8 Grants & Awards: Apply Now

1. Library Journal / Demco Paralibrarian of the Year
Deadline: January 12, 2013
Award: $1500 cash
Details and application form
Criteria:
• Excellence in performing their job, including contribution(s) enabling the library to best serve its constituents and/or its community (whether town, college/university, school, or corporation)
• The encouragement of reading and the use of the library’s resources
• A commitment to free access to information for all
• The candidate’s work to build networks, organizations, and/or groups to back excellence in library work and new career paths for support staff
• Improved communication and the breaking down of barriers between support staff and the MLS librarians with whom they work

2. Libri Foundation Books for Children Grant
Deadline: January 23, 2013
Award: new, quality, hardcover children’s books
Details and application form
Overview: 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. The Foundation will match any amount of money raised by your local sponsors from $50 to $350 on a 2-to-1 ratio. Thus, your library could receive up to $1,050 worth of new children’s books (about 70 books).
Criteria:
• Libraries should serve a population under 10,000 (usually under 5,000)
• Libraries should be in a rural area (usually considered to be at least 30 miles from a city with a population over 40,000)
• Have a limited operating budget
• Have an active children’s department

3. Coretta Scott King Book Donation Grant
Deadline: Jan. 31, 2013
Award: books submitted for consideration for the Coretta Scott King Book Awards
Details and application form
Overview: Created to help build collections and bring books into the lives of children in latchkey, preschool programs, faith-based reading projects, homeless shelters, charter schools and underfunded libraries.
Criteria: Applicants must demonstrate:
• Why the collection is needed in their community
• Why the collection is needed in their institution
• How acquiring the collection will help them better serve the children and youth of their community
• That the materials will be made freely available to children and youth without censorship

4. Wisconsin Library Association (WLA) Paralibrarian of the Year
Deadline:  February 1, 2013
Award: scholarship, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee School of Information Studies
Details and application form
Criteria:
• Excellence in job performance, including contribution(s) enabling their library to best serve its patrons and/or its community (whether public, college/university, school, corporation, etc.)
• The encouragement of reading and the use of the library’s resources
• A commitment to free access to information for all
• The candidate’s work to build networks, organizations, and/or groups to support excellence in library work and new career paths for library support staff
• The candidate’s efforts to improve communication and the breaking down of barriers between support staff and the MLIS librarians with whom they work.

5. LibraryAware Community Award
Deadline:  February 1, 2013
Award: $10,000 to the winning library; $7500 2nd place; $5000 3rd place
Details and application form
Overview: Emphasizes the library’s engagement with the community, and will recognize a library or library system that has demonstrated its ability to make its community “aware” of what the library can do for it—and has delivered on that promise.
Criteria: The LibraryAware Award will go to a library whose community is aware of and recognizes the library’s role:
• In areas that are documented priorities in the community served by the library, such as digital access, adoption, and/or literacy; economic and workforce development; education; health care; public safety and emergency services; civic engagement.
• As a place of transformation and change
• As an organization whose activities ensure outcomes that are essential to the vitality of the community.

6. Sparks! Ignition Grants for Libraries and Museums
Deadline: February 1, 2013
Grant amount: $10,000 to $25,000
Details and application form
Overview: Sparks Grants support the deployment, testing, and evaluation of promising and groundbreaking new tools, products, services, or organizational practices. You may propose activities or approaches that involve risk, as long as the risk is balanced by significant potential for improvement in the ways libraries and museums serve their communities.
Criteria: To maximize the public benefit from federal investments in these grants, the Sparks Grants will fund only projects with the following characteristics:
• Broad Potential Impact — You should identify a specific problem or need that is relevant to many libraries, archives, and/or museums, and propose a testable and measurable solution. Proposals must demonstrate a thorough understanding of current issues and practices in the project’s focus area and discuss its potential impact within libraries, archives, and/or museums. Proposed innovations should be widely adoptable or adaptable.
• Significant Innovation — The proposed solution to the identified problem must offer strong potential for non-incremental, significant advancement in the operation of libraries, archives, and/or museums. You must explain how the proposed activity differs from current practices or takes advantage of an unexplored opportunity, and the potential benefit to be gained by this innovation

7. National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award
Deadline: February 4, 2013
Award: $10,000 and an invitation to accept their award from the President’s Committee’s Honorary Chairman, First Lady Michelle Obama at a ceremony at the White House
Details and application form
Criteria

8. The Big Read
Deadline: February 5, 2013
Award: $2,500 to $20,000
Details and application form
Overview: Presented by NEA in cooperation with Arts Midwest, The Big Read brings together partners across the country to encourage reading for pleasure and enlightenment. Seventy-five organizations in communities of varying sizes across the country will be selected to participate.
Criteria: Programming for The Big Read must include the following:
• Events
• Community partnerships
• Promotional partnerships and efforts
• additional criteria here

Rural Libraries Award: Nominate a Library

State Superintendent Tony Evers is inviting applications for his annual Standing Up for Rural Schools, Libraries, and Communities Awards.

