NOTE: Applications for the June 2020 opportunity are closed. View the selected libraries.
ALA will offer additional stipends in 2020 and 2021 (dates and locations TBD). To be informed about these future opportunities, sign up for ALA's Programming Librarian newsletter.
Date Posted: Friday, November 8, 2019
Deadline for Submission: Monday, January 20, 2020 by 11:59 pm (CST)
Award Notification Date: Friday, January 31, 2020
Apply online via Google Forms
Questions?
Before starting, read the travel stipend FAQ and carefully review the requirements in each category for the travel stipend before applying.
Contact the American Library Association (ALA) Public Programs Office staff at 1-800-545-2433, ext. 5045, or publicprograms@ala.org.
Table of Contents
- Program Description
- Award Information
- Eligibility
- Requirements
- Application and Submission Information
- Application Review
- Award Administration Information
- Points of Contact
Program Description
Libraries Transforming Communities (LTC): Facilitation Skills for Small and Rural Libraries is an initiative of the American Library Association (ALA) and the National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation (NCDD).
The initiative seeks to provide basic facilitation skills training specific to the needs of library workers serving small and rural communities. LTC: Facilitation Skills for Small and Rural Libraries offers an online course, coaching sessions and in-person workshop, free of charge, specially designed to address the community engagement needs of small and rural libraries.
LTC: Facilitation Skills for Small and Rural Libraries is the third phase of ALA’s Libraries Transforming Communities initiative. This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services grant RE-17-19-0041-19. Learn more about the first and second phase of the project.
Award Information
Twenty-five libraries serving small and/or rural communities will be selected to receive a travel stipend to send one employee to a one-day pre-conference workshop for LTC: Facilitation Skills for Small and Rural Libraries at the ALA Annual Conference in Chicago on June 26, 2020.
Eligibility
- This opportunity is open to libraries serving small and/or rural communities in the U.S. and U.S. territories.
- The Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) defines a rural community as one that is more than, or equal to, five miles from an urbanized area and a small community to be libraries with a legal service area population of 25,000 or less.
- Late, incomplete and ineligible applications will not be reviewed.
Requirements
Librarians receiving the travel stipend agree to:
- Participate in the LTC: Facilitation Skills for Small and Rural Libraries online course (January – May 2020)
- Attend monthly coaching sessions (February – September 2020)
- Participate in the one-day, in-person pre-conference for LTC: Facilitation Skills for Small and Rural Libraries on Friday, June 26, 2020, at the 2020 ALA Annual Conference in Chicago.
Application and Submission Information
ALA will accept applications for the LTC: Facilitation Skills for Small and Rural Libraries travel stipend between November 8, 2019, and January 20, 2020.
Please review the Frequently Asked Questions before applying.
Getting Started
To submit an application, complete the Google Form.
To apply for the LTC: Facilitation Skills for Small and Rural Libraries travel stipend, you must complete the following steps:
- COMPLETE APPLICANT AND INSTITUTION INFORMATION
- WRITE THE TRAVEL STIPEND NARRATIVE
- UPLOAD SUPPORTING MATERIALS
- SIGN APPLICATION
- REVIEW AND EDIT YOUR APPLICATION
- SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION
1. Complete Applicant Information
Note: The applicant is the library applying to send a staff member to attend and participate in the LTC: Facilitation Skills for Small and Rural Libraries online course, coaching sessions and in-person workshop.
To complete this step, provide all information that is requested under the Applicant Information section.
2. Complete Institution Information
Note: To qualify for this travel stipend, the designated participant must be employed by a library serving a small and/or rural community.
To complete this step, provide all the information that is requested under the Institution Information section.
3. Write Travel Stipend Narrative
Each narrative response should be 500 words or less. Before you compose the narrative part of this application, we strongly recommend that you read these guidelines carefully. If you do not, your application is unlikely to be competitive.
Please note that you will not be able to save the application and return to it at a later date.
- Have you participated in facilitation training or community dialogue training in the past? If yes, please list the training or models learned and how you have applied them in your work. Please share how you feel the Libraries Transforming Communities: Facilitation Skills for Small and Rural Libraries workshop will complement your prior training, or the additional skills you hope this training will provide.
- Describe your library’s plans for community engagement and how you hope this training will enhance your library’s services. Please include information about the community your library serves, including demographics. Be sure to discuss the benefits your community may receive from your library’s participation in this training, as well as how you feel the opportunity fits into your own professional development plans.
- Describe some of the key issues or challenges that people in your library’s community are facing. How do you think your library could contribute or show leadership in response to these issues or challenges?
4. Upload Letter of Recommendation
- Upload Letter of Support from Library
- Upload a letter of support from the library director. If the applicant is the library director, the letter of support may be from a direct supervisor, board chair, or trustee.
- Upload Resume/Biography
- Upload the resume or biography of the staff member whom you wish to send to the training.
5. Sign Application
An application for a LTC: Facilitation Skills for Small and Rural Libraries travel stipend is an application for an award from ALA, using funding provided by an award from IMLS. ALA is required by law to ask applicants to identify for each application a certifying official who is authorized to submit applications for funding on behalf of the organization.
To complete this section, you must enter all the information that is requested.
6. Review and Edit Your Application
7. Submit Your Application
Once you have completed all parts of your application, you may submit it by selecting the Submit button. All applications must be submitted by 11:59 pm CST on January 20, 2020. Applications submitted after that time will be ineligible.
Note that once you have submitted your application, you can no longer alter it. The application will then be submitted for review. You will receive an e-mail confirming submission of your application.
Application Review
Applications will be evaluated according to the following criteria:
- Clarity and completeness of the application. Has the application supplied all required information, including all sections of the statement of intent and supporting materials?
- Size and type of community the applicant’s library serves.
- Demonstration of library leadership that will support implementation.
Applicants are encouraged to address questions about the selection guidelines, process, and requirements to the ALA Public Programs Office at 1-800-545-2433, ext. 5045, or publicprograms@ala.org.
Review and Selection Process
Each application will be assessed by a panel of librarians and project staff of ALA. ALA’s Public Programs Office will make the final decisions.
Award Administration Information
Application deadline: Monday, January 20, 2020 11:59 pm (CST)
Award notification: Friday, January 31, 2020
Cash grant distributed by: Friday, February 14, 2020
Points of Contact
If you have questions, contact:
Public Programs Office
American Library Association
1-800-545-2433, ext. 5045
