Give it Up for Public and Culture Programs

This morning, the Public and Culture Programs Advisory committee (as part of the Public Programs Office) was treated to a wonderful anecdotal institutional history of public programming within ALA by National Endowment of the Humanities Director, Tom Phelps. NEH is the godparent of cultural programs in ALA, having funded the first Let’s Talk About It book discussion series in the mid-80s. Last year, ALA was awarded its very first challenge grant from the NEH to help establish and endow the Cultural Communities Fund. The purpose of CCF is to help individual libraries establish cultural and community programs and to provide them with training and support. That’s the good news. The bad news is that there’s been poor response to the CCF, so much so that the challenge grant is in danger of not being met.

Cultural and community programming has been traditionally seen as an add-on or something extra, and often not given a line item in library budgets. As an experienced programmer, I understand the value of adult cultural programming in libraries and have witnessed its community-building power. Mayor Richard J Daley and Illinois Senator Barack Obama, in their addresses at the opening general session yesterday, both went beyond the usual “libraries are great” messages, but talked about how libraries are (or should be) an integral part of ensuring a literate, engaged and informed populace. Adult cultural programming, where attendees are active participants, is one way to continue this mission throughout life. After story hour or, if they’re lucky, a youth advisory board, there has not been widespread programming opportunity for adult library users.

ALA’s Public Programs Office offers several opportunties for libraries to offer high-value programming to their patrons, and librarians are starting to catch on. This sort of high-value programming includes book and film discussion programs, traveling exhibits and topical, salon-type groups developed by trained librarians, led by local experts and scholars, and supported by local partners. Phelps related that several librarians stopped by the NEH booth to complain about not being awarded a grant for their latest traveling exhibit. It’s a nice problem to have, and ALA and NEH would like to be able to offer opportunties to more applicants.

Cutting to the chase: the Public and Culture Program Advisory Committee will be kicking up their fundraising a notch to help support its mission to provide programming opportunities for libraries of all types, all over the US. If you see us coming–don’t run and hide. We know you have a checkbook on you.