The South Carolina Governor’s School for Agriculture at John de la Howe (JDLH) has partnered with the McCormick County Library to secure a competitive grant of $18,000 from the South Carolina State Library. This collaboration will bring high-quality agricultural resources to our students and the entire county. In addition to providing a comprehensive collection of materials, these funds will be used to bring an exciting lineup of educational speakers from the fields of agribusiness, forestry, land management, and food science to campus in the Spring of 2021.

This partnership will strengthen our school in its inaugural year and support its mission to provide a unique, challenging, and hands-on agricultural education. “With agricultural technology growing at a record-breaking pace, our students will need access to the most recent research from well-respected authors and scientists. I look forward to seeing the Impact Grant work to help our students and the community rise to meet the challenges of modern farming,” said JDLH President Tim Keown.

JDLH Director of Library Services, Jennifer Brown, states, “We are grateful to the South Carolina State Library, McCormick County Library, and the Friends of the Library for this support and look forward to expanding access to information and educational resources in the field of agriculture.”

This project is made possible by a Library Services and Technology Act grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the South Carolina State Library. In addition to this 64% federal funding of total project costs, local support was essential to securing the grant. The nonprofit Friends of the McCormick Library is providing $4,500 toward the project, equal to 16% of total costs. The Friends organization raises money through donations and the sale of used books, both online and at their bookstore located in downtown McCormick.

For further information, please contact Jennifer Brown at Jennifer.Brown@delahowe.sc.gov.