Two North Texas Library Friends Groups Recognized by ALTAFF

Congratulations to two library Friends groups in our neighboring Northeast Texas Library System (NETLS) area! Both received national recognition during the Association of Library Trustees, Advocates, Friends and Foundations (ALTAFF) Gala Author Tea during the American Library Association (ALA) Midwinter Meeting in San Diego last week.

Friends of the Ennis Public Library was recognized for creativity and innovation; involvement of Friends, library staff, Trustees and/or advisory committee; recognition of the Friends group; and promotion of the Friends group to the community during National Friends of Libraries Week, Oct. 17-23, 2010. The Friends of the Rains County Public Library was recognized with honorable mention at the event.

The news was announced Friday by American Libraries, the magazine of the ALA. Read what all they did to earn such recognition: http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/news/ala/two-friends-groups-win-altaff-s-national-friends-libraries-week-awards

2008-2009 Public Library Internet Survey in the Field

TSLAC Library Development Program Coordinator Stacey Malek alerted us last week that several Texas libraries will be getting letters asking them to complete the 2008 National Survey of Public Library Funding and Technology Access. All libraries are eligible to participate should they choose, and their survey responses will be used as replacements for non-responding sampled libraries.

NTRLS-area libraries selected to participate are in the cities of Alvord, Arlington, Blue Mound, Burleson, Crowley, Denton, Everman, Flower Mound, Fort Worth, Granbury, Haltom City, Iowa Park, Jacksboro, Keller, North Richland Hills, Olney, Rhome, River Oaks, Saginar, Seymour, Southlake and White Settlement.

The survey will be available for completion through November 7, 2008. A print version of the survey is included for convenience, but the survey should be completed online at http://www.plinternetsurvey.org. Weekly updates on survey completion progress in our state, in real time and reflecting current completion status, will be available directly at http://survey.pnmi.com/states/ and may be exported to Excel.

Last year's survey response rate was 78.6%. Results of that 2007-2008 study, which include the official overall study book released by ALA, may be viewed at http://www.ii.fsu.edu/plinternet. Funded by the American Library Association (ALA) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the survey is part of a larger study managed by ALA. This survey group has been conducting these surveys since 1994. Responses provide vital data used by researchers and advocates.

ALA Announces Outreach Grant Program

American Library Association Announces Outreach Grant Program for Federal Writers' Project Documentary

http://foundationcenter.org/pnd/rfp/rfp_item.jhtml?id=212100018

Deadline: July 11, 2008

The American Library Association, in partnership with Spark Media, a Washington, D.C.-based production and outreach company, has announced an innovative library outreach program to enhance and increase the nationwide impact of Spark Media's documentary film, "Soul of a People: Voices from the Writers' Project." Major funding for the program has been provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The film and library outreach program is designed to acquaint public, academic and special library audiences with the story of the largest cultural experiment in U.S. history — the Federal Writers' Project of the Works Progress Administration — told against the backdrop of the Depression and 1930s America.

Following an application process, 30 libraries will be selected to each receive a $2,500 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to present five different public outreach programs during the period of the national broadcast of "Soul of a People" in the Spring of 2009.

The grants will be used for scholar honoraria, book purchases, publicity and other program-associated costs. Libraries will be asked to enlist from a local college or university a lead project scholar with expertise in American history, the WPA and/or the WPA era to help present and plan programs, ensure that program content conveys intended humanities themes, and work with local media and other partners in planning.

Librarians applying for "Soul of a People" grants must register their institution at Grants.gov. Prospective applicants are advised to register with Grants.gov as soon as possible, since the process can take up to two weeks to complete.

The application and guidelines for "Soul of a People" and complete instructions for registering and applying through Grants.gov may be found at the ALA Web site.

Contact:Link to Complete RFP

Apply now for Picturing America!

Public, private, parochial, and charter schools and home school consortia (K-12), as well as public library systems and school districts, are invited to apply for Picturing America by April 15, 2008. Successful applicants will receive a set of 40 high-quality reproductions of American masterpieces, a teachers resource book and additional educational resources. To access guidelines and the online application, visit http://picturingamerica.neh.gov.

Applications take less than one hour to complete and may be submitted on behalf of a single school or public library, or on behalf of multiple locations within a system or district. If you have already submitted your application, no further action is necessary.

If you have any questions, please contact the ALA Public Programs Office at publicprograms@ala.org or 1-800-545-2433, extension 5045.

Bedford Public Library Wins Teen Tech Week Mini Grant from ALA/YALSA

Bedford Public Library is the only library in the state - and one of ONLY 20 in the nation - named to receive a Teen Tech Week Mini Grant from the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), the fastest-growing division of the American Library Association (ALA). The grants give each winning library $450 cash and $50 worth of Teen Tech Week products to offer inventive activities, resources and services to celebrate Teen Tech Week, March 2-8.

The 2008 Teen Tech Week Mini Grants are made possible by Teen Tech Week 2008 Corporate Sponsor Dungeons & Dragons, a subsidiary of Wizards of the Coast, Inc.

For a complete list of the winners, visit http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/teentechweek/ttw08/contests/winners.cfm

Additional information about Teen Tech Week is available at http://wikis.ala.org/yalsa/index.php/Teen_Tech_Week

To list your library's plans, or to find out more about Teen Tech Week events, visit http://wikis.ala.org/yalsa/index.php/Tune_In_%40_Your_Library_resources#Teen_Tech_Week_2008_.40_.2Ayour.2A_library (Registration required to post.)

For more information, contact YALSA at 1-800-545-2433, ext. 4390 or yalsa@ala.org.