Providence Public Library

LIBRARY SERVICES

TECHNOLOGY & INFORMATION SERVICES: INFORMATION SERVICES LIBRARIANS ORGANIZED AND OFFERED TWENTY-ONE PROGRAMS, COVERING A RANGE OF TOPICS (FROM SMALL BUSINESS/ENTREPRENEURSHIP TO AUTHOR TALKS AND OUR HOW TO TALK ABOUT RACE LEARNING CIRCLE. TO INCREASE PATRONS' ACCESS TO INFORMATION ON HEALTHY LIVING, WE DEVELOPED A WELLNESS SERIES. OVER THE SPRING, THREE WORKSHOPS WERE DEVOTED TO TEACHING PATRONS ABOUT HEALTHY EATING HABITS AND MINDFULNESS. THESE SERIES WERE PAIRED WITH DISPLAYS ON HEALTH AND WELLNESS IN THE LOBBY. PROGRAMS DREW OVER 300 ATTENDEES TO PPL (VIRTUALLY AND IN PERSON). INFORMATION SERVICES ALSO BEGAN PROVIDING REGULAR ONE-ON-ONE TECHNOLOGY ASSISTANCE IN MAY 2022. SINCE THE LAUNCH OF THE SERVICE, WE HAVE HELPED MORE THAN FORTY PATRONS ACCESS LIBRARY RESOURCES, NAVIGATE THEIR ELECTRONIC DEVICES, AND BOOST THEIR CONFIDENCE WITH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY.DURING THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2022, AN ESTIMATED 70,240 PEOPLE VISITED THE LIBRARY, WITH TOTAL USAGE OF RESOURCES AND MATERIALS TOPPING 165,089. PUBLIC ACCESS COMPUTERS WERE USED 13,967 TIMES AND THE NUMBER OF TIMES THE PUBLIC ACCESSED LIBRARY WIFI TOPPED 43,521 SESSIONS. LIBRARY USERS RECEIVED INFORMATION ASSISTANCE FROM LIBRARY STAFF A TOTAL OF 38,320 TIMES. IN FY22, THE LIBRARY PROVIDED A TOTAL OF (PULL THIS NUMBER FROM ANNUAL SURVEY) PROGRAMS FOR CHILDREN AND ADULTS, GENERATING A TOTAL ATTENDANCE OF (PULL THIS NUMBER FROM ANNUAL SURVEY). ADULT EDUCATION: RHODE ISLAND FAMILY LITERACY INITIATIVE (RIFLI)- 533 ADULT LEARNERS ENROLLED IN ESL CLASSES. 42% OF LEARNERS WHO TOOK A POST TEST GAINED AN EDUCATIONAL FUNCTIONING LEVEL. 17 ADULT LEARNERS ENROLLED IN CLASSES STARTED A JOB AND 29 SUCCESSFULLY ATTAINED AN INDUSTRY-RECOGNIZED DIGITAL LITERACY CERTIFICATE. PPL'S ADULT EDUCATION CHROMEBOOK DISTRIBUTION TEAM SUCCESSFULLY DELIVERED OVER 1,000 DEVICES TO ADULTS ENROLLED IN RI ADULT EDUCATION PROGRAMS AND PROVIDED TECH SUPPORT FOR CONFIGURATION AS WELL AS IN-PERSON DIGITAL LITERACY SKILLS TRAINING TO ADULTS USING THE DEVICES WORKSITE CLASSES FOR DIGITAL LITERACY WERE HELD AT TACO COMFORT SOLUTIONS IN CRANSTON AND WOMEN AND INFANTS HOSPITAL IN PROVIDENCE. A FORMER ESL STUDENT EARNED A MASTER'S DEGREE IN SOCIAL WORK FROM RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE.CITIZENSSHIP CLASSES- 106 PERMANENT RESIDENTS ENROLLED IN CITIZENSHIP PREPARATION CLASSES AND 35 PARTICIPANTS PASSED THEIR INTERVIEWS, BECOMING NATURALIZED U.S. CITIZENSTECH PATHWAY- CLASSES INCLUDED THE FOLLOWING DIGITAL LITERACY CLASSES, RHODE CODERS, DATA NAVIGATORS, AND DIGITAL NAVIGATION SERVICES.RI ADULT EDUCATION PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT- IN