Deadline date: December 7, 2012

This program honors partnerships between and among schools, libraries, and communities, which have resulted in projects that demonstrate the great potential and spirit of rural Wisconsin.

The 2013 nomination form can be filled out on the awards webpage and submitted to the mail or email address on the form.

Here are two 2012 award-winners:

• Baby Time, Toddler Time, Rhyme Time are outreach programs linked to the Weyauwega-Fremont School District’s 4-year-old kindergarten (4K) program. The Weyauwega Public Library and Neuschafer Community Library in Fremont host these programs to provide academic, developmental, and social enrichment for children 4 years of age and under. The libraries introduce other services for children and adults, creating habits of literacy that last beyond children’s school-age years.
• Edward U. Demmer Memorial Library and Three Lakes School District Story Hour Reading Program began in 1963 to introduce reading and provide socialization activities for the community’s youngsters. When the district began its kindergarten program in 1967, Story Hour lowered the minimum age requirement to offer literacy skills to younger children. In 1971, the Edward U. Demmer Foundation provided funding to construct a new library building, and Mrs. Demmer suggested dedicating the lower level to facilitate Story Hour. For nearly five decades, thousands of children have had their lives enriched through the sing, read, and play adventures offering during Story Hour. Story Hour takes place weekly during the school year both at the library and at Sugar Camp School, with 15 to 20 children participating at each venue. Adult programs are offered concurrently with Story Hour to further serve community needs.

11 Grant & Award Opportunities: Don’t Miss Out!

Apply without delay — these grant and award applications are due soon.

Cutting-Edge Technology in Library Service
Deadline date: November 6, 2012
Application form criteria and full details
“‘Cutting edge’ refers to tested and successful implementations of technological advancements used in services such as: Improvements in traditional services and processes by inventing/re-inventing/twisting technology; Introduction of new, innovative services that are flexible and responsive to community needs; Methods for connecting libraries to their communities; Funding initiatives or organizational models that ensure library information technology will remain current.”

ALA Excellence in Library Programming Award
Award: $5000 and a citation of achievement
Deadline date: December 1, 2012
Application form, criteria and full details
“A cultural/thematic program is one that features the humanities, sciences, arts, creative arts, community and civic engagement programs, as well as programs in conjunction with exhibitions, community-wide reading programs, or other community-wide programs.  The nominated program should have engaged the community in planning, sponsorship and/or active participation, addressed an identified community need, and have had a measurable impact.”

ALA/Information Today, Inc. Library of the Future Award
Award: $1500 and a citation of achievement
Deadline date: December 1, 2012
Application form and full details
“… to honor an individual library, library consortium, group of librarians, or support organization for innovative planning for, applications of, or development of patron training programs about information technology in a library setting.”

Gale Cengage Learning Financial Development Award
Award: $2500 and a citation
Deadline date: December 1, 2012
Application form and criteria & full details
“… an innovative, creative, well-organized project which successfully developed income from alternative sources. The alternative sources may include, but are not limited to: individual gifts, foundations, endowments, ‘challenge’ grants, and related efforts.”

Gordon M. Conable Award
Award: $1500 check and a commemorative plaque
Deadline date: December 1, 2012
Application form and full details
“… a public library staff member, a library trustee, or a public library that has demonstrated a commitment to intellectual freedom and the Library Bill of Rights.”

H.W. Wilson Library Staff Development Grant
Award: $3500 and a citation
Deadline date: December 1, 2012
Application form and criteria & full details
“… for a program of staff development designed to further the goals and objectives of the library organization.”

Scholastic Library Publishing Award
Award: $1000 and a citation of achievement
Deadline date: December 1, 2012
Application form and full details
“… presented to a librarian whose ‘unusual contribution to the stimulation and guidance of reading by children and young people’ exemplifies outstanding achievement in the profession.”

Sullivan Award for Public Library Administrators Supporting Services to Children
Award: a commemorative gift and a citation
Deadline date: December 1, 2012
Application form and full details
“… an individual who has shown exceptional understanding and support of public library service to children while having general management/supervisory/ administrative responsibility that has included public library service to children in its scope.”

