Project Examples

Polynesian Photo Archives – Keith Dahl Collection
The Polynesian Photo Archives Keith Dahl Collection is an ongoing preservation project of approximately 800,000 5x8 photos that the Feleti Barstow Public Library inherited from the Keith Dahl estate. These photos of local events, sports, and portraits are dated from 1979 - 2012. In this project period funds supported new scanners and additional staff support, which led to significant progress on the sorting, numbering, and scanning of the materials. The sorting of the collection has yielded about 600,000 photos with about 170,000 duplicates, and with photos now online, crowdsourcing has become a focal point to help identify subject matter. The future of the project will include more scanning, watermarking, and crowdsourcing of the metadata.
IMLS Funds: $16,660.81

Staff Development
Providing opportunities for library staff to pursue professional development is vital to enhancing the quality of library services in the territory, where most staff are paraprofessionals. Feleti Barstow Public Library added a range of online resources for training and staff development, branded the “training vault.” These resources focus on the areas of productivity/motivation, leadership, and marketing for professional development. Increased efforts in marketing and delivering library services were sought to boost library visits and program attendance. Staff were also supported in attending library conferences and on-island trainings conducted by professionals.
IMLS Funds: $22,275

Social Emotional Learning Children’s Program
Using CARES Act stimulus funds, Feleti Barstow Public Library (FBPL) joined forces with the American Samoa Department of Youth and Women’s Affairs and Connections-The Learning Resource to provide a Social Emotional Learning Children's Program for families during the pandemic. FBPL and its partners reached children who were quarantining in Hawaii before being repatriated home to American Samoa. The program gave them the opportunity to connect with other children, learn about emotions and mindfulness, and learn how to cope with the stresses that the quarantine can place on young children. Social emotional learning teaches children about their emotions in simplistic ways, including how to recognize, regulate, and manage them. Children are also taught mindfulness and empathy for others.
IMLS Funds: $4,467

Review recent Grants to States projects from this state library in the State Program Report database.

Search the Awarded Grants Database for additional details about awards in this state

Five-Year Plan Highlights

Goal 1: Maintain, expand, and promote technological capacity and services.

• Projects include:
  • Needs assessment for computer lab and virtual services
  • Computer classes and staff trainings
  • Maintenance, expansion, and training related to the online Union Catalog
  • Expansion of the State Library website for online resource sharing

Goal 2: Maintain, enhance, and promote literacy programs.

• Projects include:
  • Early literacy programs and materials
  • In-house listening station for audio books, and expansion of audio books and large print collections
  • Collaboration with community-based organizations

Goal 3: Maintain, expand, and promote the Polynesian Photo Archives (PPA).

• Projects include:
  • Evaluation of hardware, software, and training needs for the expansion of digitization
  • Cultural literacy programs and partnerships with cultural organizations
  • Preservation and promotion of cultural heritage through a variety of media
  • Development of crowdsourcing mechanism for identifying people, events, and places

Goal 4: Maintain, enhance, and promote the professional development of the State Library Workforce.

• Projects include:
  • Training program for all newly-hired library staff
  • Curriculum development for librarianship at the American Samoa Community College or Nu’uuli Vocational Technical High School
  • Collaborations to encourage Continuing Education for librarians

IMLS Data Collection

State Library Administrative Agency Survey
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Public Libraries Survey
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