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.

The third and final Hunger Games book, Mockingjay, cover is out! The release date is August 24th. *dance of joy*

Superhero Sweethearts at Action Figure Museum

Toy and Action Figure Museum

February 13 is Valentine’s Day at the Toy & Action Figure Museum in Pauls Valley. Doors open at 10am and close at 5pm as usual, but on this day guests will be welcomed by a “Prom” like photo opportunity at the Gateway to Action Figure Heaven.

AFM Director, Lisa Driskill says “There will also be several of our famous scavenger hunts, which are always fun, but this time we will be looking for action figure sweethearts like Spiderman & Mary Jane Watson, Homer & Marge Simpson, even Daredevil & Elektra .”

Several professional artists will be on hand with materials and ideas to help young artists make Valentine cards. Just bring your imagination. That is what the Toy & Action Figure Museum is all about.

There will alsobe  trivia games for prizes throughout the day and a few lucky visitors will go home with a new Action Figure toy, an AFM T-shirt or maybe even an AFM Annual Membership pass.

Admission to the attraction is $6. Group rates and special tours can be arranged by calling 405/238-6300.

Texas Library Associaton Maverick

The Texas Library Association has inaugurated their first Maverick Graphic Novel Reading List.

“Together with YALSA’s annual Great Graphic Novels for Teens list, the Maverick list should serve as a valuable resource for all librarians seeking graphic novels that are both age-appropriate and high quality.”

The list is for grades from 6 – 8, 6 – 12,  9 – 12 and adult titles for young adults. Fiction, non-fiction and manga titles are included. Titles on the list must be published within 2 years prior to the list. The Maverick Reading List is meant to explore the variety of books currently available and encourage reading for pleasure. The books on the list can be published outside of the US but must be widely available.

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

Ever been stumped trying to find a read-alike book for a patron? Have you heard about Ebsco’s Novelist and wondered how it could help you?

Ebsco NoveList

Linda Gens, director of the Guthrie Public Library is inviting interested librarians to a free Novelist training session. The training will be presented by an Ebsco representative Friday, December 18^th, 2009. Libraries that subscribe to Ebsco’s Novelist have reader’s advisory, book talks, recommended reads to name a few, resources at their fingertips.

Attendees are required to bring their own laptops. The training session will be from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm.

Ebsco Novelist Training Session
Friday, December 18, 2009
10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Guthrie Public Library
201 North Division
Guthrie, OK 73044
405.282.0050

Contact Linda Gens, 405.282.0050 or lgens AT cityofguthrie.com.

What? You expected turkey? So 17th century. New Moon opened last Friday. Some rushed to go see the movie this past weekend, some are waiting for a less packed theater. While others will wait for DVD. (I would argue that waiting to see Jacob sans shirt on a TV screen instead of a wide screen movie theater is just not right.)

No matter how you feel about the books or the movies, you’re going to see it. You know you are.

That’s not the true question though. The true question is: Are you Team Edward or Team Jacob?

New Moon Jacob

By the second book I was deeply and madly in love with Jacob. Read Bartleville’s Public Library Blog post to see why. Team Edward fans can read a slightly dated EW post on the feud.

Still unsure? Take the quiz. Who needs nuance?

Program idea: New Moon Debate – have kids debate open mic style (spoken word, poetry, etc) on the side they choose. Teens can make buttons or bookmarks. Have a contest on the best bookmark. The winner get to have enough made to make available to patrons at the checkout desk.

PubYac and YALSA-BK had tons of great ideas. The celebration of the movies isn’t over. Eclipse will be released June 30, 2010.

See you at the theater.

We  already know how great our Oklahoma teens are, but…

LOOK WHAT OUR TEENS DID!

Top School:    # Pages:
Putnam City High School, Teacher Beth Duffy    68,180    $250 worth of books for school library

Top Library:
Bartlesville Public Library, Librarian Laura Pryce    53,094    $250 worth of books for public library

Top 10 Overall Students:
Lindsey Kilmer, Grade 12, Putnam City High School    22,874    2 tickets to OKC Thunder game
Erica Adams, Grade 7, Bartlesville Public Library    21,038    2 tickets to OKC Thunder game
Amy Broadway, Grade 10, McAlester Public Library    11,905    2 tickets to OKC Thunder game
Hailey Gill, Grade 10, Stillwater Public Library    10,053    2 tickets to OKC Thunder game
Sarah Lemser, Grade 9, Westmoore High School    10,041    2 tickets to OKC Thunder game
Sarah Follett, Grade 11, Lawton Public Library    9,948    2 tickets to OKC Thunder game
Jamiya Havis, Grade 7, Hefner Middle School    9,921    2 tickets to OKC Thunder game
Marukh Ali, Grade 10, Putnam City High School    9,747    2 tickets to OKC Thunder game
Emely Jacob, Grade 7, McAlester Public Library    8,440    2 tickets to OKC Thunder game
Rachel Isaac, Grade 9, Putnam City High School    8,150    2 tickets to OKC Thunder game

Top 3 Readers:
Lindsey Kilmer, Grade 12, Putnam City High School    22,874    Autographed OKC Thunder team picture
Erica Adams, Grade 7, Bartlesville Public Library    21,038    Autographed OKC Thunder team picture
Amy Broadway, Grade 10, McAlester Public Library    11,905    Autographed OKC Thunder team picture

Top School Reader:
Lindsey Kilmer, Putnam City High School    22,874    iPod Nano

Top Library Reader:
Erica Adams, Bartlesville Public Library    21,038    iPod Nano

Total By Participating Schools 220,650
Total By Participating Libraries 283,726

Grand Total Pages for Read Beyond Reality    504,376

You can read the NIE post.

Congratulations to the winners!

Thank you all for participating and making the program so great.

Order of the Odd-Fish by James Kennedy

I’ve mentioned this fabulous book that I read before in a post. The book is Order of the Odd-Fish by James Kennedy. It is fabulous because it is a book made for the tweens and teens that love books that are just left of center.

The story focuses on Jo Larouche who when born was found with a note saying she was an “dangerous baby”. Of course, for thirteen years, absolutely nothing happens until the night of one of her Aunt’s famous costume parties.

The story kicks into high gear and stays there, traveling from Jo, to the newly self-appointed evil Ken Kiang, to Eldritch City, to roaches as butlers indignant that their party lifestyle is not being portrayed as outrageous enough in the local paper to the history of the All-Devouring Mother and the truly diabolical Belgium Prankster.

This book requires the reader to be able to keep up as  it moves at a steady clip. A fantasy that is set in a city, instead of the quiet countryside, there is no walking for miles and miles here. Once you start reading you will see why kids are eating this book up and going back for seconds, thirds and fourths.

But they are not passively digesting this work, they are regurgitating* the  images in their heads and scenes from the book into life. Kennedy has started an online gallery just for them to showcase what they’ve done.

*Cake of Regrugitating Fish

The fan art gallery can be whatever media the reader decides from costumes, masks, cakes, pictures, music, etc. Send submissions to kennedyjames [at] gmail [dot] com. He’ll help you figure out how to get your submissions to the gallery. The deadline is March 1, 2010. Read Kennedy’s post for more information.

Order of the Odd-Fish Fan Art Show

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