The year 2010 was a good one for the children and families of the City of DuBois and Sandy Township and surrounding areas. Through a federal grant from Library Services and Technology Act Preschool Connections, the DuBois Public Library received materials, furnishings, and staff training to enhance service to our preschool population. The LSTA grant generously provided $2500 to winning libraries to improve materials and services available for children ages 6 months through 5 years old.
    The children’s librarian, Chris Meier, and Rebecca McTavish, the library director, evaluated the Children’s Department then selected a variety of furnishings and materials to enhance the library experience of children and families. The additions to the department included:

• A colorful area rug depicting small children using sign language to brighten the area.
• A changing station offers convenience to parents of very young children.
• A wooden train set encourages children to work together to create train layouts or use their imagination developing stories together.
• An activity cube for very young children encourages early learning.
• A variety of puppets for use in the playhouse and puppet stage.
• Discovery Kits contain a variety of materials and may include books, toys, poems, songs, finger plays, games, manipulatives, and music. The eight Discovery Kits are themed around basic early childhood concepts and are currently for use in the children’s department. The Discovery Kit topics are Shapes, ABCs, Insects, 123s, Senses, Farm Animals, Seasons, and Music. 

    In 2009, the Library created a Parent-Teacher collection of adult materials that are accessible in the Children’s Department and are books related to the rearing and education of children. With the Preschool Connections Grant, the DuBois Public Library added 24 new titles to this collection, which address Autism Spectrum Disorders, ADHD, Early Childhood Education, math, reading, science, art, and music.
     The staff-training component facilitated the redevelopment of programming for preschool children and recommended additional materials and resources to complement the story books already used such as puppets, big books, and flannel boards.