LTLS - Quick Connections

New Grant Opportunity for School Libraries - Picturing America

The American Library Association (ALA) Public Programs Office (PPO), in collaboration with the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), has announced "Picturing America," a new grant opportunity for schools and school libraries.

A pilot project of NEH's We the People program, "Picturing America" has been created to promote the teaching, study and understanding of American history and culture in K-12 schools through examples of the nation's most significant works of art and architecture and to facilitate interdisciplinary partnerships between school library media specialists, art teachers, history teachers, classroom instructors and other educators.

"Picturing America" will provide 500 public and private schools with:
- A collection of 20 double-sided, laminated posters depicting works of American art.
-a booklet that contains essays for each poster, teaching suggestions, and quick introductory exercises geared to different grade levels.
- The Picturing America Web site, which will contain links to extensive lesson plans and other educational resources organized by poster, themes, and subjects (history, social studies, and other disciplines).

Public, private, parochial and charter schools and home school consortia (K-12) are eligible to receive "Picturing America" awards. Applications may be submitted on behalf of the schools by school librarians, art teachers, classroom teachers and other educators and school administrators. The online application is available at http://publicprograms.ala.org/picturingamerica. NEH estimates that the complete application process will take one hour to complete.

A list of "Picturing America" images, as well as guidelines and applications, are available online at http://publicprograms.ala.org/picturingamerica. Online applications will be accepted through March 19, 2007. Awards will be announced in May 2007. "Picturing America" collections will be distributed in September 2007 for use during the 2007-2008 school year. If you have any questions, please contact the ALA Public Programs Office at publicprograms@ala.org.

Free English Speaking, Listening Classes Available to Area Residents

Parkland College offers free English Speaking and Listening (ESL) classes at convenient times, both on campus and in Rantoul. These classes work well for those whose native language is not English and emphasize beginning and intermediate listening and speaking skills. See below for locations and times.

Parkland campus: ESL classes for adults will be offered through May 4, on Monday through Thursday from 9 to 12 noon; from 12:30 to 3 p.m.; and from 6 to 9 p.m.

Parkland at Rantoul, 200 S. Fredrick: ESL classes run through May 2, on Mondays and Wednesdays from 6 to 8 p.m.

For more information, please call Jill Hofferth, ESL coordinator, at 217/351-2444.

Organization and Personnel Management CE Course

There are still a few seats available in the online Organization and Personnel Management continuing education course being offered by the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. This course is ALA-APA approved for Certified Public Library Administrator (CPLA) candidates.

Course title: Organization and Personnel Management
Dates: February 7 - March 14, 2007
Times: Online synchronous sessions Wednesdays 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. Central time
Cost: $300
Instructor: Robert H. Burger, Ph.D., CPA, Former (retired) Associate University Librarian for Services, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Intended audience: Librarians and information professionals needing training in organization and personnel management; CPLA candidates.

Purpose of the course: To familiarize the student with the basic principles of library personnel management and organization, including personnel administration within the context of the mission and goals of the organization. Topics included are recruitment of staff, making hiring decisions, supervision of staff, evaluation of staff's performance, identification of training needs, implementation of training, firing or terminating staff, evaluating the effectiveness of the organizational structure with regard to personnel management, evaluating personnel policies, and identifying and securing resources for staff.

For additional information and to register, please visit http://www.lis.uiuc.edu/programs/cpd/CPLA/opm.html or contact Marianne Steadley, steadley@uiuc.edu or 217-244-2751.

Demco announces $10,000 Room Makeover Contest

DEMCO Library Interiors has announced a $10,000 Room Makeover Contest for 2007. Applicants are being sought who have a vision for an area of their library or media center that could be more effective in how it serves patrons or impacts their library. DLI will work with the contest winner from start to finish, furnish, and provide installation for their space.

Applications are available at the DEMCO Library Interiors web site. Forms must be turned in to the DLI Booth at the ALA Annual Conference by Monday, June 27th. If you complete an application but cannot go to ALA, send an email to: ltls@lincolntrail.info

New Weekly Survey!

Be sure to check out this week's poll Do you own a cell phone?.

Amazon.com “Wish for Lit” Contest

Amazon.com has announced the “Wish for Lit” contest that will give over $20,000 in Amazon.com products to 3 winning libraries in the United States. One library will be selected in each of the three categories: K-12, Academic, and Public. Each winning library will receive a $5,000 gift certificate for Amazon.com products, as well as up to $2,000 of Amazon.com products that are on the library’s Amazon.com Wish List. To apply, simply create a Library Wish List and fill out the online form. The three winners will be selected by a panel of 5 judges selected by the American Library Association Chapter Relations Committee. The application form is available at: www.amazon.com/wishforlit. Deadline is February 16th, 2007.

American Library Association Announces Award Winners

The American Library Association announced the winners of the top literary awards in children and young adult literature, including the Newberry, Caldecott, and King awards, along with many others.

A complete list of award winners can be found at: http://www.ala.org/ala/alsc/awardsscholarships/literaryawds/2007MediaAwardWinners.htm

Lost Video

The following video title is missing: 793.3196 JVC / JVC Smithsonian Folkways video anthology of music and dance of Africa. If found, please return to the Champaign Public Library.

The Center for Children's Books Book Sale

The Center for Children's Books is pleased to announce the sixth annual Book Sale!

THOUSANDS OF NEW CHILDREN'S BOOKS WILL BE AVAILABLE including board books, picture books, easy and transitional readers, chapter books, series fiction, young adult novels, activity books and kits, nonfiction series, mass-market paperbacks, and more!

Pre-Sale Sun, February 18, 2007
1-4 PM
East Foyer, LIS Building
Ticket Reservations Required

Book Sale Mon - Wed, February 19 - 21, 2007
10 AM - 6 PM
Room 24, LIS Building
The Center for Children's Books

Graduate School of Library and Information Science (LIS Building)
501 E. Daniel Street
Champaign, IL 61820

$1 for paperbacks that retail for $5 or less
$2 for paperbacks that retail for $5.01 or more
$5 for hardcovers

All proceeds support the Center for Children's Books.

New Course from GSLIS

The Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is pleased to offer a new continuing education course. This course is ALA-APA approved for Certified Public Library Administrator (CPLA) candidates.

Course title: Fundraising and Grantwriting
Dates: February 1 - March 8, 2007
Times: Online synchronous sessions Thursdays 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. Central time
Cost: $300
Instructors: Jonathan Carroll, Ph.D. and Jason Kovac, Assistant Deans, Academic Affairs, Morton College

Intended audience: Librarians and information professionals needing training in fundraising and grantwriting; CPLA candidates.

Purpose of the course: To familiarize the student with the principles of fundraising and grantwriting within the context of the mission and goals of the organization. Topics include community needs analysis, grant research tools, writing in grant style, grant evaluation and reporting, relationship building, and fundraising strategies and activities.

For additional information and to register, please visit http://www.lis.uiuc.edu/programs/cpd/CPLA/fund.html or contact Marianne Steadley, steadley@uiuc.edu or 217-244-2751.