BCPL’s strategic plan includes creating standout user experiences and maximizing the impact of collections. Collaborating with the foundation for funding allowed for beta testing of additional items in the collection without impacting the overall collections budget. The process allowed branch staff to experience a grant writing process and to become more familiar with the Foundation. The Foundation Board became educated about the collection and better engaged with staff through mission moments held during Board meetings.

The micro-grant project facilitated visibility of the Foundation internally and externally while empowering branch staff to create and curate a small collection. Foundation recognition was placed on many of the items for visibility. The process allowed for collaboration among administration, Foundation and departments to assess purchases, coordinate logistics and market the items added to the collection. The funding provided by the Foundation allowed the system to test new items in the collection quickly and affordably.

Impact: Expanding our library of things without impacting the budget and creating greater visibility and appreciation for the Foundation, which ultimately will lead to more donor contributions. Promoting the items on our Facebook page yielded holds almost immediately. The Facebook post for telescopes had 195 likes, 84 shares and a reach of 14,645. Comments on post included, “BCPL is always on the leading edge of getting needed resources into the hands of residents.”