Let's Move! Museums & Gardens

Be sure to refer your local museum or garden to Let's Move!, First Lady Michelle Obama's highly visible national initiative that has the capacity to change children's lives.

Connecticut participants so far include:

Bruce Museum of Art & Science, Greenwich

Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center, Mystic 

New Canaan Nature Center, New Canaan

Children's Museum of Southeastern Connecticut, Niantic 

Blue Slope Country Museum, North Franklin

Stepping Stones Museum for Children, Norwalk

Florence Griswold Museum, Old Lyme

Use it as a conversation starter, then bring up mutual programming like the CT Humanities Council's book discussions or Family Read. 

ALSC/Candlewick 'Light the Way: Outreach to the Underserved' grant

The Association for Library Services to Children and Candlewick Press offer the "Light the Way: Outreach to the Underserved" grant consists of a $3,000 grant to assist a library in conducting exemplary outreach to  underserved populations through a new program or an expansion of work already being done.

Special population children may include those who have learning or physical differences, those who are speaking English as a second language, those who are in a non-traditional school environment, those who are in non-traditional family settings (such as teen parents, foster children, children in the juvenile justice system, and children in gay and lesbian families), and those who need accommodation service to meet their needs.  

Deadline12/1/2011

American Savings Foundation

This Connecticut foundation serves a 64-town region with program grants as well as capital grants. Though the site states that their "primary focus is in the city of New Britain, with a secondary focus on the city of Waterbury," it also states that their focus is on "funding programs that help those with highest need and/or at greatest risk, and where our funding can make a direct, measureable impact."

Shorthand version = worth a shot.

On the Program side, the foundation emphasizes the needs of children, youth and families. in the areas of education, human services and arts & culture (many grants fit into more than one of these categories). Capital grants focus on one-time capital expenses as well as large capital campaigns.

There are three yearly deadlines; for March consideration proposals should be submitted by January 31. For September consideration proposals should be submitted by July 31. For December consideration proposals should be submitted by October 31. 

Alibris Collection Award

The AlibrisCollection Award is an annual grant of books to an academic, public, special, or K-12 library supporting specific collection development projects that advance the mission, priority areas, and goals of the selected library. 

Applications seem pretty simple; create an online wishlist of desired titles and a brief statement of interest concerning the desired collection and needs of your particular library.

Entries must be received by December 1, 2011.

Bookapalooza

Bookapalooza is an annual program of the American Library Association’s Association of Library Service to Children. It offers a collection of materials "that will help transform a library's collection and provide the opportunity for these materials to be used in their community in creative and innovative ways." 

The deadline is December 1, 2011. Full details on the ALA site. 

Applicants must be personal members of ALSC and ALA.Shipping and handling charges for shipment of the Bookapalooza collection are the responsibility of the libraries selected; this can be as much as 600 pounds, can include as many as 12 cartons, and may cost between $200 and $400 at book rate.

H.W. Wilson Library Staff Development Grant.

As mentioned on the WebJunction Connecticut ‘Additional Grant Opportunities’ page, the H.W. Wilson Library Staff Development Grant is an annual award consisting of $3,500 and a 24k gold-framed citation given to a library organization whose application demonstrates greatest merit for a program of staff development designed to further the goals and objectives of the library organization. 
The deadline is December 1, 2011. 

Full details, including how to apply on the ALA site.

The Allen Foundation – Nutrition Promotion Grant

The Allen Foundation's Nutrition Promotion Grant supports nonprofit organizations that promote human nutrition in the areas of health, education, training, and research. 

The Foundation's grantmaking priorities include: nutritional education for mothers during pregnancy and after the birth of their children, training for educators and demonstrators of good nutritional practices, and the dissemination of healthful nutritional information. 

Relevant nutritional research projects are also supported. Award amounts vary. Deadline: December 31, 2011.

Happy story about Ann Kouatly of Windham HS

This is a nice little profile of Windham High School librarian Ann Kouatly from the American Federation of Teachers site. The union takes time to profile member who "have gone above and beyond—both in and outside the workplace—to help their students succeed, or to provide exemplary service to the public, or just to make their communities better places to live."

A librarian's extra effort

As a high school librarian, Ann Kouatly is on a mission. She takes every opportunity to remind students that not everything they read online is true. "Everybody is so manipulated by misinformation on the Internet," says Kouatly, the librarian at Windham High School in Willimantic, Conn. "We're trying to teach evaluation of websites."
It's a skill that students today need more than ever. Kouatly says that research has become increasingly complex since she first came to Windham 20 years ago. Students learned firsthand why Internet sources are not always credible during a recent class visit to the library. While researching Wilhelm Wundt, a famous psychologist, the students found false and malicious information on his Wikipedia entry, information that has since been removed. It was "such a teachable moment for the kids to learn why Wikipedia is not an allowed source at the college level," Kouatly says.
Despite budget cuts (the library's materials budget is a quarter of what it was four years ago), Kouatly has found ways to get resources. She partners with regional libraries, such as the Willimantic Library Service Center, to order subscription databases and other materials that Windham can't afford. For instance, she recently ordered boxes of print materials on Native American tribes for a history class. "I'm going to pick them up today," she says excitedly.
The librarian also has partnered with a local synagogue that has generously made primary sources on the Holocaust available to students. And she has established a program where parents and school staff can donate books in honor of a child's birthday or in memory of a loved one.
Kouatly has not confined her work to the library. When students were studying the Middle East in a geography class, she demonstrated how to cook dishes such as tabouli; Kouatly's husband is a native of Syria, so she knows a great deal about food from that region. Kouatly also publishes a monthly newsletter in which she highlights research projects that teachers have assigned, so faculty members can learn from one another. For example, when she noted that a social science teacher asked students to write modern-day resumés of famous historical figures, a math teacher liked the idea so much that he assigned a similar project asking students to find appropriate jobs for famous mathematicians.
Tammy Laferriere, a health teacher, says that although Kouatly is not a classroom teacher, she knows teachers and students well. At faculty meetings, "she's always there and offering advice." And she is determined to get them the resources her colleagues need. Three years ago, Kouatly subscribed to a teen health and wellness database for Laferriere's classes and provided passwords so students could access it on their home computers. The database features information on nutrition, and topics such as teen pregnancy and STDs, which Laferriere says many students do not feel comfortable discussing in school. "For her to find this [database] and keep the subscription going, especially with the budget the way it is, has been a real help." 

11/10 free Webinar: Short Evaluations of Real Websites

Short Evaluations of Real Websites
Thursday, November 10, 2011; 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Pacific time Register Online

Curious to see what website experts really think when they look at a website? During the hour, web design experts will take a look at a succession of real library and nonprofit websites and focus on the general principles of web design. Some questions the experts will be asking are:

• Does the website accurately reflect the mission of the organization?
• Is the navigation intuitive and easy to understand?
• Does the website have original content?
• How searchable is the site from a search engine?
• Are there ways to make it easy for a visitor or supporter to participate in that community?

Join TechSoup for this free webinar presented in cooperation with SAP, a TechSoup donor partner.