PLA Blog

Many thanks to the Public Programs Office (PPO) listserv for sharing these wonderful funding opportunities!

Dollar General Youth Literacy Grants
“Provide funding to schools, public libraries and nonprofit organizations to help with the implementation or expansion of literacy programs for students who are below grade level or experiencing difficulty reading.” Application deadlines: October 5, 2007; February 5, 2008. NOTE: Dollar General also lists literacy grants for adults and families, with application periods beginning in January 2008.

Prime Time Family Reading Time
Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities (LEH), ALA Public Programs Office, & National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)
“Based on illustrated children’s books, PRIME TIME is designed to help low-income, low-literate families bond around the act of reading and talking about books. It models and encourages family reading and discussion of humanities topics, and aids parents and children in selecting books and becoming active public library users.” Application Deadline: November 1, 2007.

Light the Way: Outreach to the Underserved Grant
Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) & Candlewick Press
“This one-time grant of $5000 will be presented in honor of Newbery Medalist and Geisel Honoree Kate DiCamillo to a library conducting exemplary outreach to underserved populations… Special population children may include those who have learning or physical differences, those who are speaking English as a second language, those who are in a non-traditional school environment, those who are in non-traditional family settings (such as teen parents, foster children, children in the juvenile justice system, and children in gay and lesbian families), and those tho need accommodation service to meet their needs.” Application deadline: December 3, 2007.

Big congratulations to the PPO for the launch of their spiffy new blog, the Public Programs Post. In the past, the PLA Blog has highlighted information, programs, and events from the Public Programs Office here, and we hope to continue to bring you highlights from their new blog now and again. In the meantime, if you have a feed reader, be sure to visit their blog and subscribe to their feed!

Public libraries can be total rock stars when it comes to publicity. Take a moment to strut your stuff by entering the competition (details below) now that they’ve extended the deadline!

C’mon - you know your library does some amazing public relations work . Show it off to the rest of the country! Enter this year’s Best of Show Competition, put on by the Swap & Shop Committee (LAMA/PRMS). All libraries are invited to submit promotional materials produced in 2006. Judging in all categories will bebased on content, originality, design format and effectiveness. Entries must be received by April 20, 2007. A team of experts in librarianship, public relations and marketing will judge the library promotional materials. Winning entries will be on display during the Swap and Shop program scheduled for Sunday, June 24, 2006, from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., during the ALA Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. The awards will be presented to the winners on that day. Free samples of library public relations materials from dozens of libraries will be available for attendees to “swap and shop” during the program. For more information, contact Luke Vilelle at or 540.231.1108. Best of luck to you all!

Best of Show Entry Form

2007 FAQs

Troy Rumpf
Manager, Community & Media Relations
Laramie County Library System
2800 Central Avenue
Cheyenne, WY 82001
307.635.1032 ext. 123
www.LCLSonline.org

We invite you to share your fabulous promotional tips, campaigns, and even ideas you haven’t tried yet here on the blog by commenting on this post.

The ALA Public Programs Office needs your help (c/o a message from the PPO mailing list)!

A larger than anticipated number of applications have been received for “Picturing America” - a pilot program of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) We the People project, conducted in cooperation with the American Library Association (ALA) Public Programs Office. We need more K-12 school librarians to serve as volunteer reviewers!

To be considered to serve as a Picturing America judge, please email a resume or brief bio to as soon as possible. Only K-12 school librarians/media specialists employed with schools that have not applied for a Picturing America grant are eligible to serve.

Judges will be asked to review a maximum of 50 applications between March 20 and April 9. Each application will take approximately 3-5 minutes to review via a password protected Web site. All reviews must be completed by April 9.

Because this pilot program will impact 500 schools across the country, we hope to have school librarians integrally involved in the selection process. To find out more about Picturing America, visit http://publicprograms.ala.org/picturingamerica.

Questions? Contact the ALA Public Programs Office at .

I received this via the Public Programs Office listserv:

A record number of applications have been received for this year’s We the People Bookshelf on the “Pursuit of Happiness”! We need more volunteer reviewers!

This year’s We the People Bookshelf has only one deadline and the number of school and public libraries to be awarded is again 2,000! As this national initiative continues to impact so many school and public libraries, it presents an excellent opportunity for librarians to be integrally involved in library selection.

Judges will review and rate proposals online via a password accessible National Endowment for the Humanities Web site. The applications are very brief and should take no longer than 3-5 minutes per review. Each judge will be asked to review approximately 40-50 applications. Each judge will be given three weeks to complete the assigned batch of proposals. The entire review process will be competed by February 28, 2007.

Judges may not be applicants to the WTP initiative under the January 30 deadline.

More information on the WTP initiative can be found at www.ala.org/wethepeople or http://www.wethepeople.gov/bookshelf. If you are interested in serving as a reviewer, please contact Mary Davis Fournier at .

