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Gary library highlights tech mobile, STEM maker space and Dolly Parton Imagination Library enrollment shortfall
Summary
Library staff told the City of Gary Common Council the Woodson Library’s tech mobile and STEM maker space are expanding services and that the Dolly Parton Imagination Library launched locally but only 570 of an estimated 5,000 eligible children have enrolled so far.
Dr. Washington, speaking for the Gary public library, outlined how the system repurposed its former bookmobile into a tech mobile equipped with computers and printers that visits schools and community sites and can be requested for onsite training and services. She said the Legacy Foundation provided sponsorship for the earlier upgrade and that the mobile is now being considered for a "major upgrade" to support AI‑era needs.
The library’s maker space — called the STEM lab — offers hands‑on learning in 3‑D printing, sewing, poster and card making, and other STEAM activities, Dr. Washington said, and named funding sources for those programs as Gary US Steel, a Knight grant and the Legacy Foundation.
The council heard that the Woodson Library used its parking lot for a winter community skating event that drew more than 600 students and families, and that a Miller Garden Club talk showcased Woodson’s 140 heirloom roses, described in the presentation as the largest such collection in the Midwest.
Dr. Washington also announced the system’s rollout of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library at Woodson. First Lady Moren Braun read to preschoolers at the kickoff and helped distribute books. The library said the program is open to all City of Gary children ages 0–5; using U.S. Postal Service zip‑code counts the library estimated about 5,000 eligible children but reported only 570 had enrolled to date. "Once the children are enrolled, the foundation will send a book in the student's name every month," Dr. Washington said.
Council members asked how families sign up; Dr. Washington directed residents to the Gary Public Library website and noted families may also register through the national Imagination Library site by entering their state and zip code. She emphasized the library’s goal is to boost oral‑language exposure and early literacy — citing research that children should know between 3,000 and 5,000 spoken words before kindergarten — and encouraged parents to enroll eligible children.
The presentation concluded with an offer by library staff to assist any families who need help signing up.
