Highland Park Library Receives Funding to Develop Youth Coding

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, November 29, 2018

Highland Park Public Library

Contact Information: 31 North 5^th Avenue: Highland Park, NJ 08904: 732-572-2750: www.hpplnj.org

Highland Park Public Library Receives Funding to Develop Youth Coding Programs

Highland Park, NJ, November 29, 2018--Highland Park Public Library announced today that they have received $500 from the American Library Association (ALA) to help plan and implement coding activities during Computer Science Education (CS Ed) Week 2018 (December 3-9) and beyond. Highland Park Public Library is one of 250 school and public libraries around the country to receive this micro-funding from Libraries Ready to Code, an initiative of the American Library Association sponsored by Google.

Coordinator of Adult Services, Sherry Johnson said, “We are very excited to be involved in this program. Libraries should be at the forefront of Computer Science because we have the ability to reach people that don’t have access to Coding in their homes and schools. This type of program from ALA and Google will help libraries reach out to people who need training for today’s job market. ”

With this grant from Libraries Ready to Code, Highland Park Public Library will be able to expand our CS and Computational Thinking programming for all ages.

“Libraries are the cornerstones of our communities,” said Google program manager Nicky Rigg. “We are proud to include Highland Park Public Library in our CS Ed Week activities this year. We hope these libraries will join the growing number of libraries excited to offer CS programs that help youth create, problem solve and develop the confidence and skills to succeed in their future careers.”

“ALA is pleased to provide micro-funding to Highland Park Public Library and other Ready to Code libraries,” said ALA President Loida Garcia-Febo. “We hope this micro-funding will not only generate enthusiasm for CS Ed Week, but spark year-round programming to develop critical thinking and digital skills youth can draw on over a lifetime.”

The 250 libraries selected for CS Ed Week funding will each host activities based on Google’s free CS First curriculum, which uses video-based instruction to introduce CS to kids through block-based coding. Libraries will pursue projects that reflect Ready to Code themes critical for advancing youth learning, especially for building computational thinking literacies. The Ready to Code team estimates that the CS Ed Week funding will support more than 60,000 youth all around the country taking part in coding activities throughout the week.

Highland Park Public Library will jumpstart CS Ed Week with a program on Monday December 3 at 4:30, but the library will highlight Computer Science all week and we will continue to offer Computer Science programming in the future. For more information on Monday’s program or to register contact Sherry Johnson or Karen Jarzabski at adultref@hpplnj.org or 732-572-2750.

The Highland Park Public Library is an essential and vital community resource that satisfies the
varied interests of residents of all ages by providing welcoming space, programs, diverse
collections, and up-to-date technology that make Highland Park a better place to learn
and work.