ALAWON: American Library Association Washington Office Newsline
Volume 11, Number 40
May 10, 2002

In This Issue: NEW "IMPROVING LITERACY THROUGH LIBRARIES" GRANTS

The Department of Education will soon (within a few days) launch a 
web site for the grant program, Improving Literacy through 
Libraries.  The web site address will be: 
www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/LSL 

This is a new competitive grant program for one-year grants to 
local educational agencies (school districts) in which 20% of the 
students are from families with incomes below the poverty line.  
It has $12.5 million to distribute in FY2002.

The web site will include a list of all eligible school districts 
(about 5,600) and charters schools (about 500).

By the end of this month, the web site should have the grant 
requirements, applications and an explanation of the grant 
process.

If you are in an ineligible school district and are not applying 
for the grant, but would like to be a "grant reader", please 
contact the Washington Office by email at alawash@alawash.org or 
call us at 1-800-941-8478 and give us your name and email address 
and we will submit your names to the Department.  You can only be 
a "grant reader" if your school district is ineligible to apply 
for the grant (i.e., your school district or charter school is not 
listed as being eligible).
 
The office that will run the program will be at ALA's Annual 
Conference, explaining exactly how to apply for these grants.  
They have agreed to stay as long as it takes to answer all 
questions!  So come to the Convention Center on Saturday, June 15, 
Room 313, beginning at 10:30 a.m.

We are trying to get the funding level for this program 
substantially increased, so we must demonstrate need; one way will 
be for a great number of eligible school districts to apply.  We 
also need examples (at least one for every Congressional District) 
of needy school libraries that are located in ineligible 
districts.

If you are the school librarian at a school in an ineligible 
district where 20% of the students are from families with incomes 
below the poverty line, please contact the Washington Office, and 
tell your Representative!  We need this information as soon as 
possible.



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ALA Washington Office, 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Suite 403, 
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