- Log in to post comments
The Black Hawk College Library received the My Library Is… Grant to purchase two charging stations and ten charging blocks, as well as new charging cables for phones and laptops. The goal of this project was to supplement the technological needs of the campus, especially for students from underserved populations who may have greater need.
We noticed that in the library, in study spaces, and in classrooms, students would cluster around outlets so they could charge their devices. These outlets are often few and far between, and many are inconveniently located. Sometimes, this would lead to charging cords reaching across the room, creating a tripping hazard. There were also situations where there were not enough available outlets in a room for all the students.
Our library already had a small collection of charging cables for phones that were used frequently, but our current cables were getting old and newer phones needed different cables than we had. Both of the Black Hawk College campuses are commuter campuses, with only a small percentage of students living in on-campus housing. This means that it is difficult for students to just drive or take a bus home to grab something they forgot, like a charging cord. This meant that we regularly loaned out our supply of charging cables and in some cases, could not accommodate those students who owned newer phone models.
These were two problems we wanted to solve. There was a clear need for our students.
The library looked at options. We wanted something that would be flexible to our campus and for our students. While looking at power options, we found the Omni Power Stations. These stations can charge five charging blocks and these blocks can be used to charge phones, laptops, and more! The charging blocks have four different ports for charging, so no matter the type of charging cable the student has, they can use the charging blocks.
We had found the solution!
Except, of course, the charging stations and blocks were far too expensive to pay for using only library budget funds. They were wish list items. This is where the RAILS My Library Is…Grant comes in. After reading the announcement for the new round of grants, we were excited to have a possible funding source for the project.
With the notification that we were awarded the grant, we purchased the charging stations and blocks. Inflation was higher than calculated, so we ended up using some end of year library funds to supplement the grant funds. We were able to get the two charging stations, ten charging blocks, four phone charging cords, and two laptop charging cords.
The new, updated, and expanded collection launched at the start of the Fall 2025 semester. Our marketing department made posters, bookmarks, and added digital announcements on TVs around campus. The librarians reached out to faculty in meetings and students in orientation events and library instruction sessions.
We count the launch as a success, with over 200 checkouts from the technology collection from August 2025 – March 2026. Students (and faculty) are using the collection. Situations have even arisen where faculty have sent students to check out charging blocks to prevent their devices from dying during class. We have increased the library’s visibility and value on campus by serving our community’s technological needs.
We are so very grateful to RAILS for awarding Black Hawk College the My Library Is… Grant. We are getting students in the door that might not otherwise come in, because they have a technological need. It is very encouraging, and we are working on plans to expand the loanable technology collection even more in the future.
Today's blog post was written by Cat Broady (She/Her), Reference and Instruction Librarian at Black Hawk College.
This project was made possible by the My Library Is... Grant.