caroling, storytelling and a visit from Santa.

Cultural Programs: African American, Puerto Rican, Mexican and European Heritage
programs, International Day, Cinco de Mayo, Day of the Child/Book, and Christmas Around
the World are programs that focus on the ethnic groups that settled in East Chicago.
Committees consisting of staff and community representatives plan the programs. These
programs are funded through the Foundations of East Chicago.

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Read Across America Day: Dr. Suess' birthday is celebrated with a variety of reading
programs. The books are written especially for children but loved by all ages. They are the
centerpieces for the celebration.

Family Reading Night: This is an opportunity for families to read and enjoy stories and
variety of activities in the evening. These events are usually held during March, April, May,
September, October, November, and December.

Absolutely Incredible Kid's Day: This is a day designated to honor our nation's children.
It's a simple, meaningful way for adults to let children know how much they are
appreciated. In the past, this activity was implemented by Outreach, a mobile library
program working with the schools.

East Chicago Reads: A program where books are distributed to schools in East Chicago to
motivate students to read usually held during National Library Week. Originally developed
by the Executive Team and funded through the Foundations of East Chicago in partnership
with the City of East Chicago and East Chicago Public Schools. Through this program

Poetry Slam: Junior high students write original poetry in April and a slam is planned for
May. A panel of judges selects 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners. Prizes are awarded.

Summer Reading Program: Children of all ages are encouraged to continue reading during
the summer months. Activities are planned and implemented by Youth Services and
Outreach.

Prime Time Family Reading: A six-week program of reading, discussion and storytelling,
which targets at risk families with children ages 6 to 10. The program, designed by LEH
utilizes a discussion leader and storyteller. Grant funded.

Books to Bridge the Region: Region-wide reading event formerly One Book One Region is
now under construction with a projected start date of Sept. 7 or 8.
Reading Room Locations

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Below you will find a list of all of the various reading room locations through out East Chicago. Reading
rooms are all found in side of the citys community centers and are accessible to all residents during hours
of operation. Between the seven reading room locations and the two library branches there is more than
enough room to house the proposed programing.

Bessie Owens Center

4001 Alexander Avenue


Martin Luther King Center
4802 Alexander Avenue
Heritage Hall

4506 Todd Avenue

Marktown Center

3509 Spruce Street

Penn Center
3550 Pennsylvania Ave
Clemente Center
3616 Elm Street
151st Street Center
4925 Gladiola Ave

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Our Vision for the East Chicago Public Libraries

Info found at
Indiana State Library (2014)
Indiana Public Library Statistics (2013)

The state of libraries are changing around the world. They are looking to advance with the world
around them. We believe the library to be a place for 21st century thinking, an ideal place for the
community, a place for resources and unifying the community, and an open space for education and
recreation for people of all ages.

21st Century Library

Public libraries are reNlections of their communities as well as sources of sustenance. What a library
becomes and is capable of, is intricately connected with the people comprising its community: how
people use the library; what they want and need from the library; how they are willing to support
and work with the library; and how the library functions as an information center for the
community.

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An Ideal place for the community including all ages

The concepts of space, community and social capital intertwine with each other to provide a basis
through which the East Chicago Public Library can be examined to determine its place in its
community. Because places are permeated with meanings and memories, they contribute to both
the quality and quantity of social capital available to people, and thus, constitute the foundations
through which communities evolve.

Place for resources
A modern library would be the ideal place for anyone seeking any type of information that would
impact the library users from all ages. Modern day libraries like YOUmedia located inside the
Herald Washington Library in Chicago has increased both the library users and popularity of books
being checked out. Libraries are vastly known for the amounts of information that anyone can have
access to. Moving away from the one concept Nits all would change the engagement level of the
library. A program that works very well in a community in Florida may The community should
decide how the library is operating and the different programs that are running.

A Place to Unify the community
East Chicago has a long history of diversity and territorial beliefs. The separation between
communities goes back deep in history to the birth of this city. In the early stages of East Chicago it
was called "the Twin City" because of the divide. Through these programs the youth of East Chicago
will be better acquainted and begin to be the generations that bring the city together.

