New Grant Extends 'Edge to the Rescue' Computer Training
The Springfield-Greene County Library District recently was awarded a $43,558 grant that will allow customers to continue taking free computer training at several of their nearby branches.
The district’s “Edge to the Rescue” program will continue from August 2010 through June 2011, thanks to the Library Services and Technology Act grant administered by the Missouri State Library. The library district also committed $1,247 as a 25 percent match for equipment. A previous grant purchased the portable lab, including laptops, for the program.
Edge to the Rescue is an outreach of the free, ongoing training classes at Edge Community Technology Center at the Midtown Carnegie Branch Library, 397 E. Central St. Since Edge to the Rescue began, hundreds of adults have been able to take free computer and job readiness training classes at library branches in their own neighborhoods.
Under the new grant, library trainers will provide regularly scheduled computer skills, information retrieval and job readiness training for the public at the Library Center, Library Station, and the Brentwood, Republic, Strafford and Willard branches.
Under this cooperative grant, project staff will work closely with partners at the Missouri Career Center, Southwest Missouri Office on Aging and Experience Works to develop training programs that meet the needs of their clients. The primary target audiences are the unemployed and seniors.
Participants will acquire basic computer skills, learn to develop and write resumes and cover letters, find employment opportunities, develop the technology skills necessary to advance in their jobs or to hold their jobs, and learn Internet and database search techniques.
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