Author Archives: Jennifer Wrampe

The ALA Public Programs Office is accepting applications for Building Common Ground: Discussions of Community, Civility and Compassion, a multi-format discussion program for public audiences to spark action, engagement and reflection within the community. More information, including programming resources and the online application, is available at www.ala.org/commonground. Applications are due November 18, 2011. This library programming initiative is supported by the Fetzer Institute.

The goal of the Building Common Ground: Discussions of Community, Civility and Compassion project is to engage the public in contemplation and discussion of the importance of community, civility and compassion in their daily lives. By bringing adult audiences together in the library for programs and events that include reading, viewing, reflection, discussion and civic engagement initiatives, Building Common Ground: Discussions of Community, Civility and Compassion programs will support public libraries as they strive to enhance the quality of life and learning in their communities.

In December, 30 public libraries around the country will be selected to host a series of 4 to 8 events between February 1, 2012 and November 30, 2012. The selected libraries will receive:
• A $2,500 grant to support program-related expenses.
• Access to program models and templates, including recommended reading and viewing lists, discussion facilitation guides, video shorts and more.
• Access to a series of online, professional development and project resource sessions.
• Promotional materials, including posters, bookmarks and a selection of digital promotion tools to support local audience recruitment.

Resources to begin building a competitive application, including programming guides, a list of potential community partners and ideas for programming that will inspire the community to action, engagement and reflection are available at www.ala.org/commonground.

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ALA Public Programs Office
www.ala.org/publicprograms
publicprograms@ala.org

The Division of Public Programs at the U.S. National Endowment for the Humanities funds humanities projects that are intended for broad public audiences at museums, libraries, historic sites and other historical and cultural organizations.

New application guidelines are now posted on the NEH Web site (www.neh.gov) for our America’s Historical and Cultural Organizations grant competition. The next two deadlines are August 17, 2011, and January 11, 2012.

Grants support interpretive exhibitions, reading or film discussion series, historic site interpretation, lecture series and symposia, and digital projects. NEH especially encourages projects that offer multiple formats and make creative use of new technology to deliver humanities content.

Program officers in the Division of Public Programs are available to assist you, whether it is to discuss project ideas or to read a draft of a proposal. Please call the NEH Division of Public Programs (202-606-8269) or contact a program officer directly. Below are the names and contact information for the Division’s program officers:

Barbara Bays, 202-606-8290, bbays@neh.gov

Jeff Hardwick, 202-606-8287, jhardwick@neh.gov

David Martz, 202-606-8297, dmartz@neh.gov

John Meredith, 202-606-8218, jmeredith@neh.gov

Kathleen Mulvaney, 202-606-8270, kmulvaney@neh.gov

Danielle Shapiro, 202-606-8241, dshapiro@neh.gov

Michael Shirley, 202-606-8293, mshirley@neh.gov

David Weinstein, 202-606-8308, dweinstein@neh.gov

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ALA Public Programs Office
www.ala.org/publicprograms
publicprograms@ala.org

The ALA Public Programs Office, in partnership with the National Center for Interactive Learning at Space Science Institute, the Lunar and Planetary Institute and the National Girls Collaborative Project, announces a new traveling exhibition opportunity for public libraries. Following a competitive application process, 10 public libraries will be selected to host an interactive exhibition called Discover Earth: A Century of Change. Online applications must be submitted to ALA by September 2 and can be found at www.ala.org/discoverearth.

Discover Earth is made possible through the support of the National Science Foundation. The exhibition and its educational support materials and outreach opportunities are part of the STAR (Science-Technology Activities and Resources) Library Education Network (STAR_Net), a hands-on learning program for libraries and their communities.

The Discover Earth exhibition will focus on local earth science topics—such as weather, water cycle, and ecosystem changes—as well as a global view of our changing planet. The primary message of the exhibition is that the global environment changes – and is changed by – the local environment of all exhibition hosts’ communities. Interactive, multimedia displays will allow exhibit visitors to interact with digital information in a dynamic way, encouraging new perspectives on our planet.

