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Springfield will be the site for ILA's Annual Conference, October 9-12, 2007. We hope to provide a stimulating program that is responsive to our members' information needs. We are inviting ILA members and others to prepare program proposals for the annual conference. The proposal form is located on the ILA web site.
On the LTLS home page, take a minute to answer the question: Which search engine do you use most often? Thanks for your participation in last week's survey! 36% of those who responded said they last attended an LTLS CE event last month and 27% in the past year.
This month's feature articles on the LTLS home page have the common theme of diversity. One article describes the activities of LTLS' diversity grant project; another discusses the community outreach of the Mattoon Public Library; and a third, written by North Suburban Library System Executive Director Sarah Long, talks about library workers and whether or not they are representative of the people who live in their community. The fourth article gives highlights of a new population profile of the U.S. Be sure to read these short articles!
Thanks to the generosity of PBS Kids and WGBH TV in Boston, the Illinois Center for the Book received Curious George Family Activity Booklets to give away at the Illinois Authors Book Fair. Now that the book fair is over, we want to pass along those that are left to Illinois schools and libraries. The booklets are 8.5 x 11 and are 12 pages in length. They contain many ideas for family interaction with hands-on activities for young children. Inside the booklet, children will learn about:
* Science, with a pinwheel they can cut out and put together with their parents help
* Engineering, with building and rolling activities they can do with items found around the house
* Math, with pattern and sorting games along with a cooking with parents segment that highlights recipes for Curious Pancakes and Marvelous Meringues.
All learning segments refer the children to a Curious George story. If you are interested in receiving activity booklets for your school or library, please contact: Bonnie Matheis at bmatheis@ilsos.net.
The next Free-Form-Free-For-All gathering for youth services librarians and staff will be held at the Vespasian Warner Public Library, Clinton, on Friday, Jan. 12, 2007. The meeting will begin at 9:30 in the top floor Activity Room (off the Children's Room) and will last about two hours. The F-F-F-F-A is an opportunity for youth services personnel to share ideas, questions, and even complaints. Please bring your favorite old and/or new books - programming ideas, games, and crafts - questions - whatever - for children up through 8th grade. Be sure to bring 20 copies of any/all information for all other participants to take home. To sign up to attend or for more information contact Paula Lopatic, paulal@rpls.lib.il.us, Children's Librarian, Vespasian Warner Public Library, 310 N. Quincy St., Clinton, ph. 217/935-5174.
NEH invites proposals for the planning or initial stages of digital initiatives in all areas of the humanities. Digital Humanities Start-Up Grants may involve: research that brings new digital approaches to the study of the humanities; new digital modes of publication facilitating the dissemination of humanities scholarship; exploration of digital methods or approaches to preserve, archive, and make accessible traditional and "new media" resources in the humanities; planning new digital tools for preserving, analyzing, and making accessible humanities data; and programs addressing the innovative use of emerging digital technologies in formal and informal educational settings, including public forums such as museums, libraries, historic sites, and broadcast media, and K-12 schools and post-secondary institutions.
Deadline is April 3, 2007. Visit http://www.neh.gov/grants/guidelines/digitalhumanitiesstartup.html for application and guidelines.
The Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will offer a new continuing education course, Fundraising and Grantwriting, February 1 - March 8, 2007, Online synchronous sessions Thursdays 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. Central time. Cost: $300. The intended audience is librarians and information professionals needing training in fundraising and grantwriting. This course is ALA-APA approved for Certified Public Library Administrator (CPLA) candidates. For additional information and to register, visit http://www.lis.uiuc.edu/programs/cpd/CPLA/fund.html or contact Marianne Steadley at steadley@uiuc.edu or 217-244-2751.
Oracle's Help Us Help Foundation is offering awards to teams of students who contribute exemplary content to ThinkQuest. ThinkQuest encourages students to work together in teams to create educational tools on the Internet while enhancing their ability to communicate and cooperate in a global, interconnected environment. Details about the contest and the ThinkQuest Library of Entries with hundreds of student-produced educational resources are all available at the ThinkQuest web site.
Awards will be made to teams of up to 30 students in Division 1: grades 3-5; Division 2: grades 6-8; Division 3: grades 9-12.This is a contest for students who will receive awards including laptops and $1,000 school grants for the top ten teams in each age division,as well as travel to the annual ThinkQuest Live event for the top three teams in each division, and digital cameras for the team that receives the Global Perspectives Award. The application deadline is April 16, 2007. Application must be through the web site,
www.thinkquest.org
Follett Library Resources is offering awards recognizing exemplary library media programs that are fully integrated into the curriculum. District and school library media centers whose school library media specialists are personal members of AASL are eligible to apply. Three categories are available: large and small districts and a single school. Awards are $10,000 in each category. The application deadline is 02-Jan-07. Contact American Association of School Librarians 50 E. Huron Street Chicago, IL 60611 (800) 545-2433, ext. 4383, www.ala.org/aasl/awards.html
