ALA Research Grant

The American Library Association's Office for Research and Statistics is accepting applications for the Carroll Preston Baber Research Grant. The grant is given to one or more librarians or library educators conducting innovative research that could lead to an improvement in services to any specified group of people.

Amount: $3,000

Date due: December 1, 2009

A grant of up to $3,000 will be given to a proposed project that aims to answer a question of vital importance to the national library community. Any ALA member may apply, and the jury welcomes projects that involve both a practicing librarian and a researcher.

For more information, click here.

Big Read Program Offers Grants

The Big Read, a program of the National Endowment for the Arts, is accepting applications from nonprofit organizations to conduct month-long community-wide reads between September 2010 and June 2011. The Big Read is a national program designed to revitalize the role of literature in American culture.

Amount: $2,500 to $20,000

Date due: February 2, 2010

Organizations selected to participate in the program will receive a grant ranging from $2,500 to $20,000 each, access to online training resources, educational and promotional materials, inclusion of the organization and activities on the Big Read Web site, and the prestige of participating in a highly visible national program. Approximately seventy-five organizations from across the United States will be selected to participate.

Grants must be matched at least one-to-one with non-federal funds. Grant funds may be used for expenses such as book purchases, speaker fees and travel, salaries, advertising, and venue rental. Applicants can select one of the thirty-one available reading choices.

For more information, click here.

Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program

This program supports projects to develop faculty and library leaders, to recruit and educate the next generation of librarians, to conduct research on the library profession, and to support early career research on any area of library and information science by tenure-track, untenured faculty in graduate schools of library and information science. It also supports projects to attract high school and college students to consider careers in libraries, to build institutional capacity in graduate schools of library and information science, and to assist in the professional development of librarians and library staff.

Amount: $50,000 - $1m (across 4 years)

Date due: December 15, 2009

Program aims to recruit future professionals in library and information science. In particular, to attract promising junior high, high school of college students to consider careers in library and information science through statewide or regional pilot projects employing recruitment strategies that are cost-effective and measurable.

For more information, click here.

Digital Humanities Start-Up Grants

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) invites applications to the Digital Humanities Start-Up Grants program. This program is designed to encourage innovations in the digital humanities. By awarding relatively small grants to support the planning stages, NEH aims to encourage the development of innovative projects that promise to benefit the humanities.

Amount: $50,000

Due: October 6, 2009

Two levels of awards will be made in this program. Level I awards are small grants designed to fund brainstorming sessions, workshops, early alpha-level prototypes, and initial planning. Level II awards are larger grants that can be used formore fully-formed projects that are ready to begin implementation or the creation of working prototypes.

For more information, click here.

American Heritage Preservation Grants

Bank of America has partnered with the American Heritage Institute to provide grants to raise awareness and preserve items held in small museums, libraries and archives.

Amount: $3,000

Due: September 15, 2009

Grants will help to preserve specific items including works of art, artifacts, and historical documents that are in need of conservation.

For more information, click here.

Jenny Jones Community Grant Program

Deadline: Ongoing
Talk show host and philanthropist Jenny Jones has announced that she will donate an additional $1 million to continue her Jenny's Heroes ( http://www.jennysheroes.com/ ) community grantprogram. The Jenny's Heroes program awards grants to individuals who submit the best ideas for tangible, lasting community projects. Jenny's Heroes provides grants of up to $25,000 each to fund projects that promise long-term community benefits. Through the fifty grant recipients so far, funds have been used to provide items and services such as library books, school computers, and coats for children in domestic violence shelters. The program's focus is primarily on smaller communities where fundraising can be difficult. For more information on Jenny's Heroes and grant guidelines, visit the program's Web site. RFP Link: http://fconline.foundationcenter.org/pnd/15016232/jennysheroes

Seeds for Education Grant

Deadline: Nov. 15

Are you planning a library garden? Wild Ones is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the use of natural landscaping with native plant species as an ecologically better alternative to traditional landscaping practices. Eligible applicants include schools, nature centers and other non-profit and not-for-profit places of learning including houses of worship. Project goals should focus on the enhancement and development of an appreciation for nature using native plants. Projects must emphasize involvement of students and volunteers and increase the educational value of the site. Creativity in design is encouraged, but must show complete and thoughtful planning. The use of and teaching about native plants and the native plant community is mandatory, and they must be appropriate to the local ecoregion and the site conditions (soil, water, sunlight).
Examples of appropriate projects are:

• The design, establishment and maintenance of a native plant community such as prairie, woodland, wetland etc. in an educational setting such as an outdoor classroom.
• Developing and maintaining an interpretive trail landscaped with native plant communities.
• Developing a wetland area to study the effect of native vegetation on water quality improvement.
• Group student-teacher research projects aimed at documenting the presence, behaviors, needs and contributions of various forms of wildlife and the impact of native plant species.

Cash awards range from $100 to $500 for the purchase of native plants and seed. More information and the application are available on the Seeds for Education Web Site.