Discover Earth will tour from January 2012 to December 2013, visiting each of the 10 selected sites for a period of eight weeks. The exhibition requires approximately 500-750 square feet of space for optimal display. Each site will be awarded a grant of $1,000 to support public programs related to the exhibition. Each host library will be asked to join a national Community of Practice (CoP), accessible at http://community.discoverexhibits.org. For more information about Discover Earth, STAR_Net and the CoP, visit www.ala.org/discoverearth.

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ALA Public Programs Office
www.ala.org/publicprograms
publicprograms@ala.org

The ALA Public Programs Office is collaborating with the National Center for Interactive Learning (NCIL) on a series of exhibits that will tour libraries. NCIL is in the beginning stages of planning a new, interactive exhibit entitled “Discover Health,” which will engage library patrons and others in learning about their bodies and health.

Please fill out the survey NCIL has designed to gain valuable feedback from you to assist in planning their proposed exhibit. You can find the brief, online survey, at this link:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/N8DSNKT

If possible, please fill out the survey by Friday, June 19. However, if you should receive it later, please fill it out, as NCIL will leave the survey open until June 30.

Many thanks in advance for your participation.

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ALA Public Programs Office
www.ala.org/publicprograms
publicprograms@ala.org

What an amazing library system! The college library, and the town it resides in work together to make this 24/7 operation such a success.
http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/columns/next-steps/we-never-close

CHICAGO – Preservation Week marks its second anniversary April 24-30. Recognizing the critical role libraries play in preservation, the Association for Library Collections and Technical Services (ALCTS), in partnership with the Library of Congress and the Institute of Museum and Library Services, is proud to bring Preservation Week to libraries across the country. This national awareness campaign was developed to promote the understanding and importance of care for personal and community cultural heritage collections whether books, documents, photographs, textiles, paintings, sculptures, furniture and decorative arts or whatever any person or community collects. Preservation Week is very pleased to have the support of many corporate sponsors including Archival Products, Gaylord, The HF Group, Familyarchives.com and ITHAKA.

Preservation Week provides a time when thousands will turn to libraries across the U.S. for information and expertise on how to preserve collectibles, photos, family records and other valuable materials. During Preservation Week, themed “Pass it on!,” participating libraries will offer special programs and services that help connect library users with preservation tools; promote the importance of preservation; and enhance knowledge of preservation issues among the general public.

The Preservation Week website (www.ala.org/preservationweek) connects librarians and the public with excellent resources, tracks programs across the country, enables people to share their stories and provides information on a wide variety of preservation issues. There is a wealth of information for those interested in participating in an event or in holding their own event. The website includes an Event Toolkit with ideas for low-cost activities, a speaker’s bureau containing names and contact information for preservation professionals willing to speak on various preservation topics and marketing tools for promoting your own Preservation Week such as logos, bookmarks and tips for writing press releases. Local events can be found on the regularly updated Google Map, which plots all locations of planned preservation activities. If your institution plans to host an open event, please post it to the Preservation Week 2011 Google Map (http://bit.ly/pw2011map). Doing so will help promote your event, and assist with the broader aims of Preservation Week.

Libraries can:
• create a display about preserving and collecting personal, family or community heritage;
• offer a preservation workshop or event;
• highlight Preservation Week on their website with a link to ALA’s Preservation Week resources;
• add a Preservation Event to the 2011 Preservation Week Event Map;
• view the Facebook event (http://on.fb.me/preswk11) and RSVP or share information about an event by linking to it or posting a photo or video;
• follow ALCTS and Preservation Week on Twitter;
• tweet about PW using hashtag #preswk.

People can share their stories by clicking the “Share your Story” icon on the main page.

Find more events on the “Events Calendar.” Register for the free webinars. This year Preservation Week is offering three: on April 26 – Protecting & Saving Family Treasures, on the April 27 – Protecting Future Access Now and on the April 28 – Preserving Your Personal Digital Memories. To register for any of the webinars, visit our events page at: http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alcts/confevents/index.cfm. We’d like to thank The HF Group and ITHAKA for sponsoring these webinars.

A Preservation Week poster and bookmark is now available in the ALA Store. Help support Preservation Week. Visit the ALA Store: http://www.alastore.ala.org/detail.aspx?ID=2823.

ALCTS is very pleased to have Corporate and Organizational Partners for Preservation Week, including the Society of American Archivists, Heritage Preservation and American Institute of Conservation. Visit our “Partners” page for more information and special offers and resources.

