1. ALA & FLORENCE
COUNTY LIBRARY
SYSTEM
Made possible by a grant from Smart investing@your library®, a
partnership between the FINRA Investor Education Foundation
and the American Library Association.
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2. Smart investing@your library®
“Smart investing@your library is a
grant-funded program developed
collaboratively by the American
Library Association and the FINRA
Investor Education Foundation. The
program addresses the growing need
for unbiased financial and investor
education at the grassroots level”.
Source: smartinvesting.ala.org
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3. Smart investing@your library®
o Application to the Smart investing@your
library® grant program is by invitation only
to public libraries, community college
libraries, library organizations, nonprofit
networks or consortia serving public
libraries, and state libraries.
o Grants range in size from $5,000 to
$100,000.
o 2012: $1.2 million in grants to 16 recipients.
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4. Smart investing@your library®
 Now in its fifth year, the program
has awarded a total of nearly $6
million to public libraries and library
networks nationwide.
 Grantees are allowed flexibility to
to modify (with grantor approval)
elements of their projects to reach
their stated goals.
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5. Library System Overview
585,000 Annual Visits
70,000 Cardholders
320,000 Items Borrowed Annually
Six locations throughout the county
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6. Florence County
 Population: 137,862 (2011)
 Total Land Area: 799.96
square miles
 Income: 18% Below Poverty
Line (2006-10)
 Race: 41.7% African-
American, 55.5 % White
 Unemployment: 9.5 % -
August 2012
Source: US Census Bureau 6

7. Florence County Library
System - Project Overview
 Grant Award/Year-$ 47,949 (2010)
 Project Term – 16 months
 Multigenerational – 3 Target Groups
 Partnerships
 SC Dept. of Consumer Affairs
 Florence Chapter AARP
 Francis Marion University
 Poynor Adult Education Center
 The Benefit Bank of South Carolina
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8. Public Programs
 Dewey D. Fox Fall Festival
 Take Control of Your Money workshops
 Oct./Nov. 2011 six-week money management
 Mar./Apr. 2012 three-week retirement planning
 April/May 2012 three-week money management
 Children’s storytimes and afterschool programs
 Sept. 2011 through May 2012
 Money Madness Teen Lock-in (May 2012)
 Senior Lunch & Learn (May 2012)
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9. Marketing
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10. Dewey D. Fox Fall Festival
 Attendance – approximately 2000
 over half were children
 Programs
 Theater group
 Puppeteer
 Money themes utilized, savings, spending,
earning
 Piggy bank crafts
 SC Dept. of Consumer Affairs and The Benefit Bank
 Tables in lobby to provide consumer/benefit
information
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11. Fall Festival Images
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12. Fall Festival Images
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13. Fall Festival Images
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14. Fall Festival Images
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15. Fall Festival Images
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16. Fall Festival Images
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17. Festival Goal
Target: Children in Florence County
between the ages of 4 and 11
90 % of the 1000 children who attend
the Dewey Dollar Fall Festival will gain
an understanding of the role and
value of money.

18. Festival Results
Of the surveys that were filled out,
approximately 176 were filled out by
children between the ages of 4 and 11.
o All reported learning at least one
concept.
o Savings (40%) was the number one
answer.
o Other answers included overspending,
credit cards, earning money.

19. Branch Dewey Dollar Programs

20. Children’s Program Results
• 5,300 children attended financial
themed storytimes system wide
• 4,500 checked out books from the
Dewey Dollar Collection
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21. Children’s Program Results
• Simple surveys revealed that 100%
learned at least one concept:
o earning money 43%
o budgeting 23%
o saving 18%
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22. Take Control of Your Money
o Workshops on Money Management
and Retirement Planning
o New Print and Online Resources
o Senior Lunch & Learn
o Consumer Fraud Alerts
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23. Take Control of Your Money Series
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24. Take Control Workshop Results
99 % reported that they gained
financial knowledge
Thirty Day Follow-up:
91 % reported opening a savings
account or increasing savings
90% established a household
budget
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25. Adult Smart Investing Collections
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26. Money Madness Teen Lock-in
• 189 Teens Attended
• SELA Outstanding
Library Program of 2012
• Partnership with SC
Department of
Consumer Affairs and
support of area schools
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27. 27

28. Teen Lock-in Images
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29. Teen Lock-in Images
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30. Teen Lock-in Images
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31. Teen Results
More than 95% reported learning at
least two concepts:
67% - the importance of saving money
61% - how compound interest
works and why it’s important
55% - the true costs of buying/owning
a car
43% - learned about credit card debt
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32. Teen Results Followup
Thirty Day Follow-up Survey:
51% reported taking steps to avoid credit
card debt by saving up for purchases rather
than buying on credit
11 % reported setting up a savings account
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33. Senior Lunch & Learn
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34. Senior Lunch & Learn
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35. Senior Lunch & Learn
• 100 % reported learning valuable
information about various types of
investment fraud.
• 55% reported employing new
strategies and resources in their
investment planning as a direct result
of the Lunch & Learn.
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36. Senior Lunch & Learn
o The Securities Division of the South
Carolina Office of the Attorney
General decided to replicate the
Senior Lunch & Learn model
statewide.
o They received a grant and started
their statewide initiative in the fall
of 2012.
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37. Collaboration
• Internal – staff, Friends of the
Library group
• External - partnerships
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38. Partnerships
• Utilizing an existing partnership is
preferable to building one from
scratch.
• The success of partnerships
depends just as much or more on
relationships than “organizational
fit.”
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39. Partnerships
• A memorandum of understanding
(M.O.U.) is a good way to define
roles and expectations.
• Partnerships should be mutually
beneficial.
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40. Partnerships
Examples of mutual benefit:
o Sharing statistics, survey results
o Positive press – coordinating coverage
o Reaching other audiences
o Sharing “soft outcomes” - photos,
anecdotal results
o Sharing expertise
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41. Innovation
• Take inventory of your
organization’s assets.
• Brainstorm with colleagues,
partnership contacts, cohorts in
other libraries / similar
organizations.
• Innovation can result from
adaptation.
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42. Lessons Learned
• Marketing and program design are
interrelated.
• Success Tip: Adapt a program
format that has worked previously
in YOUR community.
• Direct marketing works best for
teens.
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43. Promotional Videos
http://www.youtube.com/user/
ALAsmartinvesting
Smart Investing for Kids:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=SAnHRSKIdFE&feature=autoplay
&list=UUJjjU7BCpzBN0R1Tn9qAtkg
&playnext=1
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44. Promotional Videos
Smart Investing for Adults:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=rxBWQC-
423M&list=UUJjjU7BCpzBN0R1Tn9q
Atkg&index=2&feature=plcp
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45. Media Coverage
http://www2.wbtw.com/news/2011/o
ct/25/florence-county-library-
system-promotes-financial--ar-
2605920/
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46. For More Information:
smartinvesting.ala.org
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47. Thanks
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48. Aubrey B. Carroll
Contact:
acarroll@florencelibrary.org
acarrollflolib@gmail.com
(843) 413 - 7070
Florence County Library System
509 S. Dargan Street
Florence, SC USA 29506
www.florencelibrary.org
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