Barton Public Library has received a grant from the American Library Association (ALA), which will help plan and implement coding activities during Computer Science Education Week and more.
The grant, which is $500 in micro funding, was awarded to 250 schools and public libraries around the country Thursday from Libraries Ready to Code, through an initiative of the ALA, sponsored by Google.
A news release stated that the grant will help supply the materials needed to host Barton Public Library’s first Hour of Code program and will help bridge the gap between computer science in elementary schools and college courses.
“ALA is pleased to provide micro funding to Barton Public Library and other Ready to Code libraries,” said ALA President Loida Garcia-Febo in the release. “We hope this micro funding will not only generate enthusiasm for CS Ed Week, but spark year-round programming to develop critical thinking and digital skills youth can draw on over a lifetime.”
The annual Hour of Code event takes place worldwide during Computer Science Education (CS Ed) Week, which is Dec. 3-9. Barton Public Library announced they would be participating in the Hour of Code for the first year earlier this month.
“Libraries are the cornerstone of our communities,” said Google program manager Nicky Rigg. “We are proud to include Barton Public Library in our CS Ed Week activities this year. We hope these libraries will join the growing number of libraries excited to offer CS programs that help youth create, problem solve and develop the confidence and skills to succeed in their future careers.”
The 250 libraries selected for Computer Science Education Week funding will each host activities based on Google’s free CS First curriculum, which uses video-based instruction to introduce CS to kids through block-based coding, the release stated.
The library’s projects will reflect Ready to Code themes, which are “critical for advancing youth learning, especially for building computational thinking literacies.”
Ready to Code initiative leaders estimated that more than 60,000 youth in the U.S. will take part in coding activities during CS Ed Week through the funding from ALA and Google.
“Coding skills are essential to support the modern information economy,” said Michael O’Connell, Union County Libraries director.
“Barton Public Library is absolutely thrilled to be a part of this monumental experience,” the release said. “We thank the American Library Association and Google for funding our library, and for giving us a chance to jumpstart our goal of hosting future CS based programs.”
Kaitlyn Rigdon can be reached at 870-862-6611 or [email protected].