Our goal for 2011 is to have Preservation Week events in every state, community and library. Please join us in the effort to preserve and protect our cultural heritage by participating in a Preservation Week activity or by hosting your own event. And Pass It On!

ALCTS is a division of the American Library Association.

Contact: Charles Wilt

Online registration is now available for three Nebraska Book Festival workshops for aspiring writers. Participants will discuss writing techniques and receive expert feedback from authors Timothy Schaffert, Jim Reese, Matt Mason, Dwaine Spieker and Jeff Lacey.

The full-day festival, free and open to the public, will be held May 21 in downtown Lincoln. Workshop seating is limited and advance registration is recommended. Register online at http://bookfestival.nebraska.gov/2011/workshops.aspx through May 15.

Timothy Schaffert will lead a morning workshop, “Geographies of Fiction,” at nuVibe Juice and Java, 126 North 14th Street, beginning at 10:15 a.m. He will offer writing exercises and discuss how writers use place to portray character, further the plot, and enhance story and theme. Schaffert, a fourth-generation Nebraskan, is the author of four novels, most recently “The Coffins of Little Hope.” Three of his novels have been set in the landscape of his family’s central Nebraska farm. His work has been a Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writers selection, a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice, and an Indie Next pick from the American Booksellers Association. He teaches creative writing and literature at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, directs the Nebraska Summer Writers Conference and the (downtown) Omaha lit fest, and serves as digital development editor for “Prairie Schooner.”

Jim Reese will lead an afternoon workshop, “Get Published Now,” at the Nebraska State Historical Society’s Nebraska History Museum, 131 Centennial Mall North, beginning at 1:30 p.m. Workshop participants will discuss methods and new ideas on how to get published in today’s market. Reese is Associate Professor of English and Director of the Great Plains Writers' Tour at Mount Marty College in Yankton, South Dakota. His poetry and prose have been widely published in “New York Quarterly,” “Poetry East,” “Prairie Schooner,” and elsewhere. His new book, “ghost on 3rd,” was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. Reese is Editor-in-Chief of “Paddlefish” and has been the National Endowment for the Arts' Writer-in-Residence at the Yankton Federal Prison Camp since 2008.

Matt Mason, Dwaine Spieker and Jeff Lacey will join together to lead a poetry-writing workshop, “Lightning Writing Prompts,” at the Nebraska History Museum, beginning at 1:30 p.m. Mason won the 2007 Nebraska Book Award for Poetry for “Things We Don’t Know We Don't Know,” is executive director of the Nebraska Writers Collective, coordinates Nebraska's annual “Poetry Out Loud” contest, and has led workshops for the U.S. State Department in Nepal and Belarus. Spieker won the 2010 Nebraska Book Award for Poetry for “Garden of Stars,” teaches literature and writing at Wayne High School, and received two National Endowment for the Humanities grants to participate in their “Summer Seminars for Schoolteachers” program. Lacey won the Oscar C. Macellaio Poetry Prize, was recognized by the American Academy of Poets, and recently edited “The Loren Eiseley Reader Teacher’s Guide.”

To learn more about the festival and its featured authors, visit bookfestival.nebraska.gov or contact Mary Jo Ryan, festival coordinator, Mary Jo Ryan, 402-471-3434, 800-307-2665.

The Nebraska Book Festival is presented by the Nebraska Center for the Book, Nebraska Humanities Council and Nebraska Library Commission, with additional support from the Nebraska Arts Council, Nebraska Cultural Endowment, Nebraska State Historical Society, Nebraska Writers Collective, A Novel Idea Bookstore, nuVibe Juice and Java, Nebraska Repertory Theatre, and University of Nebraska Press.

The Nebraska Library Commission and the Nebraska Library Association recently awarded 21st Century Librarian internship grants totaling $22,750 to eighteen Nebraska public libraries. These internship grants will support public library interns, who will contribute to the scope and value of the diverse programs and activities in Nebraska's public libraries.

“The internships are a great opportunity for students to work in libraries, contributing needed help and sharing skills for a variety of summer and year-round library projects. Benefits abound for all involved&em;for the interns, for the libraries, and for the people served by the participating libraries,” said Nebraska Library Commission Director Rod Wagner. “The Nebraska Library Commission appreciates the renewal of Federal and foundation support for the internship grants.”

