$5000 National Library Week grant deadline extended

Contact: Megan Humphrey


Campaign Coordinator



312-280-4020

For Immediate Release


October 15, 2003

$5000 National Library Week grant deadline extended

The postmark deadline for the Scholastic Library/Grolier National Library Week grant has been extended to Monday, November 3, 2003. U.S. libraries of all types are invited to apply for the $5,000 grant that will recognize the best public awareness campaign during National Library Week (April 18-24, 2004) that promotes Equity of Access. An application form and guidelines are available on the
@ your library Web site.

"Equity of Access" is defined as when all people have access to all library materials, no matter their age, ethnicity, physical ability, income, language, geographic location or type of library. This is the first year that the grant will focus on Equity of Access, one of ALA’s Five Key Action Areas in ALAAction 2005. In doing so, the grant supports ALA President Carla Hayden’s presidential initiative focusing on the issue.

In addition to addressing the "Equity of Access" theme, proposals must incorporate the @ your library® brand. Libraries are encouraged to be as imaginative and inventive as possible in developing a local campaign or program for National Library Week that reflects the Equity of Access focus. For example, a library can celebrate "Something for everyone @ your library®" or encourage its community to "Get connected @ your library®" to promote its resources, programs and services available. The brand, which is open-ended and provides lots of room for creativity, should be used on any and all promotional and publicity material to support the National Library Week effort.

Starting with the this year, Scholastic Library Publishing has increased the amount of the award from $4,000 to $5,000. The grant is sponsored by Scholastic Library Publishing and its publishing imprint Grolier and is administered by the Public Awareness Committee of the American Library Association (ALA).

The winner will be notified the first week in January and announced at the 2004 ALA Midwinter Meeting in San Diego. Information on last year’s winner, the Kansas City Public Library, and the winning application can be viewed at

http://www.ala.org/Source/grolier_grant.pdf

More information is available from the ALA Public Information Office. Telephone: 800-545-2433, ext. 4020. E-mail:
mhumphrey@ala.org.