Volume 7, December 22, 2011 for the WSL Updates mailing list

Topics include:

1) COFFEE, COLLABORATION, AND CODE4LIB 2012

2) FUNDING FOR INNOVATIVE SCHOOL LIBRARIES

3) IGNITE YOUR IDEAS

4) APPLY NOW FOR BOOKS FOR CHILDREN

5) THERE’S STILL TIME FOR A BIG READ

6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK

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1) COFFEE, COLLABORATION, AND CODE4LIB 2012

Seattle is home to brewpubs, local music, and coffee shops (with free wifi) on almost every corner. What better place for Code4Lib 2012, a loosely-structured conference for library technologists to commune, gather/create/share ideas and software, be inspired, and forge collaborations!

Conference information:

• When: Monday, February 6 – Thursday, February 9, 2012;
• Preconference: Monday, February 6, 2012;
• Where: The Renaissance Seattle;
• Registration: $150.

For additional information and to register, visit code4lib.org/conference/2012.

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2) FUNDING FOR INNOVATIVE SCHOOL LIBRARIES

Sponsored by the American Association of School Librarians (AASL), a division of ALA, the $2,500 AASL Innovative Reading Grant provides funds to support the planning and implementation of unique reading programs that are specifically designed for children in grades K-9 in a school library setting. The Grant will be awarded to an innovative program that motivates and encourages reading in children, especially those who are struggling readers. Existing commercial programs will not be considered. Applicants must be members of AASL.

Deadline: February 1, 2012. For additional information, visit www.sos.wa.gov/quicklinks/AASLRead.

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3) IGNITE YOUR IDEAS

The Sparks! Ignition Grants for Libraries and Museums are awarded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) National Leadership Grants program to encourage libraries, museums, and archives to test and evaluate specific innovations in the ways they operate and the services they provide. These small grants support the deployment, testing, and evaluation of promising and groundbreaking new tools, products, services, or organizational practices.

Successful proposals will address problems, challenges, or needs of broad relevance to libraries, museums, and/or archives. A proposed project should test a specific, innovative response to the identified problem and present a plan to make the findings widely and openly accessible. To maximize the public benefit from federal investments in these grants, the Sparks Grants will only fund projects with broad potential impact and significant innovation.

Grant information:

• Deadline: Wednesday, February 1, 2012;
• Grant Amount: $10,000 to $25,000.

Those interested in applying are invited to attend a free pre-application webinar on Wednesday, January 4, 2012, 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. PST to learn more about the program and to ask questions. For additional information, visit www.sos.wa.gov/quicklinks/Sparks2012.

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4) APPLY NOW FOR BOOKS FOR CHILDREN

For many children in rural areas, the local public library is often their primary source of reading material. Many rural schools either have no library or a library that is inadequate to meet the needs of the students. At a time when more and more children and their parents and teachers are using the public library, these same libraries are facing increasing financial hardships and are unable to buy the books their young readers need.

The goal of The Libri Foundation is to help as many rural libraries as possible through its Books for Children program. Since October 1990, the Foundation has donated almost $5 million worth of new children’s books to more than 3,000 libraries in all 50 states. Books are selected from the Foundation’s 700-title list, which has been highly praised by participating librarians for the quality and variety of fiction and nonfiction, by the local librarian who is familiar with the needs of the library and the community. The Foundation works with the library’s Friends of the Library or other local organizations, matching contributions on a 2-to-1 ratio.

Deadline: Monday, January 23, 2012. For additional information, go to www.librifoundation.org/apps.html.

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5) THERE’S STILL TIME FOR A BIG READ

The Big Read is a program of the National Endowment for the Arts, designed to restore reading to the center of American culture. Community organizations participating in The Big Read develop and produce a well-planned, well-attended, community-wide read with innovative, diverse programming, and widespread community involvement and participation. Activities last approximately one month and focus on one book or poet from The Big Read Library.

Seventy-five organizations in communities of varying sizes across the country will be chosen to participate in The Big Read from September 2012 through June 2013. Selected organizations will receive grants ranging from $2,500 to $20,000 to support their Big Read projects. One of the major benefits of The Big Read is the availability of high-quality educational and promotional materials provided at no cost to the participating organizations.

Deadline: February 1, 2012, 2:00 p.m. PST. For more information, and to apply, visit www.neabigread.org/guidelines.php.

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6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK

Wednesday, December 28:

• Tech Talk with Michael Sauers: A conversation with Sarah Houghton (NCompass Live); 8:00 – 9:00 a.m. PST;
• Advanced Searching: Beyond the Single Search Box (ProQuest); 9:00 – 9:45 a.m. PST: www.sos.wa.gov/quicklinks/PQ198;
• Introduction to the New ProQuest Platform (ProQuest); 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. PST: www.sos.wa.gov/quicklinks/PQ199.

For more information and to register (for those not linked above), visit the WSL Training Calendar at www.sos.wa.gov/quicklinks/training.

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