Beyond Words: the Dollar General School Library Relief Fund

Deadline: Ongoing, applications reviewed monthly,

Dollar General, in collaboration with the American Library Association (ALA), the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) and the National Education Association (NEA), is sponsoring a school library disaster relief fund for public school libraries in the states served by Dollar General.

Grants will be awarded to public school libraries that have incurred substantial damage or hardship due to a natural disaster (tornado, earthquake, hurricane, flood, avalanche, mudslide), fire or an act recognized by the federal government as terrorism. Grants for $5,000 to $15,000 are to replace or supplement books, media and/or library equipment in the school library setting. The impact can be through direct loss or through an increase in enrollment due to displaced/evacuated students. More information and the grant application are available through the AASL website.

ALTAFF Major Benefactor Citation

Deadline: Ongoing

While this is not a grant, it could be a nice way to recognize your library's major contributors and grant funders. The Association of Library Trustees, Advocates, Friends and Foundations (ALTAFF), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), awards the Major Benefactor Citation to recognize individuals, families, or corporations that have given them major tangible gifts. The citation comes with a plaque for the library, a plaque for the donor, a library celebration, and a library press release to let the community know that gifts to the library are truly appreciated and make a real difference.

Libraries may apply for the Major Benefactor Citation at any time by visiting the website. Requirements include benefits to the library in the form of money, real or personal property, negotiable paper or other tangible contributions, endorsement by the Board of Trustees of the library involved and a fee of $400 ($300 for ALTAFF members) to cover all administrative costs and materials.

ALA Library grant to host exhibit

The American Library Association Public Programs Office, the Folger Shakespeare Library, and the National Endowment for the Humanities invite public, academic, and special libraries to apply to host "Manifold Greatness: The Creation and Afterlife of the King James Bible," a traveling exhibition to America's libraries.

Created to mark the 400th anniversary of the first printing of the King James Bible, the exhibition tells the story of the origins, creation, and impact of the King James Bible, including its influence on English and American literature and its multifaceted impact on culture and society up to the present day. Three copies of the exhibit will travel to forty libraries from the fall of 2011 through the winter of 2013.

Successful applicants will host the exhibit for a four-week period between the fall of 2011 and the winter of 2013 and will receive a $2,500 grant from NEH for attendance at an exhibit-planning workshop and other exhibit-related expenses. Participating libraries are expected to present at least two free public programs featuring a lecture or discussion by a qualified scholar on exhibition themes.

Due: April 5, 2011

For more information, click here.

Preservation and Access Research and Development Grants

Preservation and Access Research and Development grants support projects that address major challenges in preserving or providing access to humanities collections and resources. These challenges include the need to find better ways to preserve materials of critical importance to the nation’s cultural heritage—from fragile artifacts and manuscripts to analog recordings and digital assets subject to technological obsolescence—and to develop advanced modes of searching, discovering, and using such materials. Applicants should define a specific problem, devise procedures and potential solutions, and explain how they would evaluate their projects and disseminate their findings. Project results must serve the needs of a significant segment of humanists. Eligible projects include the development of technical standards, best practices, and tools for preserving and creating access to humanities collections; the exploration of more effective scientific and technical methods of preserving humanities collections; the development of automated procedures and computational tools to integrate, analyze, and repurpose humanities data in disparate online resources; and the investigation and testing of new ways of providing digital access to humanities materials that are not easily digitized using current methods. NEH especially encourages applications that address the following topics: Digital Preservation: how to preserve digital humanities materials, including born-digital materials, for which there is no analog counterpart; Recorded Sound and Moving Image Collections: how to preserve and increase access to the record of the twentieth century contained in these formats; and Preventive Conservation: how to protect and slow the deterioration of humanities collections through the use of sustainable preservation strategies.

Amount: $350,000

Date due: May 19, 2011

For more information, click here.

The Wish You Well Foundation Literacy Grants

Deadline: Ongoing

Established in 2002, the Wish You Well Foundation has the mission of "supporting family literacy in the United States by fostering and promoting the development and expansion of new and existing literacy and educational programs." Visit the foundation website for a link to the short proposal and a list of past funded programs, including public and school libraries. The Wish You Well Foundation reviews donation requests with a wide array of funding needs. Most requests range from $200 to $10,000. Organizations are reminded to base their requested amount on the program's unique needs for funding.

ALA Awards

The American Library Association has extended the deadline for a number of ALA-administered awards and grants, including the ALA Information Today Library of the Future Award, the Beta Phi Mu Award, the Gale Cengage Learning Financial Development Award, the Paul Howard Award for Courage, the Lippincott Award, and the Scholastic Library Publishing Award, to February 1, 2011.

The ALA Information Today Library of the Future Award honors a 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. The award includes $1,500 and a gold-framed citation.

The Beta Phi Mu Award is presented to a faculty member of a library school or an individual for distinguished service to education in librarianship. The award includes $1,000 and a gold-framed citation.

The Gale Cengage Learning Financial Development Award is given to a library organization that exhibited meritorious achievement in carrying out a library financial development project to secure new funding resources for a public or academic library. The award includes $2,500 and a gold-framed citation.

The Paul Howard Award for Courage is a bi-annual award consisting of $1,000 and a gold-framed citation of achievement honoring a librarian, library board, library group, or an individual who has exhibited unusual courage for the benefit of library programs or services.

The Joseph W. Lippincott Award is given to a librarian for distinguished service to the profession. To qualify, the librarian must display outstanding participation in professional library activities, notable published professional writing, or other significant activities on behalf of the profession. The award includes $1,000 and a gold-framed citation.

The Scholastic Library Publishing Award is an annual award consisting of $1,000 and a gold-framed citation 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.

For more information, click here.

Electronic Records Projects

The National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), a part of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), supports projects that promote the preservation and use of America's documentary heritage essential to understanding our democracy, history, and culture. The Commission seeks proposals that will increase the capacity of archival repositories to create electronic records archives that preserve records of enduring historical value. The NHPRC supports efforts by archivists and records managers to meet the challenges of electronic records.

Projects must involve institutions that have already established archives and records management programs. We seek applications for start-up or collaborative projects:1. Start-up projects: Develop the capacity of institutions to prepare to capture and preserve electronic records, through program planning; OR 2. Collaborative projects: Establish and/or improve electronic records archives by engaging in effective and innovative collaborations. Most electronic records archives depend upon collaboration among archivists, record managers, and information technology specialists. Only a few organizations have all the required expertise, making training, collaboration and recruitment of new personnel essential components of electronic records archives. NHPRC strongly encourages applicants to include professional development components necessary for the success of the project. These may consist of basic or advanced electronic records and digital preservation training for archives staff, agency records managers, high level administrators, information technologists, and others. Projects cannot establish electronic document management systems that only manage born-digital records with limited retention periods. Projects in this category cannot digitize historical records. Applicants who wish to digitize records should refer to the Digitizing Historical Records announcement. Applications requesting support for these activities will be considered ineligible in this program.

Due Date: June 9, 2011

Amount: A grant normally is for 1 to 3 years and up to $300,000. Cost sharing is required. It is the financial contribution the applicant pledges to the cost of a project. Cost sharing can include both direct and indirect expenses, in-kind contributions, non-Federal third-party contributions, and any income earned directly by the project. The NHPRC will provide up to 50 percent of the total project costs.

For more information, click here.