Funding for the project is provided through the generosity of a Nebraska charitable foundation that wishes to remain anonymous and through a Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program grant from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Such funding helps the Nebraska Library Commission and the Nebraska Library Association continue to support the missions and goals of libraries across Nebraska and statewide efforts to recruit the next generation of Nebraska’s librarians.

Student interns will learn about library work as they shadow and assist with day-to-day library operations and implement special projects. Interns will lead youth summer reading program activities, conduct training sessions to teach senior citizens to use technology, facilitate book discussion activities, help develop and update library Website and Facebook pages, create young adult library programs and spaces, help design library parade floats, work on publicity materials for library programs, sort and preserve archival materials, and assist in a host of other worthwhile activities.

Christy Walsh, Nebraska Library Association President, remarked, “The Nebraska Library Association is proud to partner with the Nebraska Library Commission for the student internship grant program. Encouraging the growth of librarianship through partnerships and grants helps shape our libraries, communities, and organizations and reaches well beyond geographical boundaries. Internships empower students to experience librarianship on the front lines, while hosting institutions gain from a fresh perspective through the intern’s eyes. Anything we can do to encourage aspiring librarians in the field is a winning venture.”

The following Nebraska libraries received internship grant funding:

• Arapahoe Public Library
• Bartley Public Library
• Bassett, Rock County Public Library
• Beatrice Public Library
• Blair Public Library
• Elgin Public Library
• Howells Public Library
• Lincoln City Libraries
• Meadow Grove Public Library
• Neligh Public Library
• Norfolk Public Library
• Ord Township Library
• Papillion, Sump Memorial Library
• Ponca Carnegie Library
• Randolph, Lied Randolph Public Library
• Schuyler Public Library
• South Sioux City Public Library
• Wayne Public Library

Central Community College has opened registration for Summer classes beginning May 23, 2011. Those in the Library and Information Services online program include, Libr 1010 – Foundations of Library and Information Services, Libr 2100 Reference Resources and Services, and Libr 2490 Library and Information Services Capstone Practicum.

For more information see: www.cccneb.edu, Click on Programs, Courses & Workshops, Click on Online Degrees and Courses, Click on Library and Information Services.
For information concerning Admissions or Registration, contact: Dee Johnson, djohnson@cccneb.edu, 402-562-1418 or Toll Free at 877-222-0780 extension 1418.

EDUCATION: Spotlight! on NLM Resources -Wed. April 27 , 1:00 Mountain Time, 2:00 Central Time
This Spotlight! session on Cancer Resources will be presented by Marty Magee.

Is there an “epidemic” of cancer? How can you find out more? Tune in and learn about multiple sites with content about basic information, topic searches, support, statistics, registries, treatment, and more.

Taking the one-hour class and completing the exercises and class evaluation makes you eligible to receive 1 Medical Library Association Continuing Education credit. This online training is FREE. Register online at http://tinyurl.com/mcrclasses (registration is not required but is appreciated). URL: https://webmeeting.nih.gov/mcr/, Equipment: connection to the Internet and a phone, Login: as a guest with your first and last name. Instructions to connect to the audio will show up once you’ve logged in. Captioning will be provided. Questions to mmagee@unmc.edu.

Small-town public libraries will receive a helping hand thanks to the generosity of a lifelong educator. A donor-advised fund of the Nebraska Community Foundation, established by the late Shirley Kreutz Bennett of Lincoln, will provide matching grants for public libraries in Nebraska communities with a population of less than 3,000.

Following Ms. Kreutz Bennett's wishes, a Fund Advisory Committee composed of her nieces and nephews will recommend grants in three areas: planning grants leading to accreditation; enhancement grants to improve library services and/or programs; and facilities grants for new facilities or the renovation, restoration or rehabilitation of current libraries. All grants will require a certain level of matching funds and evidence that the project has broad community support.

Approximately $70,000 will be available each year. Grants will be awarded annually in each grantmaking area beginning in the spring of 2012. There are 228 libraries in Nebraska communities with populations under 3,000. Of those, 100 are not accredited by the Nebraska Library Commission.

