Serving Grandfamilies in Libraries: A Handbook and Programming Guide

Gough, Feehan, and Lyons have taken everything learned from their research on developing GrandFamily Resource Collections and leading grandfamily programming in several states and put it in this easy to use guide. They share the successes and failures of existing programs so other librarians can hit the ground running rather than trudge through a time-consuming and costly period of trial-and-error. It’s a lot more efficient to learn from someone else’s mistakes than to make your own.

The target population, grandfamilies, and most specifically, grandparents raising grandchildren have become a statistically-significant group worthy of attention in many communities but library practitioners may not have explored further due to a lack of resources and money.

Special features include:

List of Web resources (government agencies, support groups, etc.)List of grants and funding opportunities Sample grant applicationsList of possible community partners for the librarySample surveys or some tactic for getting to know the needs of one’s target populationSample marketing plansSample promotional materialsSample activity sheetsSample release forms, etc.
With this practical and comprehensive guide, your library will be ready to jumpstart or easily expand a stellar program for the grandfamilies in your community.

Sarah Gough is Programs and Partnerships Librarian for Richland Library in Columbia, South Carolina.

Dr. Pat Feehan is Associate Professor in the School of Library and Information Science at the University of South Carolina.

Denise Lyons is the Director of Library Development at the South Carolina State Library located in Columbia, South Carolina.