[Libs-Or] Due March 4: ALA's Libraries Transforming Communities Small & Rural Libraries grants

[Stephanie Chase]

With about two weeks to go before applications for *ALA's Libraries
Transforming Communities grant program for small and rural libraries* (
http://www.ala.org/tools/librariestransform/libraries-transforming-communities/focusgrants/libraries)
are due, I want to be sure everyone has thought about applying -- public,
school, and academic libraries are all eligible.

To apply, a library must either serve a population of 25,000 or less
(small) or be more than 5 miles from an urbanized area of 25,000 or more
(rural). Individual branches in a system or district are eligible to apply,
as long as they meet one of the criteria above. That's almost all of us!

The premise is that, if the library is awarded the grant, a staff member
(or multiple) takes part in an online course designed for small and rural
libraries on holding a community conversation (about 4 hours), and that the
library agrees to host one community conversation, which can be virtual,
using the model. Conversations for the second round are asked to be
completed by October 31, so there's plenty of time if you hope to hold your
conversation in person, and the success of your grant isn't based on how
many people take part.

The grant provides access to the training and $3000 to spend on something
related to the conversation -- and that could be ANYTHING, from staff time
to books to a Zoom license to hotspots to circulate to a traveling
makerspace kit... I think your imagination is the only barrier.

If you have more questions, feel free to reach out to me, Stephanie Chase,
the Executive Director of the Libraries of Eastern Oregon (
director at librariesofeasternoregon.org) or directly to ALA for a 20-minute
consultation (
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScDPcFtf2D3J5FWYKaL_jY0tNkFgCVkBogAswnIgoMENCOs9w/viewform).
The grant program's website has lots of resources, including sample
proposals.
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