[kids-lib] Grant Opportunity for Rural Public Libraries

[The Libri Foundation]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 2009

The Libri Foundation is currently accepting applications for its 2009
BOOKS FOR CHILDREN grants.

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.  Since October 1990, the
Foundation has donated over $3,600,000 worth of new children’s books to
more than 2,500 libraries in 49 states, including Alaska and Hawaii.

In order to encourage and reward local support of libraries, The Libri
Foundation will match any amount of money raised by your local sponsors
from $50 to $350 on a 2-to-1 ratio.  Thus, a library can receive up to
$1,050 worth of new children's books.  After a library receives a grant,
local sponsors (such as formal or informal Friends groups, civic or
social organizations, local businesses, etc.) have four months, or
longer if necessary, to raise their matching funds.

The librarian of each participating library selects the books her
library will receive from a booklist provided by the Foundation.  The
700-plus fiction and nonfiction titles on the booklist reflect the very
best of children's literature published primarily in the last three
years. These titles, which are for children ages 12 and under, are
award-winners or have received starred reviews in library, literary, or
education journals.  The booklist also includes a selection of classic
children’s titles.

Libraries are qualified on an individual basis.  In general, county
libraries should serve a population under 16,000 and town libraries
should serve a population under 10,000 (usually under 5,000).  Libraries
should be in a rural area, have a limited operating budget, and an
active children's department.

Please note:  Rural is usually considered to be at least 30 miles from a
city with a population over 40,000.  Town libraries with total operating
budgets over $150,000 and county libraries with total operating budgets
over $350,000 are rarely given grants.

Applications are accepted from independent libraries as well as
libraries which are part of a county, regional, or cooperative library
system.

A school library may apply only if it also serves as the public library
(i.e. it is open to the everyone in the community, has some summer
hours, and there is no public library in town).

A branch library may apply if the community it is in meets the
definition of rural.  If the branch library receives its funding from
its parent institution, then the parent institution’s total operating
budget, not just the branch library’s total operating budget, must meet
the budget guidelines.

Previous BOOKS FOR CHILDREN grant recipients are eligible to apply for
another grant three years after the receipt of their last grant.
Libraries that do not fulfill all grant requirements, including the
final report, may not apply for another grant.

Application deadlines for 2007 are:  (postmarked by) January 23rd
(extended), April 15th, and August 15th.  Grants are awarded January
31st, April 30th, and August 31st.

Application guidelines and forms may be downloaded from the Foundation's
website at:  www.librifoundation.org.

For more information about The Libri Foundation or its Books for
Children program, please contact Ms. Barbara J. McKillip, President, The
Libri Foundation, PO Box 10246, Eugene, OR  97440.  541-747-9655
(phone); 541-747-4348 (fax); libri at librifoundation.org (email).  Normal
office hours are:  Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Pacific Time.