7/18/2008

Contents:

·         HAINES AND VALDEZ WELCOME NEW LIBRARY DIRECTORS

·         APPLY FOR LOIS LENSKI COVEY GRANTS

·         KENAI COMMUNITY LIBRARY RECEIVES EXPANSION GRANT FROM RASMUSON

·         SAVE THE DATE!

·         RESOURCES FOR A GRANT PROPOSAL

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HAINES AND VALDEZ WELCOME NEW LIBRARY DIRECTORS

Nanette Miller is the newly-appointed director of the Haines Public Library; she began work in early July. She replaces Dan Coleman, who left the position on July 18. Nanette comes to Haines after being director of the Boyne City, Michigan, library. While there, she presided over a $2.3 million expansion of the 80-year old Carnegie building, tripled circulation and automated the facility. Welcome to Alaska, Nanette! We’re all looking forward to meeting you!

Bruce Bennett recently began work as the new head librarian at the Valdez Consortium Library, but he isn’t new to Alaska. He worked in Juneau from 1989 to 1992 with the Forest Service and then with the Bureau of Mines. He left Alaska in 1992, sailing the Inside Passage to Seattle, ending up in the San Francisco Bay Area working as a librarian with the EPA and then for 6 ½ years as a medical librarian. He says, “The work is VERY different from my previous specialized work. However, I have an excellent staff that is being patient with me….It’s good to be back.” He looks forward to renewing acquaintances with Alaskan librarians. Welcome back to Alaska, Bruce!

APPLY FOR LOIS LENSKI COVEY GRANTS

Lois Lenski, the 1946 Newbery medalist for Strawberry Girl, had a life-long concern that good books be available to all children. In pursuit of this goal, she established a foundation to provide grants to public libraries, school libraries, and non-profit agencies serving disadvantaged populations.  The Lois Lenski Covey Foundation, Inc. is a charitable institute whose purpose is to assist organizations in their efforts to provide books to children who might otherwise lack access to children's literature.

The Lois Lenski Covey Foundation, Inc. annually awards grants to rural and urban, public and school libraries serving at-risk children. The Foundation gives priority to applications from libraries and agencies with real need and limited book budgets. Funds are earmarked for purchasing books for young people, and are not intended for administrative or operational use. Previously awarded grants have ranged from $500 to $3000. Successful applicants have proposed purchases to update their children's book collections generally or to expand their holdings in specific areas. In 2007 seventy-one libraries received grants from the foundation.

A current application form can be found at the foundation website and must be received by September 15, 2008.

KENAI COMMUNITY LIBRARY RECEIVES EXPANSION GRANT FROM RASMUSON

The City of Kenai – Kenai Community Library has been awarded $1,500,000 by the Rasmuson Foundation towards expansion and renovation of the Kenai Community Library. This amount includes a 1:2 challenge grant for up to $200,000. The first 5000 square feet of the present Kenai Community Library building was constructed in 1976.  In 1987, a 5000 square foot addition doubled the Library’s space. In October 2007, Kenai voters approved a bond issue of $2 million towards construction of an expanded library to be issued only when total funds for the project are secured. The total project, estimated to cost $5.3 million, will double the size of the current building.

Congratulations, Kenai Community Library and City of Kenai, on this giant step forward in your building project!

SAVE THE DATE!

Be sure to mark your calendars for the upcoming Alaska Library Association conference in Kodiak. The dates are March 13-16, 2009. Pre-conference will be Friday, March 13, and the regular conference sessions will follow on March 14, 15 and 16. Although it is not yet posted, watch the AKLA website for detailed conference information in the next month or two. Last year’s popular online registration option will be available.

RESOURCES FOR A GRANT PROPOSAL

Suppose you are working on a grant proposal and you need comparative data for your zip code area. Try ZIPskinny! At http://zipskinny.com you will find 2000 Census data categorized by zip codes. This site gives you the “skinny” on educational achievement, marital status, household income, occupations, population levels, and racial distributions. You can compare a zip code with up to 20 additional zip codes.

While the information is best regarded as “first glance” information and is not appropriate for detailed research analyses, it provides useful data for profiling local communities and target populations. (Quoted from Grantseeker Tips #233, April 15, 2008.)

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