Our guest speakers today were Robin Flynn (Programming and Outreach Librarian) and Laurel Clark (Library Director) who presented the new Community Learning Center at the Peace Dale Library.
Robin began by describing the reasons and origin of this project. The motivation began as a result of the impact that the COVID epidemic had on social gathering. In response, federal funds became available to the state of RI to help finance a renovation project at the library to add and convert prior underutilized space (3,000 square feet) of space into a resource center for the community. Some of the programs include Yoga, financial aid workshops, a Career Compass Job Search Support Group, a Safe Harbor Healthy Aging Support Group and Community EMT Health Checks provided by the South Kingstown Paramedic Community Program offering health promotion and screening services. There are also a large selection of digital and microfilmed newspapers (i.e., NewsBank), AskRI learning databases and a Heritage Quest genealogy platform.
The center will also offer outreach to the community in conjunction with the Jonnycake Center, Youth Services for local schools and special monthly events including Sound meditation (October 10), Understanding AI and Misinformation (November 10) and a Holiday Film (December 6). There has also been a renovation of an outdoor wooded space converted into a peaceful walking path with benches.
The original facility was built as a community center in the 1890's and stands as a beautifully restored landmark for South Kingstown.
