In response to the COVID-19 crisis and in consideration for the many children who are out-of-school and possibly at home without internet access to educational resources, ICfL has adjusted the requirements of the Outreach for Underserved Children program to get books to emergency food sites for the children in their communities. These are brand new books that have not been circulated, have not been touched in months, which will only be handled with gloved hands during shipment, and which do not need to be returned. Libraries can assist in this process by reaching out to the emergency food organization/s in their communities, discussing if they would want new books to go home with their Grab ‘n Go meals or other food distribution, a safety procedure to keep the new books clean before and during distribution, and a way to receive the shipment of books during this time. Once a library has had such discussions with their emergency food partner, libraries may request books through the updated Outreach for Underserved Children request form. Both public and school libraries may apply. Please see the updated webpage  for more details and to request books via the new form:

https://libraries.idaho.gov//rtm/underserved-program/

Please contact me with any questions regarding this program change at kristina.taylor@libraries.idaho.gov or (208) 334-2150.