Located in Colorado's Grand Valley with a population of 14,000, Fruita is a community in transition. Once reliant on agriculture and ranching, Fruita's economy has recently shifted toward adventure-based tourism, igniting cultural changes and revealing divisions in the community.
Libraries provide educational programming, a welcoming space, and access to computers and internet connection. This last point has become increasingly important during the pandemic, especially for libraries serving rural areas. In order to safely continue serving their communities, they have faced both the obstacles of switching to virtual programming and ensuring people can access it, on what is often a tiny budget.
Igiugig Village ("iggy-AH-gig") has a population of 70. Located in southwestern Alaska on the south bank of the mouth of the Kvichak River and Lake Iliamna, its population consists primarily of Yup’ik Alaska Natives. As a tiny and remote community of people who live close to the land, villagers rely on salmon as the main food source and have a passion for sustainability and clean energy.
LTC: Focus on Small and Rural Libraries is open to libraries in the U.S. and U.S. territories that serve small or rural communities. The Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) defines small communities as those with a legal service area population of 25,000 or less and rural communities as those more than, or equal to, five miles from an urbanized area.
ALA invites library workers to apply for round 3 of the Libraries Transforming Communities (LTC): Focus on Small and Rural Libraries grant.
In the library world, we often talk about how knowledge of the community is one of the most important, if not the most important, skill a librarian should have. If that’s the case, then who could be more knowledgeable than a librarian born and raised in the town they work in?
LTC: Focus on Small and Rural Libraries is open to libraries in the U.S. and U.S. territories that serve small or rural communities.
ALA is again accepting applications for Libraries Transforming Communities (LTC): Focus on Small and Rural Libraries, a grant initiative that will distribute nearly $2 million to libraries.
Toot, toot! Do you hear that? That’s the sound of me tooting my own horn. Not something I love to do, but I’m doing it anyway because … I wrote a book! It was not easy, and toward the end I never wanted to look at the manuscript again. But now that it’s here, I’m pretty excited about it and wanted to share it with you.
LTC: Focus on Small and Rural Libraries is open to libraries in the U.S. and U.S. territories that serve small or rural communities.
ALA has announced plans to award nearly $2 million to small and rural libraries in 2020 and 2021 to help them address issues of concern in their communities.Â