Walmart Local Giving Program
Award: $250 to $5000
Deadline date: December 1, 2012
Application form, guidelines, and full details
“… must fit within Walmart’s focus areas: Hunger Relief & Nutrition, Education, Environmental Sustainability, Women’s Economic Empowerment or Workforce Development. If you are applying for funding through a Sam’s Club location, additional focus areas are considered.”

Equality Award
Award: $1000 and a citation of achievement
Deadline date: December 1, 2012
Application form and full details
“… for outstanding contribution toward promoting equality in the library profession. The contribution may be either a sustained one or a single outstanding accomplishment. The award may be given for an activist or scholarly contribution in such areas as pay equity, affirmative action, legislative work and non-sexist education.”

Loleta D. Fyan Grant
Award: up to $5000
Deadline date: December 14, 2012
Application cover sheet, requirements, and full details
“… development and improvement of public libraries and the services they provide; must have the potential for broader impact and application beyond meeting a specific local need; should be designed to effect changes in public library services that are innovative and responsive to the future; and should be capable of completion within one year.”

What You Can Learn from the Best Small Library in America 2012

Read Best Small Library in America 2012: The Independence Public Library, KS to learn how the library’s small staff of 8 strove to save it from closure, by building relationships within the community and with local legislators.

After just two years, IPL … has been reborn. It has won awards, garnered grants and increased tax millage, and built programs and services that are “packing ’em in” to 220 Maple Street from all over Independence. So dramatic was the transformation …

Here are some of the resources & techniques the library used to resurrect itself:

• “Social networking is one of our main sources for effective marketing. We have a number of Facebook pages, including one for our library cat, Trixie!” says Hildebrand. IPL staff keep blogs on various topics and make use of Twitter, Flickr, and Tumblr. In all of 2010, the library’s Facebook page had only 9,556 views, but in the first nine months of 2011, that number had jumped to 106,695.”
• email newsletter [note: if you're at a Winnefox library, contact Joy to start using our Constant Contact service to create your own library's e-newsletter.]
• “Local police suggested that IPL ban homeless folks who gathered in back of the library. Instead, IPL started a program that turned them into regular users.”
• local newspaper covers IPL’s events “with pictures and reports appearing at least once a week.”

And here’s an example of how the library builds partnerships in the community:

When staff attend events or hear a speaker they try to connect. They always ask chamber of commerce members if they can bring something to IPL. For instance, a local candle shop offered a workshop on candle-making at IPL, and an organic farmer led a presentation on gardening. The Kansas Migrant Eduction program offers ESL and now conversational English classes at IPL, and the Southeast Kansas Area Council on Aging uses the IPL computer lab for sessions on how to register for Medicare Part C and D.

That partnering and community engagement is how we are able to provide as many programs as we do with just eight staff members.

About the award: Library Journal’s annual award, sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, was created in 2005 to encourage and showcase the exemplary work of libraries serving populations under 25,000. The winning library receives a $15,000 cash prize from the Gates Foundation, conference costs for two library representatives to attend the Public Library Association (PLA) meeting, a gala reception at PLA, and more. The two finalist libraries will each receive a $5000 cash award, conference costs for two library representatives to attend the PLA meeting and award celebration, and more. For guidelines for the 2013 nomination see features.libraryjournal.com/awards

source: Best Small Library in America 2012: The Independence Public Library, KS, Library Journal, 1 Feb 2012

Apply for These Grants & Awards to Fund Innovation, Science & More

The Coretta Scott King Book Awards Donation Grant
Grant: multiple copies of approximately 100 titles by African American authors and illustrators, including a full set of the year’s winning and honor titles
Deadline: January 31, 2012
Application form & details

Every year, in the process of choosing the Coretta Scott King Book Award winners and honor books, the Ethnic and Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table (EMIERT) of the American Library Association receives multiple copies of approximately 100 titles by African American authors and illustrators, including a full set of the year’s winning and honor titles.
The Coretta Scott King Book Awards Donation Grant was created to help build collections and bring books into the lives of children in latchkey, preschool programs, faith-based reading projects, homeless shelters, charter schools and underfunded libraries.

Science Kits for Public Libraries Grant
Grant amount:  up to $2000
Deadline: December 15, 2011
Application form & details

The Grant seeks to be a catalyst for educating students about how math and science are used to the benefit of humanity and to provide seed money for the creation of library programs and projects that will make a lasting impression on a community of pre-university students (K-12).
Specifically, the Grant will defer the cost of science kits – especially those that provide prepared experiements for use by pre-university students and educators including parents, teachers, club leaders, and/or librarians. Ideally the kits will demonstrate to students the skills required for a career in electrical engineering.

