Programming Librarian

From the Library

Grant Application Tips
Tips for making your grant application stand out from the crowd.

From the Blog

2012 ALA Annual Conference Roundup
If a picture’s worth a thousand words, then a video must be worth a million. Check out these interviews that took place during the 2012 ALA Annual Conference.

Add Some Romance to Your Library
Want to build your romance fiction collection or host romance fiction programming? Then the Romance Writers of America Library Grant is for you.

Apply for Created Equal: America’s Civil Rights Struggle
“Created Equal: America’s Civil Rights Struggle” will encourage communities across the country to revisit the history of civil rights in the United States and to reflect on the ideals of freedom and equality that have helped bridge deep racial and cultural divides in American life.

Are you a Programming Librarian?
Interested in creating and coordinating programs for your community fueled by creativity, connections, and shoe-string budgets? Attend “Are you a Programming Librarian?” at the ALA Annual Conference on Sunday, June 27, 1:30–3:30 p.m., at the Washington Convention Center, Room 209 A/B, to hear from librarians like you.

Arts Programming in Libraries and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
We at the ALA Public Programs Office hear stories from many libraries of how the economic downturn is negatively impacting their capacity for cultural programming. In this time of diminishing budgets, it is particularly important that libraries stay informed of potential funding opportunities for programming.

Billionaire’s Book Club Wins Innovative Reading Grant
Shanna Miles is the 2011 recipient of the American Association of School Librarians’ (AASL) Innovative Reading Grant for her project, the “Billionaire’s Book Club.” Sponsored by Capstone Publishers, this grant of $2,500 supports the planning and implementation of a unique and innovative program for children that motivates and encourages reading, especially with struggling readers.

Bring Literacy to PRIME TIME
Want to expand upon your library’s literacy programming? Curious about the PRIME TIME Family Reading Time program? Here’s your chance to apply for a grant that includes a training workshop, stipends, and materials.

Creative Aging at Wells Memorial Library
On an autumn morning in the Adirondacks, participants gathered for the third session of a Creative Aging drawing class, chatting and surveying a large drawing hanging in nonfiction. Teaching artist Grace Potthast assembled the class.

Deadline Extended for National Library Week Grant
Your library has something for everyone. This National Library Week, celebrate the ways your library provides a place where everyone belongs. The deadline for 2012 grant has been extended to Friday, October 28. U.S. libraries of all types are invited to apply for a $3,000 grant.

Go Behind the Scenes of the Grant Application Process
Want to see how other librarians fill out grant applications? Or get ideas you can use in your own programs? Then volunteer to serve as a peer reviewer for the We the People Bookshelf project.

Great Marketing Ideas from the 2013 John Cotton Dana Award Winners
Eight libraries were selected for the 2013 John Cotton Dana Award, honoring outstanding library public relations and marketing with a $10,000 award and plaque.

Muslim Journeys: Collection Development and Programming Grants
“FREE BOOKS! FREE BOOKS!” Based on the audible shrieks from up and down the corridor outside the Exhibit Hall as the doors were unlocked for at the opening of the Exhibits at ALA this past Friday, “free books” is a phrase that more than excites librarians.

New Funding Opportunity, Film Title, Webinars, and Deadline for Muslim Journeys Bookshelf
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), in collaboration with the American Library Association (ALA) Public Programs Office, announced updates to the application process and grants available through the Bridging Cultures Bookshelf: Muslim Journeys program. Available to public, academic, and community college libraries, the program aims to familiarize public audiences in the United States with the people, places, history, faith, and cultures of Muslims in the United States and around the world.

Picturing America Programming Grant Now Open to All U.S. Public Libraries
Lamenting the fact that your library doesn’t have a set of Picturing America posters? Here’s an excellent opportunity to not only receive the posters, but a $2,000 programming grant as well. In addition, the grant deadline has been extended; applications will be accepted through April 26

Picturing America Programming Grants for Public Libraries
The ALA Public Programs Office has received funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to support humanities-based programs in public libraries that highlight the NEH’s Picturing America artwork collection. ALA and NEH will provide programming grants of $2,000 to 30 public libraries interested in hosting Picturing America programs for public audiences. We invite public libraries that have received a Picturing America collection from NEH to apply online, January 15 through March 31, 2010.

Time to Apply for The Big Read
The Institute of Museum and Library Services, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and in cooperation with Arts Midwest, announces the 2010 deadline for The Big Read, a program to revitalize the role of literature in American culture.

Two Good Questions
Today the ALA Public Programs Office received not one, but two good questions in its mailbox, both from public librarians, the first in North Dakota and the second in Texas.

Use These Award-winning Books in Your Programs
The American Library Association (ALA) is proud to announce the first recipients of the Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction, funded through a grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York. Anne Enright’s The Forgotten Waltz received the medal for fiction, and Robert K. Massie’s Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman received the nonfiction prize.

Winning Ideas for Financial Programming
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Investor Education Foundation and the American Library Association recently announced that grants had been awarded to sixteen libraries as part of the Smart investing@your library initiative.