JANUARY, PPL TOOK OVER THE RIDE RIAE PD GRANT TO CONTINUE OFFERING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR ADULT EDUCATION PRACTITIONERS AROUND THE STATE.YOUTH SERVICES:TEEN SERVICES- 1,826 TEENS VISITED THE TEEN LOFT, STAFF ANSWERED 488 REFERENCE QUESTIONS, LAPTOPS WERE USED 142 TIMES, THERE WERE 41 SCHOOL VISITS WITH 643 IN ATTENDANCE, SUMMER READING: 37 PARTICIPANTS, PASSED OUT 37 ACTIVITY BAGS PROGRAMS- THERE WERE 2 SUMMER PROGRAMS: 1) DATA FOR GOOD SUMMER EMPLOYMENT (VIRTUAL) - 16 TEENS AND TWO TEEN TEACHING ASSISTANTS LEARNED DATA ANALYSIS AND DATA VISUALIZATION SKILLS, WORKED WITH NONPROFIT CLIENTS, AND LEARNED WORK READINESS SKILLS (PARTICIPANTS EARNED $10.50/HR FOR 90 HOURS). 2) YOUNG RESEARCHERS - 10 TEENS AND TWO TEEN TEACHING ASSISTANTS LEARNED RESEARCH AND PRESENTATION SKILLS DURING A WEEK-LONG PROGRAM (IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS) (STUDENTS EARNED $100 STIPENDS).4 SEMESTER LONG PROGRAMS (2 - SEPT - DEC, 2 - JAN - MAY)- RHODE CODERS 2.0: HTML/CSS, RHODE CODERS 2.0: JAVASCRIPT, RHODE CODERS 2.0 PYTHON, AND INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER HARDWARE (ICH) - 45 STUDENTS, AND 4 TEEN TEACHING ASSISTANTS. RC STUDENTS LEARNED THE BASICS OF WEB DEVELOPMENT AND THE CODING LANGUAGES OF HTML/CSS, JAVASCRIPT, AND PYTHON. ICH STUDENTS LEARNED THE FUNDAMENTALS OF IT/TECH SUPPORT. ADDITIONALLY ALL COHORTS LEARNED WORK READINESS SKILLS INCLUDING CAREER EXPLORATION, RESUME WRITING, INTERVIEW SKILLS, AND FINANCIAL LITERACY (STUDENTS EARNED $350 STIPENDS AND HIGH SCHOOL CREDIT).1 WEEK LONG PROGRAM (SPRING BREAK)- TEEN CUISINE: WEEK-LONG PROGRAM WHERE STUDENTS LEARNED CULINARY SKILLS AND CAREERS WITHIN THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY (STUDENTS EARNED SERVSAFE CERTIFICATION)THERE WERE 9 "ONE OFF PROGRAMS" THAT WERE ATTENDED BY 52 PARTICIPANTS.CHILDRENS SERVICES: 2,999 CHILDREN AND PARENTS VISITED THE CHILDREN'S ROOM, STAFF ANSWERED 466 REFERENCE QUESTIONS, THERE WERE 34 STORYTIMES, WITH 553 IN ATTENDANCE, THERE WERE 58 SCHOOL VISITS WITH 861 IN ATTENDANCE, SUMMER READING - 83 PARTICIPANTS, PASSED OUT 800 ACTIVITY KIT BAGS.PROGRAMS: 1)STEM ADVANTAGE (VIRTUAL AND IN PERSON) - DURING 4 COHORTS THROUGHOUT THE SCHOOL YEAR AND SUMMER, PARTICIPANTS LEARNED ABOUT A RANGE OF STEM TOPICS, WITH A PARTICULAR FOCUS ON WATER CONSERVATION, ENGINEERING, AND ENDANGERED ANIMALS. PARTICIPANTS ARE PAIRED WITH TEEN MENTORS AND LEARN ABOUT DIFFERENT CAREERS WITHIN STEM. 52 YOUTH PARTICIPATED, WITH 4 - 5 TEEN MENTORS PER COHORT. 2)YOUNG CREATORS - THERE WERE 5 YOUNG CREATOR PROGRAM SERIES THROUGHOUT THE YEAR (ART, MUSIC, CODING, GARDENING, AND SEWING) WITH 32 PARTICIPANTS . 