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ALT (Adult Basic Literacy) team members include (left to right in photo) Joanne Austin, Rick Miller and Elaine Stefanko, all of the Osterhout Free Library, and Edward Lupico from the State Correctional Institution at Houtzdale. Their mentor is Bonnie Powers (seated), district consultant from the Capitol District. The team identified adult literacy as their community need. No free, easily-accessible service was available in their communities to help adults improve their basic literacy skills and, in the case of correctional institutions, demographics showed low educational achievement and literacy skills across a large proportion of inmates. Their project proposes to develop an online resource that will be used to train literacy volunteers. The volunteers who are trained using this resource will then conduct one-on-one sessions with the individuals that need literacy help.

Bookends team members include (left to right) Rosalee Pituch from the Rebecca M. Arthurs Memorial Library , Jennifer Coleman from the Summerville Public Library, Karl Rebon from the Reynoldsville Public Library and Jessica Lasher from the Punxsutawney Memorial Library.  Their mentor is Maryam Phillips, director of HSLC (not pictured).  The team plans to develop a comprehensive resource for information relating to an initiative of the PA Forward’s five literacies, with each team member tackling one of the five literacies–basic literacy, information literacy, health literacy, financial literacy, and civic and social literacy–to gather local references and potentially develop interactive components relevant to users learning about these essential topics.  The Bookends will develop a patron-centered, web-based tool to connect patrons with these literacies on individual levels.

Job Squad‘s members include (left to right) Nicole Henline of the Monroeville Public Library, Rob Lesher from the Adams County Library System, Rebecca Baker of the Community Library of the Shenango Valley, and Robin Pundzak of the Mercer Area Library (not present).  Their mentor is Elizabeth Mahoney (seated), a professor at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Information Science.  
The team has identified the unemployed or underemployed patrons, in need of job readiness skills, as their community problem. The team will address common issues in the job search process for these patrons by creating a tool and service to help those who lack computer expertise.  They also plan to help them with an understanding of the job search process and develop the skills necessary for finding employment. To advance technology skills, the tool will have information on how to create email accounts and search the web for job opportunities. To support the patron’s job search process, the tool will include information on how to write a resume, create a cover letter, solicit reference letters, fill out an online application, participate in online training, prepare for an interview, etc.

Memory Masters‘ team members include (left to right) Beth Transue from Messiah College Murray Library, Abigail Gulya from the Harrisburg Area Community College, Janet Eldred of the Hollidaysburg Area Public Library, David Runyon from Harrisburg University of Science and Technology, and Edward Wolf from the Bethel Park Public Library. Their mentor is Mary Garm (seated), System Administrator from Lackawanna County.  The goal of the Memory Masters project is to design a framework for the capturing, recording, storing and exhibiting of oral and visual histories. The end-product of the Memory Masters project is the creation of a digital exhibition space, where these histories can be grouped and displayed according to the users’ needs—whether that be in the form of a collection of local histories or the documentation of student projects.

Techni-gals team members include (left to right) Jason Fialkovich and Laura Kuchmay from the Middletown Free Library, Susan Ware of the Penn State Brandywine Vairo Library and Mary Glendenning from the Middletown Free Library. Their mentor is Melinda Tanner (seated), district consultant from the Washington District. The Techni-gals ILEAD program will focus on creating interest in STE(A)M careers in middle school age girls. Workshops will be developed to focus on e-textiles, 3D printing, and perhaps robotics/animatronics. They are looking at the participants building e-textile puppets or exploring animatronics and creating stories that will be filmed and shared virtually via Vimeo and YouTube. The girls will create the stories, props and puppets or animatronics to bring their stories to life.