Agenda

Return

C. 31

To:	Board of Supervisors
From:	Melinda Cervantes, County Librarian
Date:	September 22, 2020

Contra

Costa

County

Subject:

Grant in the amount of $5,000 from Southern California Library Cooperative

APPROVE	OTHER
RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR	RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE

Action of Board On: 09/22/2020

APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED

OTHER

Clerks Notes:

VOTE OF SUPERVISORS

AYE:

John Gioia, District I Supervisor
Candace Andersen, District II Supervisor
Diane Burgis, District III Supervisor
Karen Mitchoff, District IV Supervisor
Federal D. Glover, District V Supervisor

Contact:

Walt Beveridge 925-608-7730

I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown.
ATTESTED: September 22, 2020
David Twa,

BY:	, Deputy

RECOMMENDATION(S):

APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the County Librarian, or designee, to apply for and accept a grant in the amount of $5,000 from Southern California Library Cooperative and the California State Library to provide access to ABCmouse.com, a subscription-based digital educational program, for the period September 1, 2020 through August 31, 2021.

FISCAL IMPACT:

No Library Fund match.

BACKGROUND:

Southern California Library Cooperative, in partnership with the California State Library, provides an opportunity for California public libraries to apply for fund reimbursement for purchasing e-Resources, such as e-books, e-audiobooks, and databases, to meet increased demand from communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The free subscription access for ABCmouse.com, ended on August 31, 2020. However, since the Library received overwhelming feedback from patrons and staff regarding the value of the program and the educational support needed for pre-school aged children that are currently unable to attend traditional pre-school programs, the County would like to continue to support the program.

CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:

The Library would need to divert other limited resources to support the program.

CHILDREN'S IMPACT STATEMENT:

With 9,000+ (English/Spanish) interactive books, educational games, puzzles, and other learning activities, ABCmouse.com’s award-winning online curriculum is an invaluable resource for young learners ages 2 to 8. Access to the resource would offer additional educational support to pre-school aged children that are currently unable to attend traditional pre-school programs. This meets the Children's Report Card objective of Children Ready for and Exceeding in School.