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Newberg Public Library secures LSTA funding, $3,000 mini-grant and advances digitization plans
Summary
Director Corey Burkel told the board the library will benefit from the LSTA federal grant program (July 2026–July 2027), received a $3,000 mini-LSTA grant for graphic novels, and is expanding a digitization partnership with the University of Oregon and a memorandum to make Newberg historical graphics available to patrons.
The Newberg Public Library reported multiple funding and collection developments at its recent board meeting, including an LSTA federal grant allocation, a $3,000 mini-grant to restore damaged graphic novels, and progress on a local digitization project with the University of Oregon.
Library Director Corey Burkel told the board that the LSTA (Library Services and Technology Act) federal grant cycle is secured for July 2026–July 2027 and explained that LSTA funding supports statewide resources such as Gale databases and contributes substantially to ebook and eaudiobook services (the ODLC layer that funds Libby/OverDrive). Burkel said LSTA also supports statewide training and some statewide grant distributions.
Burkel said the library received a mini LSTA grant for $3,000 specifically to help rebuild the graphic novels collection after recent damage. "We actually received 1 this year for 3,000 ... it was a mini LSTA grant administered by the state of Oregon, and it was for $3,000 for the graphic novels collection," Burkel said.
Under unfinished business the board also discussed a digitization project: the library has contracted with the University of Oregon to convert local newspapers on microfilm into searchable PDFs (the current grant funded work covers titles up to 1929). Burkel described a memorandum of understanding that would allow the library to digitize the Newberg Graphic (local illustrations/graphics) up to 2012 for in-library access, while material from 1989 and earlier appears to be out of copyright and will be hosted online for broader access. The Newberg Area Historical Society, which Burkel said is dissolving, is donating about $2,000 to the Library Friends to support the digitization effort.
Other operational updates included an ongoing restroom remodel (work began Feb. 9 and is on schedule), the recent relocation and expansion of the graphic novels and children’s collections to better connect juvenile fiction with graphic novel copies, and a circulation spike: the director reported issuing 249 library cards in January versus an average of about 150 cards per month.
The board also learned that the library staff will begin work on an AI policy and that the policy is expected to require periodic updates as technology and practice evolve. No formal board action was required on the grants or digitization updates at the meeting; the board accepted the reports and will track implementation through staff updates.
