Fountaindale Public Library District

Reducing Barriers to Reading

Fountaindale Public Library District

Amount Awarded: $120,000 | Completed July 2024

Will County’s allocation of federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars is expanding library access throughout Will County.

With the help of ARPA funding, Fountaindale Public Library District installed two new Holds Pickup Lockers in Bolingbrook: one outside of the library’s main entrance and one at the Bolingbrook Recreation and Aquatic Complex (BRAC). The lockers are contactless and can be accessed outside of library hours for patrons, allowing them to pick up their library materials when it fits their schedule.

The Holds Pickup Lockers are an additional way the library district aims to reduce barriers to service. They want to make using the library as easy as possible for patrons, and the lockers allow them to expand their service hours and reach outside of the library building. Since its debut in November 2023, more than 4,500 items have been picked up from the Holds Pickup Lockers, and the library district expects that number to significantly increase with the addition of the new lockers at the BRAC, which were just added in mid-July.