FUNDING INNOVATION AT ALBANY PUBLIC LIBRARY
Your gift to the APL Foundation Annual Appeal is distributed directly to library staff through our Internal Grant Program. The Albany Public Library presents over 10,000 programs each year for all ages and interests. About two dozen of these programs were funded this year by the Annual Appeal Internal Grant Program, which gives APL staff a chance to present programs out of reach to their department’s budget.
At its heart, the Internal Grant Program aims to test and develop pilot programs which may become regular library programs, for example:
- Coffee & A Movie and DIY Day Spa at Washington Ave
- Coffee & A Movie offers a place for the Library’s new social worker to meet and build relationships with patrons that may be experiencing difficulties.
- DIY Day Spa was a fun and relaxing day for teens to talk about stress and to learn about health and wellness with local mentors and with the Library’s new social worker.
- Ceramics Class with Sarah Haze at Arbor Hill
- Ceramics class with Sarah Haze was a weekly family arts class for adults and children. This pilot program was followed by other arts programs at Arbor Hill with Sarah and other artists.
- Teen Chef and Together Time at Delaware Avenue.
- Teen Chef is a cooking club for tweens, which is now a regular monthly program thanks to Foundation support.
- Together Time is a family early literacy activity for babies, toddlers, preschoolers and their caregivers, led by educators from the Capital District Child Care Council. Together Time is now a regular monthly program, thanks to Foundation support.
- CMOST Travelling Museum at Bach : The Children’s Museum of Science and Technology in Troy presented a 3 week program of science & cultural programs, to gauge interest in science programs at the Bach branch.
- Citizen Journalism at North Albany: Journalists from WCAA-LP (107.3 FM) and WOOC-LP (105.3 FM) taught patrons how to record news events, live music, and dialogue and commentary all using your phone, and to edit stories which could be used on local community radio.
- Djembe Drum and Dance Workshop at Howe: Jordan Taylor Hill’s African drumming classes at APL have been tremendously popular. Thanks to APL Foundation support, Jordan could spend time to develop the course and integrate a dance element.
Other funded programs have also tied into and amplified wider library initiatives:
- Sewing 101 at Delaware Ave
- Adult crafting classes are hugely popular at Delaware Ave and many other UHLS Libraries. The Delaware Ave “It’s Sew Easy” program used sewing machines from the Howe Branch and Bethlehem. The Foundation purchased 5 sewing machines for Delaware Ave’s Sewing 101 class, and those machines can be used for other programs.
- One-on-One Resume Help & Career Coaching at Pine Hills
- Career coach Marsha Lazarus provided one-on-one resume building assistance for 25 APL Patrons.
- Vision Board Workshop at Washington Ave
- Tatiana Gjergyi of Noteworthy Resources repeated her very popular Vision Board workshop for 25 patrons.
At its heart, the Internal Grant Program aims to test and develop pilot programs which may become regular library programs, like YouthFX@APL.
