The Town of Clarksville Redevelopment Commission recently approved using $75,000 from local Tax Increment Financing funds to help with purchasing and installing new technology equipment for the ongoing renovation and expansion of the Clarksville Branch of the Jeffersonville Township Public Library.
A $5000 grant from WHAS Crusade for Children will be used to provide interactive and engaging computer programs and tablets designed to develop mental, emotional, and social skills in a fun, interactive format for special needs children at both the Clarksville branch of the Jeffersonville Township Public Library and the main JTPL library on Court Avenue in Jeffersonville.
The Clarksville expansion project features a 1,723 square foot extension with an abundance of new technology. New and renovated space includes a large new meeting room capable of being partitioned into 2 smaller rooms and 3 new study rooms
Thanks to this grant from the town of Clarksville, library director Libby Pollard says, “The upgrades and addition of technology at the Clarksville Branch Library will help insure that the residents of Clarksville have access to the latest technology. We will also utilize a new mobile lab to teach classes on email, internet, and Microsoft Office applications such as Microsoft Word. These classes will help Clarksville residents stay current with ever changing technology.”
Major renovations are also planned at the main JTPL library in Jeffersonville. The WHAS Crusade for Children grant, according to Pollard, “will allow the addition of new and supportive features for our special needs youth and their families, a long-term goal that highlights the library’s core values of fostering an inclusive community, providing friendly service, and encouraging lifelong learning” at both the main library and the Clarksville branch.
Examples of technology this grant may support include a computerized station full of interactive and engaging content focusing on seven curricular areas and children’s tablets pre-loaded with fun, educational games, movies, and apps, all focused on the needs and abilities of children with special needs.
New technology coming to both the Clarksville branch and the main JTPL library involves RFID – radio-frequency identification – technology, using electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track special tags attached to books, videos, DVDs and other library material. With the RFID tags customers will no longer stand in line to check out books with the capacity for self-checkout.
by Valerie McCarthy