The American Library Association (ALA) Office for Diversity and the Diversity Research Grants Advisory Committee seek proposals for the Diversity Research Grant program.  Applicants must be current ALA members and 2010 proposals must address one of three identified topics:

•    Upward mobility of Library Leaders from Underrepresented Populations
•    Information Services and Collections for Diverse Children and Young Adults
•    Libraries and the Meaning of Multiculturalism
The Diversity Research Grant consists of a one-time $2,000 award for original research and a $500 travel grant to attend and present at the 2011 ALA Annual Conference. A jury of ALA members will evaluate proposals and is encouraged to award one proposal from each of this year’s topics for a total of three awards.  Grant recipients will be announced ahead of the 2010 ALA Annual Conference and will be expected to compile the results of their research into a presentation for the 2011 ALA Annual Conference in New Orleans, LA.

The application deadline is April 30.
Only proposals demonstrating relevance to the 2010 research topics will be considered.

A complete proposal must include the following: a cover letter, a one-page vita for each of the researchers involved, a concise abstract of the project and a description of the project detailing the justification and needs for the research project, research objectives, expected outcomes and benefits, budget plan and timeline.

For a complete list of the criteria on which proposals will be evaluated, please visit: http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/diversity/divresearchgrants/diversityresearch.cfm

Persons submitting a proposal must be current ALA members. If you are not presently a member of ALA, but wish to submit a proposal, please visit http://www.ala.org/membership/ for information on becoming a member. Applicants must supply membership ID numbers with proposals.

Submissions should be sent by mail to the ALA Office for Diversity, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611.  Electronic submissions are preferred and should be submitted in a Word document attachment. Email electronic submissions to diversity@ala.org.

Congratulations to Hobart Public Library, Frederick Public Library, Hennessey Public Library and Grandfield Public Library on being January 2010 Libri Foundation Grant receipents!

The Libri Foundation is currently accepting applications for its 2010 BOOKS FOR CHILDREN grants.

The Libri Foundation is a nationwide non-profit organization which donates new, quality, hardcover children’s books to small, rural public libraries throughout the United States.  Since October 1990, the Foundation has donated over $4,000,000 worth of new children’s books to more than 2,500 libraries in 49 states, including Alaska and Hawaii.

In order to encourage and reward local support of libraries, The Libri Foundation will match any amount of money raised by your local sponsors from $50 to $350 on a 2-to-1 ratio.  Thus, a library can receive up to $1,050 worth of new children’s books.  After a library receives a grant, local sponsors (such as formal or informal Friends groups, civic or social organizations, local businesses, etc.) have four months, or longer if necessary, to raise their matching funds.

The librarian of each participating library selects the books her library will receive from a booklist provided by the Foundation.  The 700-plus fiction and nonfiction titles on the booklist reflect the very best of children’s literature published primarily in the last three years. These titles, which are for children ages 12 and under, are award-winners or have received starred reviews in library, literary, or education journals.  The booklist also includes a selection of classic children’s titles.

Libraries are qualified on an individual basis.  In general, county libraries should serve a population under 16,000 and town libraries should serve a population under 10,000 (usually under 5,000).  Libraries should be in a rural area, have a limited operating budget, and an active children’s department.

Please note:  Rural is usually considered to be at least 30 miles from a city with a population over 40,000.  Town libraries with total operating budgets over $150,000 and county libraries with total operating budgets over $350,000 are rarely given grants.

Applications are accepted from independent libraries as well as libraries which are part of a county, regional, or cooperative library system.

A school library may apply only if it also serves as the public library (i.e. it is open to the everyone in the community, has some summer hours, and there is no public library in town).

A branch library may apply if the community it is in meets the definition of rural.  If the branch library receives its funding from its parent institution, then the parent institution’s total operating budget, not just the branch library’s total operating budget, must meet the budget guidelines.

Previous BOOKS FOR CHILDREN grant recipients are eligible to apply for another grant three years after the receipt of their last grant.
Libraries that do not fulfill all grant requirements, including the final report, may not apply for another grant.

Application deadlines for 2010 are:  (postmarked by) January 23rd (extended), April 15th, and August 15th.

Grants are awarded January 31st, April 30th, and August 31st.

Application guidelines and forms may be downloaded from the Foundation’s website at: www.librifoundation.org.

For more information about The Libri Foundation or its Books for Children program, please contact Ms. Barbara J. McKillip, President, The Libri Foundation, PO Box 10246, Eugene, OR  97440.  541-747-9655 (phone); 541-747-4348 (fax); libri AT librifoundation.org (email).  Normal office hours are:  Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Pacific Time.

