Danville Public Library and Danville Public Schools recently developed the Student Access Program, giving all students, faculty, and staff associated with the school system access to materials, online databases, and streaming services through the library.
"Being able to offer this invaluable service to ALL students is remarkable," stated Anne Moore-Sparks, Communications and Community Engagement Coordinator. "We applaud the Danville Public Library for being innovative and creative in finding ways to engage our students, especially during this unprecedented time of COVID-19.”
The program will launch on Monday, Jan. 11.
“We cannot be more excited about this much-needed service for our community,” said Russell Carter, Director of Danville Public Library. “This has certainly been a challenging year for parents, students, and the school system. We are hoping that in creating an easier way to access materials and services, we can at least bring a little positivity and assistance to the community.”
Carter explained that many students in the school system are unable to access library resources due to not being able to obtain a library card, which requires a government-issued ID or a parent with the proper identification.
“Whether it’s a transportation issue, family matter, or another barrier of which we are unaware, there are many students in our community who cannot visit the library in person,” he said. “We want to make sure we can reach those students. Although the program only allows users to check out a limited number of physical items, it opens full access to our online and streaming services.”
Students wishing to use their school ID to check out materials can also place items on hold from the public library and those materials will be delivered by library staff to their school library for pickup. Items can also be returned to the school library.
“We want to make this as easy as possible for the students, teachers, and parents,” said Chrislyn Gardner, Youth Services Librarian at Danville Public Library. “To have the opportunity to assist our community’s teachers and parents as they navigate this school year is very encouraging to us. When we are out of the pandemic and can return to our normal services, we are looking forward to working with the school system to provide educational opportunities to our students.”
The program is not required. Parents have the ability to opt-out. A letter was distributed via the school system during the first semester. Any parent wishing to opt-out of the program, who did not receive the letter, can contact the media specialist at their child’s school.
Bill Sgrinia, Director of Danville Parks and Recreation, praised the partnership and the service.
“Collaborations like this are invaluable to the community,” Sgrinia said. “Our staff are always looking for ways to engage the citizens of Danville and the organizations who serve and this is just one of many ways we hope to work with partners to provide positive and life-changing services.”