SAIPAN – The Joeten-Kiyu Public Library has been awarded $200,000 from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services to plan a family literacy program rooted in Chamorro and Carolinian languages and Indigenous storytelling, one of 40 projects funded nationwide from 105 applications.
The award comes under the FY2026 Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program for the library’s initiative, “Families Reading Together: Planning a Sustainable Family Literacy Indigenous Storytelling Initiative.” Teresa Devoe, IMLS Associate Deputy Director of Grants to States, said the agency received 105 eligible applications requesting $27,493,862 this cycle and selected 40 projects totaling $9.6 million.
The planning project will assess family literacy needs across the Commonwealth, strengthen partnerships with local organizations, adapt curricula and design pilot after-school family reading clubs. It will also explore developing locally produced children’s books reflecting the people, places, history and culture of island families, with the goal of a strategic roadmap for a full-scale family literacy program across the Northern Mariana Islands.
“Reading together gives families an opportunity to connect, learn, share stories, and create memories,” Library Director Erlinda C. Naputi said. “When we include our Indigenous languages and stories, we are also giving our children an opportunity to see themselves, their families, and their culture reflected in what they read.”
Naputi said public libraries play a vital role in hard economic times and after natural disasters, offering safe and accessible spaces for families to connect and learn. “This grant allows us to look ahead and build something that can serve families for generations,” she said.
The library thanked IMLS, the Friends of the Joeten-Kiyu Public Library, the families of Jose C. Tenorio (“Joeten”) and Manuel S. Villagomez (“Kiyu”), and donors who support library services through the Educational Tax Credit, along with the Commonwealth Library Council led by Chairman Charles V. Cepeda, the administration, the Legislature, the island mayors, and the teams at Joeten-Kiyu, the Antonio C. Atalig Memorial Library on Rota and the Tinian Public Library.
