Apply Now: Libraries Transforming Communities: Accessible Small and Rural Communities
ALA invites applications from small and rural libraries for the Libraries Transforming Communities (LTC): Accessible Small and Rural Communities grant.
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small and rural libraries
7 Steps to Effective Community Engagement
From 2020 through 2022, ALA’s Libraries Transforming Communities (LTC): Focus on Small and Rural Libraries project awarded approximately $2 million in funding to 567 small and rural libraries to help them address issues of concern in their communities.
Good Programs Start Small: Attendance Doesn't Equal Success
It’s easy to imagine a successful program as a packed Zoom call or large outdoor gathering — but major change doesn’t necessarily require major turnout.
Through ALA's Libraries Transforming Communities (LTC): Focus on Small and Rural Libraries initiative, libraries engage their small communities in discussion around issues that matter. Here are the stories of two libraries whose programs started small.
Hosting Difficult Conversations at the Library
The Libraries Transforming Communities: Focus on Small and Rural Libraries initiative supports small and rural libraries to engage their communities in discussion around issues that matter. However, the most important topics to talk about are often the most controversial. Here are two stories of how librarians prepared for difficult conversations.
More than a Pronoun: Small-Town Library Hosts Illuminating Discussion on Gender Identity
“It was the scariest thing I’ve ever done at my library.” This is how Julie Perrin, director of the Jaffrey Public Library in Jaffrey, New Hampshire, describes a virtual conversation she recently hosted on gender identity. The topic itself wasn’t scary; Perrin was worried about her community’s reaction.
