To: Board of Supervisors
From: Libraries
Agenda Section: Consent
Vote Requirement: Majority
SUBJECT:
title
Approve Grant Agreement in the Amount of $50,000 with First 5 Humboldt for Library Services to Young Children and Families throughout Humboldt County for Fiscal Year (FY) 2025-26
end
RECOMMENDATION(S):
Recommendation
That the Board of Supervisors:
1. Approve and authorize the Purchasing Agent to execute, the attached grant agreement with First 5 Humboldt regarding library services in the amount of $50,000 for the period of July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026; and
2. Authorize the Purchasing Agent to execute any and all subsequent amendments to the attached grant agreement with First 5 Humboldt, after review and approval by County Counsel, Risk Management and the County Administrative Office; and
3. Direct the Clerk of the Board to return three fully executed original copies of the attached grant agreement with First 5 Humboldt to the Humboldt County Library.
Body
STRATEGIC PLAN:
This action supports the following areas of your Board’s Strategic Plan.
Area of Focus: Core Services/Other
Strategic Plan Category: 9999 - Core Services/Other
DISCUSSION:
The Humboldt County Library (HCL) has collaborated with First 5 Humboldt since January 2004, to provide enhanced services to families with children from the prenatal stage to 5 years of age. The initial grant agreement authorizing the collaboration and providing funding to HCL has since continued on a yearly basis, after program evaluation and discussion between HCL and First 5 Humboldt.
The current one-year agreement, in the amount of $50,000 began July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026. This item comes to your Board after the effective date due to an administrative oversight.
The purpose of this grant is to promote and foster a family-friendly environment at the HCL, enhance HCL’s outreach programs by targeting library services to geographically isolated ethnic and at-risk families, bolster the general library collections with multicultural, bilingual, and early literacy materials, and augment HCL’s collection with new books and audiovisual resources about parenting and child-rearing skills and strategies.
HCL will build and strengthen its network of community collaborations among similar organizations within the communities it serves through programs such as “Leap into Literacy, Books on the Go,” that HCL operates at 13 sites, including Head Start programs and preschools from Orleans to Redway. Most of these 13 sites are in geographically remote rural areas without consistent access to library services. Two of the sites serve programs with Spanish-speaking enrollments of over 40%. “Leap into Literacy” also serves the Yurok Tribe Head Start campuses in Weitchpec and Eureka. To support early literacy and to provide access to reading and educational materials in these rural sites, HCL staff select and drop off materials at these sites for
use by teachers and caregivers. Also, in order to model best practices for parents, teachers, and caregivers in the provision of educational programming for the benefit of children aged 0-5, the Children’s Services Outreach Coordinator offers story time visits and parent workshops to the sites. The collaboration between HCL and First 5 Humboldt has proven beneficial to many residents of Humboldt County, particularly those in the most remote rural communities.
Accordingly, the Humboldt County Library recommends that the Board of Supervisors approve, and authorize the Purchasing Agent to execute, the attached grant agreement with First 5 Humboldt regarding the provision of library services. Staff also recommends that the Board authorize the Purchasing Agent to execute any and all subsequent amendments to the attached grant agreement with First 5 Humboldt, after review and approval by County Counsel, Risk Management and the County Administrative Office, in order to avoid any unnecessary delays in the provision of needed library services.
SOURCE OF FUNDING:
Library Fund (1500), Grants Local 524075, First 5 Humboldt Grant restricted funds
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
|
Expenditures (1500-621) |
FY25-26 |
|
Budgeted Expenses |
$50,000 |
|
Total Expenditures |
$50,000 |
*Projected amounts are estimates and are subject to change.
|
Funding Sources (1500-621) |
FY25-26 |
|
State/Federal Funds |
$50,000 |
|
Total Funding Sources |
$50,000 |
*Projected amounts are estimates and are subject to change.
Narrative Explanation of Financial Impact:
The attached grant agreement with First 5 Humboldt has a total amount payable of $50,000 for the period of July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026.
The award and acceptance for this grant was anticipated and included in the Library’s adopted budget, 1500621, for FY 2025-26.
STAFFING IMPACT:
Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impact:
There is no staffing impact with the approval of this item.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
First 5 Humboldt
ALTERNATIVES TO STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS:
The Board could choose to not approve the agreement. However, this alternative is not recommended as it will minimize the delivery of library services to underserved and vulnerable populations.
ATTACHMENTS:
ATTACHMENT 1 First 5 Library Grant Agreement
EXHIBITS A-G
PREVIOUS ACTION/REFERRAL:
Meeting of: January 14, 2026
File No.: 25-59