“Gaining accreditation is critical to our libraries. It opens the door to other outside funding,” said Jeff Yost, NCF President and CEO. “In many small towns, the library may be the only place where some people have access to the Internet. This is certainly the case in towns where consolidation has closed the local school. Shirley's legacy gift will help rural libraries adapt to significant changes over these next several years. It shows that she had great vision and commitment to people in our small communities,” Yost said.

A life-long learner, Shirley Kreutz graduated from Harvard High School in 1941. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Washington and an M.A. and Ph.D. from Columbia University. She taught on both coasts before returning to Nebraska. Shirley was a retired Professor of Education at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln.

Shirley’s nephew, Russell Kreutz, said education and self-improvement were important to her; she never stopped growing and was always up for a new challenge. She and her husband, Millard Bennett, a career pilot, were taking classes together right until the end of her life. “I think Shirley chose to help small-town libraries because she felt that this would be helping where the money was needed most,” Mr. Bennett said.

“Shirley was able to travel the world, and I think she wanted to equip people who don’t have that opportunity, so they could have the world brought to them,” said Russell Kreutz, a member of the Fund Advisory Committee who will be involved in recommending grant recipients.

Last year, donor-advised funds gave more than $3.8 million to charitable organizations through the Nebraska Community Foundation. “We are really excited to be helping Shirley's family develop a strategy to share her passion for learning, especially in places where funding continues to shrink,” said Yost.

To avoid duplication and to attempt to leverage existing resources, the Nebraska Library Commission will assist the Nebraska Community Foundation and the Fund Advisory Committee with grantmaking. Grant seekers are encouraged to review the guidelines and application procedures at www.nebcommfound.org/fund/kreutzbennett.

For more information, contact Sheri Hink, Outreach, Education and Events Manager, Nebraska Community Foundation, (402) 323-7347 or shink@nebcommfound.org.

Young Nebraska writers will receive Letters about Literature award certificates from Gov. Dave Heineman on April 13, 2011 at a proclamation-signing ceremony celebrating National Library Week, April 10-18, 2011. Letters about Literature is a national reading and writing promotion program. Just under 70,000 adolescent and young adult readers nationwide in grades 4 through 12 participated in this year’s Letters About Literature program—more than 450 of them from Nebraska. The competition encourages young people to read, be inspired and write back to the author who has somehow changed their view of the world or themselves.

This annual contest is sponsored nationally by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress in partnership with Target Stores. Target sponsors Letters about Literature as part of its national reading initiative, “Ready. Sit. Read!,” which is aimed at fostering a love of reading among children at an early age. Since opening its first store in 1962, Target has partnered with nonprofit organizations, guests and team members to help meet community needs. The Center for the Book was established in 1977 as a public-private partnership to use the resources of the Library of Congress to stimulate public interest in books and reading.

The Nebraska competition is coordinated and sponsored by the Nebraska Center for the Book, Nebraska Library Commission, and Houchen Bindery Ltd. Young Nebraska writers to be honored are:

Winners:
• Grace Doll, Lincoln, to Willa Cather about My Ántonia
• Megan Brookhouser, Omaha, to Jeannette Walls about The Glass Castle
• Arash Hamidi, Omaha, to Gene Luen Yang about American-Born Chinese

Alternate Winners:
• Frank Wickizer, Lincoln, to Ernest Hemingway about The Old Man and the Sea
• Grace Cai, Omaha, to Philip Pullman about Northern Lights (The Golden Compass), The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass
• Timarree Speer, Mason City, to Beatrice Sparks about Anne’s Baby

The students wrote personal letters to authors explaining how his or her work changed their view of themselves or the world. They selected authors from any genre, fiction or nonfiction, contemporary or classic. Winners were chosen from three competition levels: upper elementary, middle, and secondary school.

The Nebraska winners will be honored at a luncheon, receive cash prizes and gift certificates to Target Stores, and their winning letters will be placed in the Jane Pope Geske Heritage Room of Nebraska Authors at Bennett Martin Public Library in Lincoln. They will advance to the national competition, with a chance to win a trip to Washington, D.C. for themselves and their parents. For more information see http://centerforthebook.nebraska.gov/programs/LAL.html.