Recreation and Education
Many people believe that there are few things within the city for youth to engage in. Often times the
high numbers in crime done by youth are seen as a result to the lack of youth activities. BOOKS
looks to not only bring something fun to the city for the youth to engage in but it will also be an
educating experience. The classes and lessons will teach the students while they are exploring the
fundamentals of careers they take interest in.

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Greenhouse Fellowship spent eight months talking to community members and visiting
other libraries to Nind out how East Chicago can keep up with the changing times. After
drafting our collective vision for the East chicago public libraries in concert with the
community members we developed a series of career preparation programs to help
children explore new careers and develop their interest. Residents expressed interest in
three types of programing; graphic design, cosmetology, and music engineering. Currently
none of these programs are available through the East Chicago libraries. B.O.O.K. hopes to
not only increase library usage but also provide youth with 21st century skills that can lead
to new pathways for post secondary success. It is in our hopes that the library will
purchase literature related to each of these program domains resulting in increased
circulation rates.
Below you will Nind the initial three proposed programs; Tunes for Teaching, will be a
music production course that will teach participants how to professionally record audio,
Creativity in Action will be a course to teach the basics of graphic design, and Chop Shop
will be a course to teach the basics of hair care and create pathways to becoming a
professional hairstylist. These classes are geared toward the youth so that they can be
exposed to early career options. In doing so they may choose to pursue a professional
career if they desire to obtain their ofNicial state license in that Nield. Each course
description includes the age range, class size, duration, and length of sessions, possible
facilitators and needed materials.

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Tunes for Teaching Music

Description

Tunes for Teens will be a music production class that will show students how to record
audio and give it a professional sound. The class will be in a series of smaller classes that
teach principles of music production, engineering, and mixing. A portion of the course will
familiarize students with the equipment and their functions. Another area that the program
will cover is Musical Instrument Digital Interface Technology (MIDI). They will learn how
to use MIDI as a tool. Audio recording will also be a part of the series. Throughout the
sessions students will be given the opportunity to make and record their own music. A list
of books that an assist students in the course will be given to them and excerpts will be
used to help guide the course.
Ages: 14 - 20
Class Size: 10 - 15
Duration: 90 mins
Sessions: Once a week for a period of 6 weeks.
Location: Either Libraries or reading rooms.

Possible Facilitators
DJ Louie V
Row K
Materials
Microphone
Studio Monitor
Audio Interface
MIDI Board
MIDI Interface

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Creativity In Action (CIA) Graphic Design

Description

A class teaching the basics of graphic design on commercial software. The class will be in a
series of smaller classes that teach the elements of design, principles of design, and basics
on how to use Adobe Photoshop. The program will give a brief history of graphic design
and explain its purpose. A large portion of the course will be teaching what things people
look for when it comes to graphic design. The last topic that will be taught is how to use
some of the most commonly-used commercial software. This class will give students a
foundation in graphic design and something to build off of. This class just like all of the
classes, will be taught with a list of books that will help guide students.
Ages: 14 - 20
Class Size: 10 - 15
Duration: 90 mins
Sessions: Once a week for a period of 6 weeks.
Location: Either Libraries or reading rooms.
Facilitators:
Tag Tour Promotions
Steve Segura
Ms. Catataldi
NWI Print shop
Materials
Computers
Software
Pencils

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Chop Shop
Description Cosmetology

The cosmetology program will teach the basic foundation includes haircutting, hairstyling,
hair coloring, texturizing, skin care, makeup, nail care, salon management, and state board
training. This class will not give people the Indiana certiNication that will allow them to be
professional hairstylist.
Ages: 14 - 20
Class Size: 10 - 15
Duration: 90 mins
Sessions: Once a week for a period of 6 weeks.
Location: Either Libraries or reading rooms.
Potential Facilitator
Harbor Barbers
Materials
Mannequins
Combs
Clippers