Ambrosio, Heather 

The Only Grant-Writing Book You'll Ever Need

By Ellen Karsh and Arlen Sue Fox

I found this book on  the Candid grant writing site along with other free resources and e-books. If you make a free account you are welcome to read many free full length grant writing books that they have readily  available on overdrive. Some are even audiobooks!

Fox, A. S., & Karsh, E. (2023). The only grant-writing book you’ll ever need lib/E the only grant-writing book you’ll ever need lib/E. Basic Books.

This book contains plenty of practical information on Grant writing for newbies. It tells you to contact politicians, get on mailing lists, when to apply, when not to apply, how to do your homework, what information to gather before and after, vital terms, and sites to explore for grant opportunities. 

The most most important tools to explore include: The foundation center online at: www.foundationcenter.org,  for foundation research: the grantsmanship center at www.tgci.com and for federal grants information, go to www.grants.gov

What’s not to like!

From Library to Learning Commons: A Metamorphosis.

Olsen, Kristina

Diggs, V., & Loertscher, D. V. (2009). From Library to Learning Commons: A Metamorphosis. Teacher Librarian, 36(4), 32–38. Retrieved from http://libaccess.sjlibrary.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eft&AN=502975209&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Summary: A teacher-librarian transforms her school library over the course of several years from an ordinary library into a vibrant learning commons. The article has commentary throughout her description of the process that point out the ways that the steps she took could be translated into any library. The secret appears to be to create client-side focused programming to bring patrons in.

Commentary: According to the article, "There is much more to this transformation than just a name change, new paint, carpeting, and furnishings." However, that always seemed to be what articles prior to this one indicated: a facelift will transform the culture of your library. Like other articles, it has an anecdotal story about how one library changed from a tired, worn-out, unused space into a learning commons where everyone in the school goes to learn. However, unlike those other articles, the commentary detailed why things worked and how the specific actions taken by that teacher librarian could be applied in other situations. The most important takeaway is probably that the program is much more important than the space. Once the programs are in place, people are more likely to want to transform the environment. The article helped me see that I don’t have to have "all the things" so much as having the desire to better serve the school and community and creating the programs to do that.

Alternative Funding for Public Libraries: Trends, Sources, and the Heated Arguments that Surround It

Macchio, Erica

Citation:

Agosto, D. (2008). Alternative Funding for Public Libraries: Trends, Sources, and the Heated Arguments that Surround It Academic Librarianship 31, 115-140.

Summary:

This article is about how libraries should consider alternative funding to help fund their programs and supplement their budgets.  Both sides of the argument are provided and I think that this is a good topic that most libraries are guaranteed to cross.  Budgets are no longer funding all the materials that a library needs to survive.  The price of books and databases have gone up and this will force librarians and their boards to consider what they can do without.  When they go without, the whole community suffers. 

Evaluation:

I think that this is a good article and that the topic is important to the library world.  It provides us with a topic that all libraries are facing or will be facing at some point in its existence. 

Textbooks Weighing You Down? Check Out Our eReaders

Brandes-Miesner, Marta

Brannon, S. & Sears (2014). Textbooks weighing you down? Check out our e-readers. Technical

Services Quarterly, 31(3), 237-247. DOI: 10.1080/07317131.2014.908588 

Summary:

Through a grant received by the University of North Texas, the University Bookstore was able to purchase eReaders for students who were unable to purchase them to be able to use for accessing their textbooks in electronic form. Although they distinctly did not set out to undertake an intense research study analysis of the eReader and electronic text books program success, it was ultimately necessary as a means to plan for the future. The idea was to eliminate a lack of knowledge and fiscal barriers prohibiting the use of eReaders and electronic textbooks. Overall, the program was a great success but warranted several changes and adjustments such as implementing a wait list, planning for early returns, staff training and additional survey and textbook allowance modifications.  It served as a pilot program and due to its success will be a model for other libraries setting up similar programs in their libraries.

Evaluation:

This article is valuable in its practical application of this type of program implementation. It provides the basis for requiring such an undertaking, the elements of the grant requirements, application and acquisition. It provides the scenario which prompted the implementation of both the project and the study, the subsequent use and outcomes. It also detailed the results of the study and the reasons for any future adjustments in the program and in the survey itself. This pilot program and study proves to be a valuable resource for other school, academic and with possible considerations and alterations even for public libraries.