City of Springfield (Lincoln Library)

The Lincoln Library in Springfield, Illinois, will expand its community engagement to better assist the public in currently underserved areas. The library will hire an outreach librarian who will work with community partners to make library service more accessible in three underrepresented neighborhoods (based on socioeconomic data, racial diversity, and proximity to the main library). Residents of these areas experienced exacerbated disparities due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They now will have regular access to barrier-free educational programming and library services. To better serve patrons, library staff also will receive anti-racism training and training on trauma-informed care.