Hornell Public Library Awarded $10,000 ALA Grant to Support New Americans

Supporting Hornell’s diverse community with literature and a new Cultural Hub!!

The Hornell Public Library is thrilled to announce that they have been awarded $10,000 through the American Library Association’s Building Library Capacity Grant! This competitive grant was awarded to only 16 libraries across the entire country to help expand services for New Americans, including immigrants and refugees.

Since 2024, our library has proudly hosted Global Tales—formerly known as Multilingual Story-Time. With 18 different languages spoken throughout the Hornell City School District, Global Tales celebrates our community’s diversity and fosters connection among families.

To date, Global Tales has featured 12 languages, hosted 35 story-time sessions, and welcomed 577 participants. This has been possible with the commitment of our 10 volunteers from all around the world who now live in Hornell and the surrounding areas.

Thanks to this generous funding, they will be able to grow the program in exciting ways:

Expanding their bilingual collection: More than fifty new books will be added, ensuring representation for all 18 languages spoken in Hornell. These books will be available to borrow through the Southern Tier Library System.
Free books for families: Every child who attends Global Tales will receive a free book to take home and add to their personal library. Please contact the library to find out how to register.
Creating Hornell’s first Cultural Hub: The library will design a welcoming space with vibrant, comfortable furniture, accessible shelving, and resources to support New Americans during their transition to our community.

The library is incredibly excited to grow Global Tales and continue their mission of creating a library that celebrates inclusion, learning, and connection.

For more information about the ALA grant, visit: ALA awards $10,000 grants to 16 libraries to build capacity to serve New Americans (immigrants and refugees) | ALA

To learn more about Global Tales, visit: Global Tales