RUMFORD – The Rumford Public Library and SAD 43 have been notified by The Jeremiah Cromwell Disabilities Center in Portland that the Rumford Public Library will receive the Cromwell Center’s Special Needs Library Collection free of charge through a grant from the Betterment Fund.
Librarian Carl Aromaa and Paige Covilte, director of Special Services, expressed their appreciation to the center for sharing this resource with the community.
The collection consists of a Parents’ and Educators’ Collection of 15 educational and informational books for parents and educators of children with developmental disabilities, and a children’s collection of 10 books for children with disabilities, their peers and siblings. These books portray children with disabilities in a favorable light. All the books were chosen by special needs authors, parents of children with developmental disabilities, and the Cromwell Center staff. Lists and summaries of the books are available at the library.
Coville noted that this is a community with a significant number of people identified with disabilities. SAD 43 maintains a collection of professional and people-friendly books for staff, students and parents within the schools.
Aromaa noted that having this resource at the Rumford Public Library will provide an opportunity to share additional information and expertise with the community, families and friends of people with developmental disabilities. Coville is appreciative of the opportunity to have such respected books available to community members through the local library.
According to James Kaplan, executive director, “The Cromwell Center’s mission is for people with disabilities to receive the same dignity, inclusion, and respect that every person deserves as a birthright. The center seeks to accomplish this mission through programs that foster acceptance of people with disabilities in all settings. The Special Needs Library Collections program is one of those programs.”
Kaplan noted that many public libraries in Maine will receive these collections.
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