RUSA supports the Cultural Communities Fund
Lainie Castle
Program Officer, Communications
312-280-5055
lcastle@ala.org
For Immediate Release
April 10, 2007
RUSA supports the Cultural Communities Fund
Gift in recognition of 60+ years of the Notable Books Council
CHICAGO - The Public Programs Office (PPO) of the American Library Association (ALA) is pleased to announce that the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA), a division of ALA, has made a donation of $10,000 to support the ALA Cultural Communities Fund (CCF).
The Cultural Communities Fund, established in 2003, is an endowment created to help libraries across the country bring communities together through cultural programming. Academic, school and public libraries will be eligible to benefit from CCF-supported training and programs. The gift is in recognition of 60+ years of the Notable Books Council of the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA), an ALA committee responsible for the Notable Books List.
"On behalf of RUSA, I am pleased to support the Cultural Communities Fund," said Diana Shonrock, RUSA President. "Cultural programming in libraries is an important step toward connecting library users to the community around them. Many of RUSA’s members and their libraries have benefited from past Public Programs grants, and we are glad to assist in continuing this work through the CCF."
"RUSA’s contribution means a lot to the Cultural Communities Fund campaign," said Deborah L. Jacobs, director of The Seattle Public Library and chair of the Public and Cultural Programming Advisory Committee (PCPAC). "This gift is an endorsement of the wonderful programs that the Public Programs Office offers to libraries, and the skills and resources passed along to library programmers. Receiving positive feedback and support from RUSA confirms that this work is necessary, significant and valued."
CCF is an initiative of the Public Programs Office, which was established in 1990 to foster cultural programming as an integral part of library service in all types of libraries. The unit assists librarians across the country by providing leadership, resources, training, and networking opportunities in order to provide library users of all ages with cultural opportunities. To learn more or to make an online contribution, please visit www.ala.org/ccf.
The Reference and User Services Association (RUSA), a division of the American Library Association, is responsible for stimulating and supporting excellence in the delivery of general library services and materials to adults, and the provision of reference and information services, collection development, and resource sharing for all ages, in every type of library. To learn more, please visit www.ala.org/rusa.
The Notable Books Council, an ALA committee under the Reference and User Services Association, is responsible for the annual selection of The Notable Books list - a list of titles in fiction, non-fiction and poetry, chosen for their significant contribution to the expansion of knowledge or for the pleasure they can provide to adult readers. The Notable Books List was created in 1944, with the goal to make available to the nation’s readers a list of 25 very good, very readable, and at times very important fiction, nonfiction, and poetry books for the adult reader. To learn more, please visit: http://www.ala.org/ala/rusa/rusaprotools/rusanotable/notablebooks.htm.