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The Early Learning Center
WHAT
The Early Learning Center will be created using 2,200 feet adjacent to the current Children’s Department to create a room designed to foster early literacy skills for the youngest members of the community.
WHY
The purpose of the Waukegan Public Library’s Early Learning Center is to provide a stimulating child-centered learning environment for children ages 0-7 years and their families. The Early Learning Center will focus on the development of pre-literacy and literacy skills so all children in Waukegan will be better prepared to become successful students.
HOW
The library plans on building this room with minimal use of tax dollars. The budget for the project is $235,000. The library will engage in active fund raising and grant writing to secure the funds needed.
WHEN
Groundbreaking is scheduled for July 2007 with grand opening planned for July of 2008.
WHO
For further information on this project please contact Richard Lee, Executive Director of the Waukegan Public Library at 847-623-2041 ext. 250 or by email at richardlee@waukeganpl.info.
CASE STATEMENT
Libraries are critical components of community building, economic development and quality of life. They are centers for lifelong learning and have a responsibility to respond to the needs of the community. The Waukegan Public Library uses community based strategic planning to ensure its goals reflect community needs by fostering its mission to put quality in people’s lives through opportunities to learn, gather, be informed and entertained.
The Past
Waukegan Public Library has played a vital role in the community, and the downtown area since 1898 when a donation from steel magnate and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie made it possible to build the first tax-supported library in Waukegan. Carnegie donated $25,000.00 “if the city of Waukegan would furnish a suitable site and through Council agree to $2,500.00 a year support of said library.” The city has kept up its end of the bargain (and more) and the Waukegan Public Library is entering its 109th year of service, albeit at a “new” location which was built in 1964.
In 1998 the library took a lead role in redevelopment of the downtown area by remodeling the interior of the library and adding 16,000 square feet of public space, without moving or adding on to the current building. The lower level had remained unfinished with the idea that library collections would continue to expand. The primary addition to the library was the development of a children’s department on the lower level along with a storyroom and classroom. This renovation proved to be the cornerstone of downtown redevelopment with the library bringing in an average of 1000 people per day to check out books and attend programs.
The Future
Waukegan Public Library will become Waukegan’s Third Place – a destination where people go when not at home, work or school. The Library will partner with like-minded organizations to expand access points for library services throughout the city by designing programs and facilities to teach, entertain, and create opportunities for citizens to gather and be informed. The library’s main location will continue to adapt and modernize as the city’s downtown expands and reinvents itself. Each three year cycle of strategic planning will focus on demographics and trends to ensure the library is adapting and growing in a cycle of continuous improvement.
The Present
The library’s collection includes over 247,000 items with 104,000 in the Children’s Department alone! This includes everything from books, movies and music to puzzles. The main library is located in downtown Waukegan on County Street, just north of the County Building. There is also a new 700 square foot branch, opened in 2006, located at Grand and Baldwin in the Waukegan Park District’s new Hinkston Park Field House. In addition the library uses two bookmobiles and a van to deliver items to neighborhoods and schools.
Once again the Waukegan Public Library will take a lead role in community building by creating an Early Learning Center. Utilizing the 2200 square feet adjacent to the Children’s Department, the library is creating a room dedicated to the earliest literacy needs of the community. This is an extension of the library’s role as a provider of adult literacy programs for the past 20 years, and family literacy for 17 years. This room will be a “Sesame Street” you can visit featuring interactive exhibits, games, activities and technology, along with books. The room will provide a bilingual approach to listening, speaking, reading and writing--or pre literacy and literacy skills.
Current Problem/Need
 Safe and quiet environment needed within the library for this age group (0-7 years old)
Current room not “friendly” to younger children
The children in Waukegan are not ready for school as evidenced by data
Reinforce the role of parents as first teachers
Existing
There is currently nothing like this in Waukegan, nor in Lake County for that matter. Although there are many programs such as the EPIC program, Success by 6 and Head Start (among others) there are no destinations specifically designed for education that are free and readily available days, nights, weekends and summers.
Early Learning Center Mission Statement
The purpose of the Waukegan Public Library’s Early Learning Center is to provide a stimulating child-centered learning environment for children ages 0-7 years and their families. The Early Learning Center will focus on the development of pre-literacy and literacy skills so all children in Waukegan will be better prepared to become successful students.
Room Focus
The Early Learning Center will be divided into five centers of learning opportunities. Within each center will be opportunities for listening, speaking, reading and writing, the four stages of early literacy. All areas will be designed with Illinois and Federal Guidelines for Educational Standards as guidelines. We are looking for partner agencies to assist us in rotating exhibits to ensure that the room remains dynamic and a destination. The individual centers will focus on:
Science and Math
Pretend Play and Storytimes
Arts and Crafts
Nature
Music
Infant Development
What kind of materials will the Early Learning Center contain?
Appropriate technology and computers
Interactive materials used to teach letter knowledge, print awareness, vocabulary, recognition of colors and numbers
Areas to stimulate creativity and provide an area to practice writing skills
Collection of books specifically selected for the reading levels of this age group
Fund Raising Rationale
The Waukegan Public Library is a component of the City of Waukegan and all tax increases must be approved by the city. As the library is still paying for the 1998 renovation, and based on our recent success by partnering with the Waukegan Park District in opening the Hinkston Park Branch (budget $90,000) the library plans on building this room with a combination of public and private funds, with minimum tax dollars used. It is the contention of the Library Board that the community should not be taxed at a higher rate than necessary in a community where the need is so high and the median income is so low. The public/private model allows those who are financially stable assist those in most need. The budget for the Early Learning Center project is $257,000. The library will engage in active partnerships, fund-raising and grant writing to secure the funds needed.
Opportunities for Giving
All donations can be made through the library’s foundation, a non-profit with a registered 501(c)(3). The purposes of the Foundation, as stated in the Articles of Incorporation, “...include the development of programs to: focus public attention on library services, facilities and needs in the Waukegan area; stimulate and encourage the gifts of funds, books, desirable collections, endowments and bequests to the library; and receive, hold, manage, use and dispose of funds and properties of all kinds, whether given absolutely or in trust, for the benefit of Waukegan Public Library. The Foundation is governed by a seven member Board of Directors, appointed by the Board of Trustees of the Waukegan Public Library. The Early Learning Center project has several opportunities for giving, from small donations through naming opportunities.
Gift Opportunities List of Contributors
Golden Book Level - $1,000 - $2,499
Mother Goose Level - $2,500 – 4,999
Fairy Tale Level - $5,000 - above
Naming Opportunities
Each area within the Early Learning Center will be available for a naming opportunity (according to policy) Nature, Science, Infant, Music, Pretend Play, Arts & Crafts are each available for a $10,000 donation. For further information on the project or how you can get involved please contact Richard Lee, Executive Director of the Waukegan Public Library at 847-623-2041 ext. 250 or richardlee@waukeganpl.info.
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