Kenai council accepts grant for library literacy program

Published 1:30 pm Friday, March 13, 2026

The Kenai City Council approved an ordinance during their last regular meeting on March 4, accepting and appropriating a grant from the American Library Association on behalf of the Kenai Community Library.

According to Ordinance 3506-2026, the $8,000 grant will allow the Kenai library to participate in the ALA Digital Pathways Online Health Literacy Programming for Adults initiative.

This pilot incentive program, offered by ALA and supported by United Healthcare, was created to help expand online health literacy learning opportunities to reduce community disparities in healthcare access and foster engagement in personal health management, the ordinance states. The Kenai Community Library is one of 12 libraries selected nationwide to participate in the initiative.

Through the program, the Kenai library will offer instructor-led training to adults, focused on accessing health information online. Funds from the incentive program will be used to purchase health and digital literacy materials, computer equipment and supplies, access to an online learning platform, and promotional materials.

Library director Katja Wolfe wrote in a Feb. 24 memorandum to the council that the Kenai library plans to offer programming “specifically geared” to the needs of Kenai’s senior residents.

“I am really, really excited about this project,” Wolfe said during last week’s council meeting. “It combines digital literacy services and health literacy services — both of which we already do, but we’ll be able to offer programming that is specifically for online health resources.”

Council member Glenese Petty asked Wolfe whether the library would be collecting any information on the individuals utilizing the program and whether there would be any possibility of violating the federal law restricting release of medical information. Wolfe said that the Kenai library would not collect any information beyond materials check-out records.

“We’ll be purchasing some equipment, and that equipment will get checked out. We’ll keep that information until the items get returned and then it’ll be gone. So there will be no collection of any information,” she said.

Hannah Meyer, assistant to the director at the Kenai Community Library, will be the project director on the grant, Wolfe said. Meyer wrote the grant application, with support from other library staff, that was accepted in the competitive process by ALA for the Kenai library to participate in the program.

Council member Sovala Kisena congratulated Wolfe and the Kenai library staff on being selected as one of the grant recipients.

“I just am always impressed by how many grant funds that you guys are always able to apply for and get,” he said. “I know that’s not easy, so well done.”

Council member Bridget Grieme said she appreciated the library’s ability to find ways to provide more services without costing the city more expense.

“I appreciate the work that you guys are doing to continue to provide more for our residents,” she said.

Several other council members also thanked Wolfe and the Kenai library staff for their work and echoed their appreciation for their securing the ALA grant and providing programming to patrons.

Ordinance 3506-2026 underwent introduction, second reading and a public hearing and was enacted during the same meeting due to a clause in Kenai municipal code that allows the city to introduce and pass on the same day an ordinance dealing with appropriations. Wolfe’s memo to the council notes that acceptance of the ALA grant was required no later than March 5, the day after the council meeting, and requested same-day introduction and passage of the ordinance to meet that deadline.

Find Ordinance 3506-2026 and the March 4 Kenai City Council meeting in full at www.kenai.city/citycouncil.

The council will next meet on Wednesday, March 18 at 6 p.m.