The Grant is restricted to public libraries with preference given to public libraries located in the territory of IEEE-Region 4 (Midwest including all or parts of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North and South Dakota, Ohio and Wisconsin).

Sparks! Ignition Grants for Libraries and Museums
Grant amount:  $10,000 to $25,000
Deadline:  February 01, 2012
Application form & details

These small grants encourage libraries, museums, and archives to test and evaluate specific innovations in the ways they operate and the services they provide. Sparks Grants support the deployment, testing, and evaluation of promising and groundbreaking new tools, products, services, or organizational practices. You may propose activities or approaches that involve risk, as long as the risk is balanced by significant potential for improvement in the ways libraries and museums serve their communities.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 123,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. The Institute’s mission is to create strong libraries and museums that connect people to information and ideas.

Gale Cengage Learning Award for Excellence in Business Librarianship
Grant amount: $3,000
Nomination form. 
Deadline: December 15, 2011

These contributions may include, but are not limited to: authorship of a seminal book or articles in business librarianship; development of an imaginative and successful program centered around business within a library; teaching business librarianship in a particularly creative and substantive manner; and displaying strong leadership in a professional association geared to business librarianship.

Source: Gale Cengage Learning Award for Excellence in Business Librarianship via WLA E-newsletter, November 23, 2011

Apply Now for Rural Wisconsin Schools, Libraries & Communities Award

Nominations are open for the 2011 Standing Up for Rural Wisconsin Schools, Libraries, and Communities Award.

DPI is seeking nominations of “partnerships between and among schools, libraries, and communities that have resulted in programs or projects which demonstrate the great potential and spirit of rural Wisconsin.”

Nomination form: http://www.dpi.wi.gov/rural/doc/standupnomination2011.doc
The nomination form can be filled out online and submitted to rebecca.hannah@dpi.wi.gov
Nomination deadline: January 21, 2011

Take a look at previous award winners here.

Eisner Prize for Intergenerational Excellence

The Eisner Foundation is soliciting nominations of non-profit organizations for the Eisner Prize. Five finalists will receive an award of $5,000 cash. After an in-person interview with The Eisner Foundation staff and board, a winner will be selected in the summer of 2011, presented with $100,000, and honored at a celebration.

Deadline: January 31, 2011
Nomination form: http://www.eisnerfoundation.org/assets/docs/NominationForm_FINAL.pdf

The award is designed to recognize excellence by a non-profit organization in uniting multiple generations, especially seniors and youth, to bring about positive and lasting changes in their community. Potential examples could include (but are not limited to):

• a senior center and preschool housed in the same building sharing a staff for maximum benefits for all;
• a program in which youngsters teach homebound seniors about online social networking in an effort to reduce the seniors’ feelings of isolation;
• a community development program in which high-school kids and retirees work side-by-side to repair and build houses

Apply for $10,000 from Better World Books/NCFL Libraries and Families Award

The Better World Books/NCFL (National Center for Family Literacy) Libraries and Families Award recognizes exceptional family programming currently operating in libraries. Each year 3 winning libraries are awarded $10,000 in grants.

Deadline: November 12, 2010
Application form: http://www.famlit.org/bwb-award/

One winner will be chosen from each of the three following categories: local Friends of the Library programs, public/academic libraries, and urban libraries.

Excellence in Small and/or Rural Public Library Service Award

The EBSCO Excellence in Small and/or Rural Public Library Service Award provides recognition and a $1,000 honorarium to a public library serving a population of 10,000 or less that demonstrates excellence of service to its community as exemplified by an overall service program or a special program of significant accomplishment.

The award honors a public library for all or any of the following:

• Uniqueness of service of program
• Impact of program or service on community
• How the service or program will affect the future of the library and its community

Online application form
Deadline: December 1, 2010

Apply for National Friends of Libraries Week Cash Award

Applications are available for the 2010 National Friends of Libraries Week Awards.

Two Friends groups will each win $250 in honor of their activities during National Friends of Libraries Week,  October 17-23, 2010.

To apply:

1. Write a 1-page summary of activities in conjunction with the celebration of National Friends of Libraries Week
2. fill out an application form
3. fill out a release form

Deadline: December 1, 2010.

Source: National Friends of Libraries Week Awards, Association of Library Trustees, Advocates, Friends and Foundations (ALTAFF)