Summer Grants
Looking for a great way to help fund your summer reading program? Well, the Young Adult Services Association (YALSA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), can help. YALSA, courtesy of the Dollar General Literacy Foundation, is offering two kinds of grants. The Summer Reading Teen Intern Grant will award $1,000 each to 20 libraries for employing a teen intern for the summer to assist with reading activities.
The Summer Reading Resources Grant will award $1,000 each to 20 libraries for purchasing resources to support their teen summer reading program.
To be eligible for the grant, a library must be in compliance with the ALA’s Library Bill of Rights in regards to material selection, and be within 20 miles of a Dollar General store. Also, applicants must be members of YALSA.
To learn more about how the grants support summer reading programs, you can watch a brief video. Applications are being accepted through January 1. Recipients of the grants will be announced the week of February 17.
Twitter Feed for Educators
We all know that sharing ideas is important for teachers and librarians, and now there’s a great to accomplish that. There’s a new Twitter feed for K–12 educators from the Library of Congress. @TeachingLC will feature great primary sources, new tools for teachers, and will generate discussion between educators and library experts.
The Library of Congress’s Director of Educational Outreach, Lee Ann Potter, noted: “Teachers and librarians use Twitter to discover new ideas and inspiration, and we at the Library are happy to be joining the conversation. @TeachingLC will be a great venue for educators to learn from each other and to explore the primary sources and teaching resources offered by the Library of Congress.”
Geisel Award Nominations
Members of the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), are asked to submit book titles for consideration for the Theodor Geisel Award that’s presented annually “to the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished American book for beginning readers published in English during the preceding year. Honor Books may be named.” According to the award criteria, “beginning reader books are defined as those written and illustrated with creativity and imagination to engage children pre-K through grade 2 in reading.” Complete selection criteria can be found on the ALSC website. Only books published in 2013 can be nominated, and publishers, authors, illustrators, and editors can’t nominate their own titles. Suggestions should be emailed to Penny Peck, the Award’s chair.
The award winners will be announced at the ALA Youth Media Awards Press Conference during the ALA Midwinter Conference to be held in Philadelphia in January 2014.
Interactive Books for Kindle Fire
Capstone Interactive ebooks are now compatible with the Amazon Kindle Fire HD. They can be accessed through the Kindle browser SILK, version 3.1 or higher. The ebooks are already compatible with any PC, Mac, iPad, Android tablet, interactive white board, or other devices with high-speed internet access and speakers or headphones. Students can access the interactive ebooks from their library or at home, 24/7.
“Libraries and classrooms are looking for ways to improve students’ access to a wide variety of resources, and devices, such as the Kindle Fire HD, are an increasingly popular way to do so. We’re pleased to honor our customer’s requests to make our 3,000+ interactive eBooks compatible with this popular device and offer students an additional mobile option, empowering them to read when and where it’s convenient and increasing their access to books they will love,” said Matt Keller, Capstone Chief Marketing Officer.