3) THERE WERE 4 ONE OFF FAMILY EVENTS WITH A TOTAL OF 55 PARTICIPANTS (IN PARTNERSHIP WITH PROVIDENCE PROMISE.WORKSHOP- OPEN STUDIO - 1023 VISITS BROKEN DOWN AS FOLLOWS: YOUTH 291, TEENS 326, ADULTS 406 AND PVDYM WEEKLY MEETINGS - 950 VISITS.PROGRAMS AND EXHIBITIONS:-PRESENTED 64 EVENTS (IN-PERSON, VIRTUAL, AND HYBRID), INCLUDING WORKSHOPS, PERFORMANCES, READINGS, CONVERSATIONS, BOOK LAUNCHES, SCREENINGS, AND TOURS TO 3,087 ATTENDEES. PRESENTED 7 EXHIBITIONS, 2 IN OUR DEDICATED GALLERY AND 5 THROUGHOUT SHARED LIBRARY SPACES, FEATURING STAFF AS WELL AS COMMUNITY CURATORS, AND FEATURING WORK BY 42 LOCAL ARTISTS AND 6 INDEPENDENT SCHOLARS; THE 2 GALLERY EXHIBITIONS RECEIVED A TOTAL OF 4100 VISITORS. COLLABORATED WITH 26 ARTS AND HUMANITIES ORGANIZATIONS TO CREATE AND PRESENT WORK.COLLECTIONS/SPECIAL COLLECTIONS: 1,213 CLASS STUDENTS, EVENT ATTENDEES, AND TOUR VISITORS. 246 RESEARCH VISITS (530 RESEARCHER HOURS). 1,302 SPECIAL COLLECTIONS TITLES CATALOGED. 6-10,000 GENERAL COLLECTION TITLES CATALOGED. OVER 25,000 PAGES OF RI NEWSPAPERS ADDED TO CHRONICLING AMERICA THROUGH THE NATIONAL DIGITAL NEWSPAPER PROGRAM. HOSTED CREATIVE FELLOW CARMEN RIBAUDO. AWARDED TWO PRIZES IN THE SIXTH UPDIKE PRIZE FOR STUDENT TYPE DESIGN.

SALES LEASEBACKON MARCH 30, 2012, THE LIBRARY ENTERED INTO A LEASE AGREEMENT AND OPTION TO SELL THE LIBRARY'S SEVEN BRANCH BUILDINGS TO THE CITY OF PROVIDENCE (THE CITY). THE LIBRARY HAD SHORT-TERM LEASES WITH THE CITY FOR $1 ANNUALLY SINCE JULY 1, 2009. THE NEW LEASE IS A LONG-TERM, ABSOLUTE NET LEASE FOR THE LEASED PREMISES, AT THE END OF WHICH THE CITY WILL HAVE THE OPTION TO PURCHASE THE LEASED PREMISES.UPON EXECUTION OF THE LEASE, THE CITY WAS OBLIGATED TO PAY $250,000 AND, COMMENCING ON MARCH 30, 2014 AND ON EACH MARCH 30 THEREAFTER THROUGH AND INCLUDING MARCH 30, 2030, THE CITY WILL PAY APPROXIMATELY $279,400, SO THAT THE TOTAL OF ALL RENT PAYMENTS MADE BY THE CITY TO THE LIBRARY DURING THE TERM WILL BE $5,000,000.UNDER THE LEASE, THE LIBRARY WILL BEAR NO EXPENSE WHATSOEVER WITH RESPECT TO THE OPERATION OR MAINTENANCE OF THE LEASED PREMISES DURING THE TERM. THE CITY WILL BE PERMITTED TO SUBLEASE THE LEASED PREMISES TO THE PROVIDENCE COMMUNITY LIBRARY (PCL) TO OPERATE THE BRANCHES AS LIBRARIES SO LONG AS THE SUBLEASE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY AND PCL REQUIRES PCL TO COMPLY WITH THE TERMS OF THE LEASE. GIVEN THAT THE CITY REMAINS IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE TERMS OF THE LEASE AND HAS PAID THE LIBRARY ALL OF THE RENT, WHICH SHALL NOT BE LESS THAN $5,000,000 IN AGGREGATE, THE CITY WILL HAVE THE OPTION TO PURCHASE THE LEASED PREMISES OR ANY ONE OR MORE OF THE INDIVIDUAL BRANCHES, FOR A PURCHASE PRICE OF $1 FOR EACH BRANCH PURCHASED.