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Contact: Angela Thullen
Program Officer, Communications
(312) 280-5286
athullen@ala.org

For Immediate Release,
February 12, 2008

Grants available for "Let's Talk About It: Love & Forgiveness"


CHICAGO - The American Library Association (ALA) Public Programs Office, in collaboration with the Fetzer Institute's Campaign for Love & Forgiveness, is now accepting applications for Let's Talk About It: Love & Forgiveness, a theme-based reading and discussion program. Complete application information, including program guidelines and reading lists, can be found at www.ala.org/letstalk. The deadline for applications is July 15.

Let's Talk About It: Love and Forgiveness  will follow the well-established ALA reading and discussion series format "Let's Talk About It," using classic and contemporary literature to explore stimulating and relevant themes. Project themes and books were chosen by national project scholar Betty Sue Flowers, Ph.D., director of the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum and former Kelleher professor of English at the University of Texas at Austin.

Following a competitive application process, 30 public libraries will be selected to receive:

  • A grant of $2,500, to be used to support program costs and scholar honoraria.
  • Program materials, which include introductory literature and essays on each of the themes, selections for additional reading and template promotional materials.
  • Training for the library project director at a national workshop, where they will hear from the project scholar, expert librarians and organizers and receive a program planning guide, materials and ideas.
S uccessful applicants will be notified of their status by the end of August.  For more information on Let's Talk About It: Love & Forgiveness, visit www.ala.org/letstalk or www.loveandforgive.org.

The Fetzer Institute's mission, to foster awareness of the power of love and forgiveness in the emerging global community, rests on its conviction that efforts to address the critical issues facing the world must go beyond political, social and economic strategies to their psychological and spiritual roots. The Institute works with global leaders, organizations and individuals to bring the power of love and forgiveness to the center of individual, community and organizational life. For information on the Fetzer Institute and its Campaign for Love & Forgiveness, visit www.fetzer.org.

Established in 1992, the ALA Public Programs Office has an exemplary track record of developing library programming initiatives, including the acclaimed reading and discussion series "Let's Talk About It," film discussion programs on humanities themes, traveling exhibitions, LIVE! @ your library®and other programs. Recently, it has established the Cultural Communities Fund, an endowment created to help all types of libraries across the country bring communities together through cultural programming (www.ala.org/ccf).  More than 10,000 libraries and at least 10 million individuals have participated in library programming initiatives supported by the Public Programs Office.  For more information about the ALA Public Programs Office, visit www.ala.org/publicprograms.
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