Mary Davis Fournier
Project Director
Public Programs Office
American Library Association
312/280-5056
1-800-545-2433, ext 5056
www.ala.org/publicprograms

This came to my attention very recently through the ALA Public Programs listserv. The deadline for application submission is very tight (December 18, 2006), but it seems like it would be worth the hustle and trouble for interested libraries. All bold emphasis mine.

Dear Library Colleague:

In the spring of 2006, Arthur marked a milestone that few children’s-or adult-series ever attain: ten seasons on the air! To celebrate the occasion, the WGBH Educational Foundation is pleased to launch Arthur’s 10th Anniversary Literacy Initiative, a new outreach effort targeting public libraries.

This new outreach effort is designed to use the series’ continuing popularity to support two intersecting target audiences-libraries and parents. Many parents become library users when their children are toddlers and preschoolers. Many also know the importance of reading aloud to support their children’s literacy development. However, as their children age and become readers themselves, parents often relegate responsibility for their children’s reading success to teachers and become less aware of how libraries can support them and their children as they grow older.

WGBH will award grants in the amount of $1,000 each to 15 public libraries, asking them to design projects using the Arthur resources and targeting parents and children, including soon-to-be as well as independent readers. We seek libraries that represent diversity in size, location, and population served (with an emphasis on reaching at-risk audiences), and will also consider the creativity of their approach and the strength of their community partners (including local PBS stations), which will be essential to access families not currently served by the library.

We invite you to apply for an Arthur’s 10th Anniversary Literacy Initiative grant. Applications are due by Monday, December 18, 2006 and can be found at http://www.ala.org/ala/ourassociation/chapters/literacyoutreach.htm.

If you have questions on the grant application, please feel free to contact Natalie Hebshie, Arthur Outreach Coordinator, at 617/300-3639 or by e-mail at .

Sincerely,
WGBH Educational Outreach

What You Can Expect from WGBH:

• A $1,000 grant to defray the cost of staff time and materials required to develop targeted outreach activities for kids and families.
• Arthur Library Event Guide. This online resource includes ideas to engage kids across the age spectrum in reading activities.
• Let’s Read! (in English and Spanish). This family activity booklet offers ideas for how parents can support their children’s literacy at different ages.
• Arthur anniversary stickers and pencils for distribution to young patrons
• Read Aloud Book Club Kit for young readers, including six book club session cards with activity suggestions, and books for distribution.
• Arthur-themed bulletin board decorations.

What WGBH Expects From Your Library:

• Design outreach activities that support kids and families.
• Partner with your local PBS Station on your outreach activities.
• Utilize ideas and activity suggestions from the Arthur Library Event Guide.
• Distribute Arthur outreach materials, including Let’s Read!, stickers, and pencils.
• Publicize your activities.
• Complete and submit a final report on your outreach activities (final report form provided by WGBH).

Dates to Keep in Mind:

• Grant applications due to WGBH Educational Outreach: December 18, 2006
• 15 grantees selected and notified: January 2, 2007
• Grantees complete final report and submit to WGBH: April 30, 2007

Questions? Please contact Natalie Hebshie, Arthur Outreach Coordinator at 617/300-3639 or by e-mail at .

This came my way via the ALA Public Programming listserv this morning, and I thought I’d share.

Kathleen Weibel and Kay Cassell are doing an article for LIBRARY TRENDS on public library programming aimed at women with particular focus on National Womens History Month. Unlike academic libraries with a womens studies librarian position, public libraries do not have an institutionalized focus on women and womens issues. However, these libraries do provide public programming aimed at women or on womens issues often during Womens History Month.

The LIBRARY TRENDS issue, edited by Sue Searing and Cindy Gold, will be on gender issues in information needs and services. This issue will explore a wide range of issues in the provision of information through libraries and other agencies, viewed through the lens of gender analysis.

Cassell and Weibel would love to hear from any libraries doing programming on womens health, careers, finances or any other topic as well as programs for National Womens History Month. Please contact Kay Cassell at by November 15.

Kay Ann Cassell Assistant Professor School of Communication, Information and Library Studies Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

These two tidbits came to me care of the ALA Public Programs Office email list. There are more grants and awards (with upcoming deadlines), events, and news listings listed on the ALA Public Programs Office part of the ALA site, as well as information on how to subscribe to the email listserv.

Carnegie Whitney Grant Deadline Approaching
http://www.ala.org/work/pubs/Carnegie.html
The American Library Association Publishing Committee provides a grant of up to $5000 for the preparation of print or electronic reading lists, indexes, or other guides to library resources that promote reading or the use of library resources at any type of library. Applications must be received by November 6, 2006. Recipients will be notified by the end of February 2007.

ALA Seeks Grant Applicants for New We the People Bookshelf
http://www.ala.org/wethepeople
This year, we are offering 2,000 sets of classic books for children on the theme the “Pursuit of Happiness.” To apply, simply complete the easy online application by describing how your library will create a theme-related program that highlights the Bookshelf titles. Applications are due by January 31, 2007.