Just Say Cheese Today Nov 17th!

Fire up those digital cameras at your library today!  November 17th.

"Everyone Reads @ Your Library" Grants

El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Children’s Day/Book Day), is an every day celebration of children, families, and reading that emphasizes the importance of literacy for children of all linguistic and cultural backgrounds.  An annual celebration takes place annually on or near April 30th.  Commonly known as “Dia,” its primary goals are to honor children and their diverse backgrounds;  to encourage reading and literacy;  and to promote library collections and programs that reflect our plurality on a daily basis. 

The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) is pleased to accept applications for mini-grants intended to expand youth literacy programs to include and celebrate a variety of cultures in public libraries.  Up to 15 mini-grants will be awarded:  up to eight at $4,000 each; and up to seven at $6,000 each.

Intended as an expansion of El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Día), the mini-grants will be awarded to libraries that demonstrate a need to better address the diverse backgrounds within their communities.   

The mini-grants are part of the Everyone Reads @ your library grant awarded to ALSC from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation.  For more information, and the application form, go to http://everyonereads.zhost.net

The deadline for receipt of applications is November 29, 2010.

Now You CAN fill in PDFs online!

FillAnyPDF.com is a website where you upload your PDF form and link to it so other people can fill it out and sign it online. No software is needed. Any PDF form can be used, even if it's not "interactive", so you can get started right away. You can even invite a group to fill out your forms and track the results. Anyone that collects signatures or filled out forms will find FillAnyPDF.com to be a valuable time-saving resource.  Visit www.fillanypdf.com.

Happy Halloween!

Here are some fun photos from Chippewa Falls Public Library. Have a safe fun Halloween!

Alltop for Libraries

Alltop (All Top Stories) is a good source for current information from top news websites and blogs on any given topic.  They now have a page for Libraries that is jam packed with all kinds of library information and ideas ideas and blogs.  Visit the site at http://libraries.alltop.com.

Hudson Area Library Grand Opening

Hudson Area Library celebrated the Grand Opening of it's new facility on October 2nd.  Located along the St. Croix river in downtown Hudson, the new building showcases lots of windows and an open airy feel. Many people attended the event and enjoyed various musical performances throughout the day. The winners of the logo/tagline design contest were announced and the new logo and tagline were unveiled  -  "Where Knowledge Flows Freely"  Their new website will be launched soon too. 

John Cotton Dana Library Public Relations Award

Your library does not have to be big with lots of money to spend on public relations in order to win the $5000 John Cotton Dana Award. This award cuts across type-of-library lines to select libraries that have distinguished themselves by their public education and public relations efforts.

"Everyone needs to remember," said John Cotton Dana Committee Chair Kim Terry, "that the judges don't look at how much the project costs, but at how creative or effective it was."

In 2001, the Dr. Eugene Clark Library in Lockhart, Texas, won for ‘Up On the Roof With the Loony Librarian,’ for which a librarian camped on the library’s dome for a week to raise funds for a renovation project.

In 2005, the Maricopa County Library District in Phoenix, AZ, developed ‘The Mystery Club of Luna Drive,’ an online young adult novel that gave teens an opportunity to solve a mystery using puzzles, ciphers and critical thinking.

One of the most innovative projects of recent years came out last year from Hackney Library at Barton College, in Wilson, N.C. in 2010. They created a “Band Book Tour,” a music festival centered on a fictional band that “stopped” at literary locations in controversial books. Giveaways of tour t-shirts and “all-access” lanyards and wallets continue to provide the library with exposure to this day, as students are frequently seen on campus with their tour gear.

“The size of your budget doesn’t matter,” Terry added, “so be sure to enter and share your great ideas with the rest of us.”

For an entry form, checklist, guidelines and tips, visit www.hwwilson.com/jcdawards/nw_jcd.htm.