Kansas City Public Library's Mobile Services Grow Thanks to Missouri State Library Grant

(Kansas City, Mo.) - The Kansas City Public Library is growing to meet the needs of its community thanks to a $175,792 grant from the Missouri State Library’s Strengthen Missourians Grant.

KCPL received the largest grant out of 41 recipients across the state to receive the funding support, made possible by appropriations to the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) from the American Rescue Plan Act.

Most significantly, the Kansas City Public Library will expand its mobile outreach services by adding new vehicles to its fleet. That will enhance its ability to deliver digital, educational, and informational resources directly to the most vulnerable residents in the community.

The Library also will create one additional, grant-funded position in mobile services.

According to Sandra Davis, the Library's mobile services manager, the primary goal is getting vital resources available from the Library to as many people as possible. “The Library is well aware that, in order to truly meet the needs of those who are most vulnerable in the community, we must remove one of the most persistent access barriers -- transportation,” she says.

The Strengthen Missourians Grant will allow the Library’s Outreach department to continue to focus on casting a wider geographic net to ensure Library resources are accessible to those in its service district who need them most.

Outreach Youth Services Librarian Elizabeth Giles says she is looking forward to expanding the department’s reach. "The youth outreach vehicle will allow us to bring more of the Library's programs, resources, and opportunities for playful learning out into the community,” she says. “We are excited to connect with a wider audience of children and families by meeting them where they are."

According to State Librarian Robin Westphal, the State Library was looking for innovative projects that meet community needs and improve digital literacy. “Expanding KCPL’s mobile services is the perfect example of recognizing that library services must reach outside the walls of libraries’ buildings if a community is going to be adequately served,” she says.