The Public Library of Youngstown & Mahoning County has been awarded a $57,950 grant for a financial literacy program with a focus on helping parents save and invest in their children’s education. The new program ties this grant in with the Library’s early literacy program, “Baby Brilliant,” and will be called “Baby Brilliant Goes to College.”
The Library is one of 13 nationwide selected for participation in Smart Investing @ yourlibrary®, a joint grant program sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Investor Education Foundation (FINRA).
The grant will help to build the capacity of the Library to provide effective, unbiased investor education to the community at large.
“We are so pleased to have been selected by the ALA and the FINRA Investor Education Foundation for participation in this investor education program,” said Carlton A. Sears, Library director.
“Through the grant, we will offer a number of new, high-quality investor education opportunities and services, enabling our library to become an even stronger resource for patrons looking to learn more about investment options and saving strategies.”
“Public libraries can serve as an important source of reliable information for millions of investors trying to make sense of challenging financial topics,” said FINRA Investor Education Foundation chairwoman Mary Schapiro, who also serves as FINRA’s CEO. “Our Foundation is proud to partner with the ALA and to support the important investor education efforts at PLYMC.”
“PLYMC has always been a valuable source of information for the Mahoning County community, and we are pleased to be able to help them expand their offerings in the area of investor education,” said ALA President Loriene Roy. “Whether choosing what type of savings plan makes most sense for a family, researching a potential stock investment or learning more about bank products, the Mahoning County library system offers the needed resources to help its patrons make smart investing decisions.”
As part of the outreach for the Smart Investing @ yourlibrary® program, the Library will be working in partnership with a number of civic groups. More information will be released as details are completed.
Smart Investing @ yourlibrary® is administered by the Reference and User Services Association, a division of the ALA, in partnership with the FINRA Investor Education Foundation. The program helps public libraries meet investor education and protection needs at the community level.
FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, is the largest non-governmental regulator for all securities firms doing business in the United States. Created in 2007 through the consolidation of NASD and NYSE Member Regulation, FINRA is dedicated to investor protection and market integrity through effective and efficient regulation and complementary compliance and technology-based services.
FINRA touches virtually every aspect of the securities business – from registering and educating all industry participants to examining securities firms; writing and enforcing rules and the federal securities laws; informing and educating the investing public; providing trade reporting and other industry utilities, and administering the largest dispute resolution forum for investors and registered firms. For more information, visit www.finra.org.
In other business: In their regular session, held at Main Library, the Board of Trustees of the Public Library of Youngstown & Mahoning County accepted the General Trades bid submitted by Brock Builders, Inc., of Boardman, for construction of a new branch library at the corner of East High Avenue and Early Road. The bid was for $1,296,330.
Trustees also accepted the following bids for this library project:
plumbing trades bid from, Ellyson Plumbing and Heating Co., Inc., of Salem, for $79,179; electrical trades bid from “Joe” Dickey Electric, Inc., of North Lima, for $268,990.
The Board agreed to rebid the floor finishes category.
At their December meeting, Trustees had accepted the following bids:
windows and exterior doors, Gunton Corporation, Cleveland, $229,865; mechanical, York Mahoning Mechanical Contractors, Youngstown, $109,800; casework, Interior Products, Inc., Cleveland, $65,464; and
landscape/pavers, Landscape by Design, Youngstown, $103,738.
In other action, the Board elected officers for the coming year: Dr. David Ritchie, president; Kathryn Bennett, vice president; Susan Merriman, clerk-treasurer; and Christine McBane, deputy clerk-treasurer/secretary.
Trustees whose term of office expires this month were re-elected: Richard L. Calvin, Delores Crawford, James J. Meehan, Dr. Thomas Shipka, Clarence R. Smith Jr.
The Board approved the 2008 budget of $14.5 million in the General Fund; $4.3 million in the Building and Repair Fund; $609,485 in the Technology Development Fund; and $111,650 in the Internal Service Fund.
Trustees voted to establish the Kenneth M. Lloyd Fund in the Library Foundation to support the further education of county residents with an initial focus on teen and adult programs and services. Lloyd served as a Library Trustee from 1940-1985. He died in 1995 and over the years, a fund in his honor, Associates for Growth, has made donations to the Library in his memory.
©2008 Metro Monthy - Youngstown, Ohio