Apply for a 2010 Young Adult Literature Symposium Stipend! YALSA will award two stipends, worth up to $1,000, for travel and registration costs at the 2010 Young Adult Literature Symposium in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Nov. 5-7, 2010.

Applications are due Jan. 4.

President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities: Coming Up Taller Awards

President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities

The Coming Up Taller Awards reward outstanding after-school and out-of-school arts and humanities programs for underserved children and youth.

Maximum award: $10,000.

Eligibility: programs initiated by museums, libraries, performing arts organizations, universities, colleges, arts centers, community service organizations, schools, businesses, and eligible government entities.

Deadline: January 29, 2010.
http://www.pcah.gov/cut.htm

Laura Bush Foundation

The Laura Bush Foundation makes grants of up to $6,000 each to update, extend, and diversify the book collections of school libraries. All LBF grants are made to individual schools rather than to school districts, county systems, private organizations, foundations, or other entities. LBF gives selection preference to schools in which 90 percent or more of the students receive free or reduced lunches and are likely to have the fewest books at home.
Foundation funds are available only for library books and magazine/serial copies and subscriptions. The Laura Bush Foundation is unable to honor requests for staffing, shelving, furniture, equipment, software, videos, classroom book sets or any kind of book guides, tests, or exams. Only one application per school is allowed per year.
Libraries at public and private schools are eligible to apply.

The deadline to apply is Dec. 31, 2009.

The application can be found at:
http://www.laurabushfoundation.org/web2/index.html

YALSA sent this grant information:

Clorox Clean Up Grant

Clorox Clean-Up, a product of the Clorox Company, has announced that its new Power A Bright Future program will award five grants of $10,000 each to local kids’ programs in hopes of enriching the lives of youth across the United States.
The program invites individuals to nominate local nonprofit youth programs for a Power A Bright Future grant by submitting a photo and short essay about the project. A panel of children’s advocates will review all submissions and select fifty finalists. From December 7 to January 17, 2010, the public will have the opportunity to vote online for their favorite finalist’s program. The final five will be announced by the end of January. Each winner will receive a $10,000 grant to help the project grow.

For more information, visit http://www.facebook.com/cloroxcleanup

NEA Foundation

NEA’s Books Across America School Library Grants go to schools with under resourced school libraries:

The grant is $1,000 and The Pearson Foundation will match the grant with $1,000 in books from Penguin and DK Publishers. We’re awarding 50 grants this year.  The deadline is November 20, 2009.

Youth Service America

NEA/YSA’s Youth Leaders for Literacy Grants are $500 grants to youth-led literacy projects.  Students in K-12 and up to sophomores in college are eligible to apply—it can be individual students or student groups.  The Pearson Foundation will match this with $500 in books as well.
The deadline is October 30, 2009.

FYI…

…take a moment to consider applying for money to go to the 2008 ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim, California! Download an application for a Penguin Young Readers Group Award and see just how easy it is to apply. Managers and Professors: please take the time to spread the word about this opportunity!

These awards, made possible by an annual gift from the Penguin Young Readers Group, are administered by a committee of ALSC. They enable up to four children’s librarians to attend the ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim, CA, June 26-July 2, 2008. Four librarians working directly with children in an elementary, middle school, or public library setting will each receive $600.

Requirements for application are:

ALSC membership (applicant must be a member by the application deadline)
One to ten years experience as a children’s librarian
No previous attendance at an annual ALA Conference
The deadline for applications is Monday, December 3, 2007. For more information and to download an application, for the Penguin Young Readers Group Award, visit:

http://www.ala.org/ala/alsc/awardsscholarships/profawards/
PenguinYoungReadersGroupAward/PenguinYoungReadersGrp.htm

Penguin Award Flyer (pdf)

Sincerely,

Alison O’Reilly

Penguin Young Readers Group Award Committee, Chair

Alison O’Reilly
512-462-1452
alison.oreilly AT ci.austin.tx.us

Ezra Jack Keats Minigrant Program For Public Schools and Public Libraries
Minigrant Award = $500 http://www.ezra-jack-keats.org/programs/minigrant.html

Creative programs funded in the past have included:

- Ongoing pen-pal projects bringing disparate communities together,

- Multi-cultural portrait projects,

- Art projects culminating in art shows, murals, or quilts,

- Bookmaking,

- Creation and performance of puppet shows,

- Inter-generational journals.*

* These are examples…we welcome new ideas.

Frequently Asked Questions

http://www.ezra-jack-keats.org/faq/index.html