The Seward County Community College Library received a massive win in the form of a $10,000 grant for new additions and more events in the fall. 

The Director of Library Services, Casandra Norin, said the grant was given by the American Library Association [ALA] for humanity purposes. 

“We ended up applying for it, and if I am being honest, I did not think we would get it because this is a really competitive grant,” Norin said. 

Norin’s goal of this grant is to not really fix the library as much as help and provide for the students. She wanted this grant to help with more than just students reading in the library but writing as well. 

“We have received journals and pens to have weekly writing prompts so that the students can write something down or get in the habit of writing,” Norin said. 

Esi Houtz, a nursing major from Elkhart, believed it’s a cool idea for the library to start focusing on more than just the reading part. However, while bringing in new ideas is a good thing, she also thought the grant received by the library can improve the appearance of the library. 

“Some of us nursing majors are here for five to six hours somedays, and if they were to add comfier chairs, I believe it would be better for us,” Houtz said. 

Other students such as Bryan Symons, an education major from Liberal, thought the computers are old and getting a printer that actually works is a necessity with this grant. 

Norin agreed with Symons about getting new equipment or better-aged equipment for the library. She said the grant includes some new technology which puts them in the process of purchasing technology that is more collaborative and easier for the students to use or have access to.

“We want to add video recorders, microphones, projectors, and all these things that will increase the tech in the library,” Norin said. 

The grant has already been put to use on the event for Friday at Seward with the rapper, “Cash Hollistah,” coming in to talk about being creative.

“We want to have more events like these and have more authors come in with this grant for the upcoming fall semester,” Norin said. 

Norin believed by the end of the fall semester there should be at least five authors that will come into the library and speak to the students and faculty. 

“It is a lot of money that we can dedicate to the program, technology, and most importantly to the student,” Norin said.