ByWater Solutions Announces November 2021 Community Giveback Winner

by Kalleen Marquise on Nov 12, 2021

Each month, ByWater Solutions selects one library to be awarded $500. These funds are meant to support libraries and their communities and fill gaps in funding to further library goals.

We are excited to announce our November 2021 winner of the ByWater Community Giveback, the Friends of the Mary Cotton Public Library, in support of the Mary Cotton Public Library, in Sabetha, Kansas.

Established in 1912, the Mary Cotton Public Library has been faithfully serving Sabetha and the surrounding area for over a hundred years. Today, they continue to strive to provide excellent service and great resources to our community. The staff and Friends of the Mary Cotton Public Library have worked hard to become a community hub for learning, entertainment and communication. They are a small, rural library set in the northeast corner of Kansas with a population of about 2,500. They serve a close knit community and are proud of their ability to pull together in times of adversity.

The funds received from the ByWater Community Giveback will be used to further the library's outreach to dyslexic patrons and others with learning and/or reading disabilities. They plan to use the funds to purchase books that are printed in Dyslexie font, a special font shown to help dyslexics focus on the written word. They also want to be able to purchase the same title in audio format to reinforce the written word by having the audio reinforcement. Through these resources, the library hopes to help children and adults, (and potentially those that might not even realize that they have a degree of dyslexia), enjoy reading on a different level than what they have been used to. They hope to take away some of the frustration and reluctance to pick up that new book. Because they have access to a shared Koha catalog: https://nextkansas.org/, they plan to share with other libraries in the region and across the state to promote the resources and reach more members of the community who would benefit from these materials.

We've already had some great responses to our new collection of dyslexic font and dyslexia friendly books and audios. This will give us the chance to add to the collection and spread the news across our group and across the state of Kansas."

About the ByWater Community Giveback

We will select one library a month to donate $500 to their Non-profit 501c3 organization such as Friends of the Library, Library Foundation, or other funding entity. These funds are meant to support libraries and their communities and fill gaps in funding to further library goals. We LOVE libraries. Our team is made up of librarians and library fanatics. We're always looking for ways to give back and create opportunities where we can to support libraries. This is a small token of thanks for all the hard work libraries do in their communities every day.

Learn More About the Program and How to Apply.

If you have more questions, please contact: Outreach@bywatersolutions.com