This spring, 16 Indiana libraries will receive Wellbeing Literacy grants through a partnership between MCLS and The Wellbeing Lab.

These libraries will receive one-year subscriptions to The Wellbeing Lab’s PERMAH Wellbeing Survey, which they may use with their staff or their community. This tool allows individuals to measure their wellbeing and receive a customized report with evidence-based suggestions, making it an intervention in itself.

One staff person from each of these libraries will also take part in the Certificate in Creating Wellbeing program through The Wellbeing Lab, starting at the end of April. This program takes place over 12 weeks, involving weekly 90-minute coaching calls, six half-day deeper dives, and access to a content library of readings, videos, podcasts, and more. The cohort will be made up of participants from various professions, so the experience will be a great way to learn along with other library staff, as well as others outside libraries. Participants receive an applied course in wellbeing science and a call-to-action to take what they are learning in their own lives, families, and work teams.

The funds were made available to MCLS member libraries through a grant program established by the MCLS Board of Trustees from the proceeds of the sale of the former INCOLSA building in Indiana. 

The participating libraries represent a spectrum of library types, sizes, and geographic locations in Indiana, all with a common goal to increase wellbeing among their staff and communities. 

The following libraries will be receiving the grants:  

• B. F. Hamilton Library, Franklin College
• Bartholomew County Public Library
• Brownsburg Public Library
• Eckhart Public Library
• Frankfort Community Public Library
• Hussey Mayfield Memorial Public Library
• Indiana State Library
• IUPUI University Library
• Jeffersonville Township Public Library
• Kendallville Public Library
• Knox County Public Library
• Middlebury Community Public Library
• New Albany Floyd County Public Library
• Newburgh Chandler Public Library
• University of Notre Dame

Libraries have always believed in the transformative power of ideas. We believe wellbeing is a useful set of ideas that libraries can use to respond, recover, re-imagine, and rebuild systems that help communities rebound and address the inequities in access to information, healthcare, education, and economic opportunities that create stability and healing. MCLS is committed to supporting Indiana libraries in their work, and we are excited about this most recent opportunity to do so.