WASHINGTON, DC, and ARLINGTON, VA – The Public Library of Mount Vernon and Knox County has been awarded a Communities for Immunity grant of $37,852.
The library will use these funds to improve public health by engaging communities in COVID-19 vaccine confidence through education, access and community conversations. The library was one of 50 museums and libraries to receive a grant, and one of only four institutions in the entire country to receive an award of this size. The project will be a collaboration involving the library, Knox Public Health, Knox Pages, the Ohio Eastern Star Home, New Directions and Knox Community Hospital.
“The point of the Communities for Immunity program is to assist people who are on the fence about vaccination,” said Development and Writing Program manager Jamie Lyn Smith-Fletcher. “Lots of people are scared by misinformation they see online, and unfortunately misinformation has been amplified by some social media sites, celebrities, elected officials and even faith leaders. As a public library, our goal is to take the politics out of this. The library gives patrons the facts, the science and the data but leaves the decision squarely up to the individual.”
The library’s Communities for Immunity initiative is currently in the planning stages, and programs will be announced in mid-January. Proposed plans include “Talk the Vax,” Knox Pages-led community listening sessions that provide opportunities for people to discuss their thoughts, questions, and concerns about the COVID-19 vaccine. Assistant library director Cassandra Peters is developing a program called “Do Your Own Research” that will teach library patrons how to protect themselves from online COVID-19 misinformation and other online health and financial scams. The library also plans to provide a social media toolkit; an initiative to support vaccination in local faith communities and several vaccine clinics that will provide free, easily accessible vaccination options for local residents.
“Health misinformation is a serious matter,” says library director John K. Chidester. “It has cost lives.” He added that CFI funding provides the llibrary with resources to help “promote evidence-based science, boost vaccination rates and improve the quality of life for everyone in our community.”
Communities for Immunity is an initiative of the Association of Science and Technology Centers, Institute of Museum and Library Services, American Alliance of Museums, and the Network of the National Library of Medicine in collaboration with the American Library Association, the Association of African American Museums, the Association of Children’s Museums, the Association for Rural and Small Libraries, the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums, and the Urban Libraries Council. Visit www.communitiesforimmunity.org to learn more about this initiative.
As with all library events, participation in CFI programs will be free and open to the public. Program information will be posted on the library’s website, www.knox.net. Organizations and individuals interested in partnering with the library in this initiative may contact Smith-Fletcher at 740-392-2665, Ext. 259, or email knoxwrites1@gmail.com.
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