Libri Foundation Grant Opportunity

The Libri Foundation is currently accepting applications for its 2009 Book for Children grants. The next deadline for applications is April 15. The foundation has three application deadlines each year, so if you miss this one, applications are also accepted August 15th and January 15, 2009.

The Libri Foundation is a nationwide non-profit organization which donates new, quality, hardcover children's books to small, rural public libraries throughout the United States. Since October 1990, the Foundation has donated over $3,500,000 worth of new children's books to more than 2,600 libraries in 48 states, including Alaska and Hawaii.

In order to encourage and reward local support of libraries, the Libri Foundation will match any amount of money raised by your local sponsors from $50 to $350 on a 2-to-1 ratio. Thus, a library can receive up to $1,050 worth of new children's books. After a library receives a grant, local sponsors (such as formal or informal Friends groups, civic or social organizations, local businesses, etc.) have four months (or longer if necessary) to raise their matching funds.
The librarian of each participating library selects the books her library will receive from a booklist provided by the Foundation. The 700-plus fiction and nonfiction titles on the booklist reflect the very best of children's literature published primarily in the last three years. These titles, which are for children ages 12 and under, are award-winners or have received starred reviews in library, literary, or education journals. The booklist also includes a selection of classic children's titles.

Libraries are qualified on an individual basis. In general, county libraries should serve a population under 16,000 and town libraries should serve a population under 10,000 (usually under 5,000) Libraries should be in a rural area, have a limited operating budget, and an active children's department. Rural is usually considered to be at least 30 miles from a city with a population over 40,000. Libraries with total operating budgets over $150,000 and county libraries with total operating budgets over $350,000 are rarely given grants.

A school library may apply only if it also serves as the public library (i.e., it is open to everyone in the community, has some summer hours, and there is no public library in town). A branch library may apply if the community it is in meets the definition of rural. If the branch library receives its funding from its parent institution, then the parent institution's total operating budget, not just the branch library's total operating budget, must meet the budget guidelines.

Previous Books for Children grant recipients are eligible to apply for another grant three years after the receipt of their last grant. Libraries that do not fulfill all grant requirements, including the final report, may not apply for another grant. Grants will be awarded April 30th and August 31st. Application guidelines and forms may be downloaded from the Foundation's website at http://www.librifoundation.org.

For more information about The Libri Foundation or its Books for Children program, please contact Ms. Barbara J. McKillip, President, The Libri Foundation, P.O. Box 10246, Eugene, OR 97440; 541-747-9655 (phone); 541-747-4348 (fax); libri@librifoundation.org (email). Normal office hours are Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Pacific Time.

Source: System Youth Services Liasons December 2009 Posting