News Release
Great River Regional Library
GRRL Headquarters:
1300 W. St. Germain St.
St. Cloud, MN 56301
320-650-2500
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Breanne Fruth
Communications and Development Coordinator
320-650-2532
Subject: Great River Regional Library Reflects on LSTA Grant for DEI Efforts
ST. CLOUD, MN (April 26, 2022) – Great River Regional Library (GRRL) will soon use Charities Review Council’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Toolkit to gauge organizational growth in inclusivity.
You may recall the library sharing about this survey in fall 2020. We used those results to allocate resources and improve services over the past two years. GRRL has had more intentional displays and programs regionally, and the region went fines free in January 2022.
The library system also received a $35,000 Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant titled Advancing Equity and Inclusion in Central Minnesota Libraries. GRRL collaborated with Filsan Talent Partners through the grant to rewrite position descriptions to attract a more diverse workforce.
Through the grant, library staff have learned more about how to best serve our community. Library supervisors received training on implicit bias. Staff at large learned more cross-cultural communication, working with people with mental health challenges and those with disabilities. With these new insights, GRRL staff have stronger skills and knowledge to kindly and effectively serve all people who come to the library.
To complete the work through the LSTA grant, GRRL seeks response from community members on the library system’s growth. All perspectives are sought and welcomed.
Watch for the survey release in early May on griver.org and on our GRRL Facebook page. To learn more about Charities Review Council’s new Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Toolkit, follow this link: http://smartgivers.org/nonprofits/diversity-equity-inclusion-toolkit/
Great River Regional Library (GRRL) provides library services at 32 public libraries and one to-go system in Benton, Morrison, Sherburne, Stearns, Todd and Wright Counties. GRRL2GO is a locker system that allows you to pick up items at the Sartell Community Center. GRRL supplies the residents of Central Minnesota with nearly 1 million books, CDs and DVDs, 250 public computers, and information services.
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