The Wilmington Institute Free Library
As An Information Processing Center For Children


The Delaware Area Continentals Inc. and their Continental Guys would like to see the main library of Wilmington, the oldest and largest public library in Delaware become the information processing center at the turn of the century for the low income neighborhood it serves, the entire city, county, and state. Its leadership is vital for the millennium including having an annual Global Village Software/Hardware Fair. Continental Guy Dr. Clarence Faulcon has seen this role assumed already by the main library of Philadelphia with its leadership of a $30,000,000 Pew Grant to upgrade the main library (Free Library of Philadelphia) and the entire Philadelphia library system. The Baltimore main public library (The Pratt Library) has received national awards from the American Library Association for the information processing services this library offers to the community.

The Delaware Area Continentals and the Continental Guys have had a close relationship with the Children’s Library division, since 1995, sparked by the discovery that this main branch facility had never had a book fair for children. The Global Village Children Software/Hardware Fair would be the next level specifically to what the Continentals have helped pioneer level specifically to what the Continentals have helped pioneer and fund already-The Global Village Children Book Fair.

We were told that the reason why the main library of Wilmington did not have a book fair for the children was because the staff believed that the children they served could not afford to buy books. Continental Guy Faulcon reported this shocking news to his fellow Continental Guys. They decided to do something to rectify this unfortunate situation.

We represent an African American organization devoted to helping children and the underprivileged especially. The Continentals raise money to help children in the areas of health, education, employment, recreation, arts, and humanities. The Continental Guys decided to give $50.00 per man for the library to have a book fair as part of the April 1995 fundraiser. At the fund raiser, Dr. Jacqueline Faulcon, President and Founder of the chapter in 1991 and Jan Hudgins, Treasurer matched the $650.00 raised by the husbands and gave Daphne Santosa the Children’s Librarian of the Wilmington Award given at the fund raiser- the others averaging $500 grants each.

The First Global Village Book Fair was scheduled with the permission of the Director of the Library, David Burdash May 9,10,11, and 12, 1995. The Fair provided books for children from pre-school to grade 6 and included some titles for parents and teachers. The opening ceremony was held Tuesday May 9 starting at 9:30 A.M. This was attended by Mr. James Baker, President of the Wilmington City Council, Mr. Gordon Hess Public Affairs Manager for the Department of Libraries, Mrs. Jan Hudgins, Dr. Clarence Faulcon, David Burdash, and Daphne Santosa (See the picture enclosed). Mayor Jim Sills and his wife attended subsequent opening ceremonies. Also in attendance, has been teachers, parent chaperones and in April 9, 1995 children from eight neighboring schools and day care centers. Each teacher who brought a class to the Book Fair was given a $25 coupon to purchase books to be used in their classes. Thirty-one coupons were issued for a total of $775.00 during the week. The Delaware Areas Continentals, Inc. from 1995-1999 have sponsored G.V. Book Fairs so far.

1995 Exhibits represented:


Two of four artists performed at the Fair were paid for by the grant and the Library picked up the cost for additional artists appearing Wednesday and Thursday in 1995.

GLOBAL VILLAGE CHILDREN'S BOOK FAIR
FINANCIAL REPORT
Income
Donation from Continentals $1,300.00
Sale of Books (cash, checks) 664.76
Total Income $1,964.76 $1,964.76
Expenses
Book Purchases $1,439.76
(-) Discount 433.33
$1,006.33
Fees for Performers 150.00
Purchase of Computer Cart 99.99
$1,256.42 $1,256.42
Balance $708.34


Approximately 600 children from 10 neighboring schools and child care centers attended during that historic 1995 week. Also, this was the first time some children and parents had visited their public library.
The schools and centers included:

Individual children could purchase books often assisted by parent chaperones and teachers. However, we do not have exact statistics on how many parents and children purchased books coming in from the street during the 9-5 P.M. hours of the Fair.

The summer Reading Program averages 700 children per summer and the Balance was used to support that program, for prizes, and closing ceremonies. Therefore, with an average grant ranging from $1300-1400 (Continental Guys now give $100 each freeing their wives fund raising efforts to help more causes for children). By 1995-1999 approximately 3000 children have attended the Fair and 3500 children have been supported during the Summer Reading Program of those same years for a total of 6500 mostly low- income children so far.

Notice that the Continentals bought a "Computer Cart" for the Children’s Library. This is because the Continentals have wanted Children’s Library to move to the next level-cyberspace information processing. The library should have a child’s information processing learning lab pre-k-6 in the areas of health, education, employment, recreation, arts, and humanities. A model center for children information processing learning does exist at the University of Delaware and Continental Guy Faulcon has observed it and has tried to establish a relationship with staff there.

The Wilmington Institute Free Library Information Processing Learning Center could be a model project for the National Continental Organization of 700 African American women in cities with main libraries most of which are located in low-income neighborhoods throughout America.

The Global Village Software/Hardware Fair would be an annual event for the benefit and enlightenment of the neighborhood, the city of Wilmington, the New Castle County, and the entire state. Teachers of low, middle, and upper income children have admitted to the Continentals that they really do not have time to keep up with the rapidly growing software and hardware market, particularly with the pressures of testing. They make quick judgements too often when buying at the very end of their fiscal years spending the rest of their budget in order to prevent turning money back to their administrators. Then they may not have the necessary quality time to use the software properly. If mothers and fathers on all economic levels work, often they work two+ jobs and are trying to raise their families while being involved in a frantic pace to do everything that is routinely demanded of them. They have little time to peruse periodicals which evaluate the fast moving new software and hardware products plus web pages that are springing up or are being reinvented constantly. When parents or teachers enter a computer store they really are not well prepared for what they meet – an amazing and frustrating variety of merchandise, salesmen that just want to make a buck, and their kids who are into the latest fad only, and "gotta have it!"

The public library of the future should have a collection of information technology which it can stand behind and which the public can depend on for borrowing and/or buying - guiding the neighborhood, home, or school. The annual Global Village Software/Hardware Fair should have the capacity to invite the parents and teachers of the state to the latest quality information processing that would be reliable, most affordable, and show any approved by the American Library Association which is done to a limited extent already. A newsletter would accompany the fair made by information processing staff and consultants.

The Philadelphia library staff that led the Pew Foundation project has offered Continental Guy Faulcon to give technical help for this project. The nationally famous library school of Drexel University Information Processing Division is conducting a national search for an information processing librarian who can be of assistance with the support of a grant. We would like to see the award winning head librarian of the Baltimore main library invited to participate. This African American female seems to have great sensitivity for the low income neighborhood she serves mostly.

It seems that the public library in the new millennium has the main responsibility of quality control of learning through information processing while being the main distributor of information through the printed page too. Main libraries in our cities must be the major source of such technology in our poor urban neighborhoods and for our economically strapped and standards harassed school systems.

Continentals feel that it cannot be too soon for the future to be now in the Wilmington Institute Free Library for children. Therefore, the Delaware Valley Continentals, Inc. and the Continental Guys, with a grant, would like to help the Global Village Software/Hardware Fair become another tradition this new century like the Global Village Book Fair has born in the latter part of the past century. They want to enable the thousands of children, their parents, and teachers that Continentals have helped provide reading and printed page possession equity to, now in 2000, to be exposed to information processing learning tool equity at the Wilmington Institute Free Library. We stand on our record and believe that we can form another successful partnership with library professionals helping to plan and actualize such vitally critical goals today thereby inspiring and facilitating modern cognition through professionally selected modern technology of today housed in the public library for this urban, center city neighborhood.