I’m guessing most of you are in the thick of Summer Reading. What a fun (and exhausting) time of year for public libraries! We’d love to hear about any creative ways you’re using your LibraryCall services to reach your communities this summer.
Stories for Your Summer Reading Themes
For those of you using the 2021 Collaborative Summer Library Program (CSLP) Tails & Tales theme, we’ve got you covered with lots of stories about animals in the Storytime Commons. To find them, click “Commons” at the top of the LibraryCall Manager page, then type “animals” in the search box. Everything tagged with the word “animals” will show up in your results. Some of my favorites are The Crocodile and the Monkey / El cocodrilo y el mono, The Town Musicians of Bremen, and The Ugly Duckling / El patito feo.
If you are using the iRead’s 2021 “Reading Colors Your World” theme, you might be interested in stories that originate from countries around the world. To find those stories, click “Commons” at the top of the LibraryCall Manager page, then type “world” in the search box to find every story with that tag. I recommend The Greedy Lion and the Clever Little Rabbit / El león tonto y el conejo inteligente (India), El Ratón Perez (Spain and many other Spanish speaking countries), and The Boy Who Wanted More Cheese / El niño que quería más queso (the Netherlands).
Funding Opportunity
Looking for a way to continue funding your LibraryCall programs or add additional LibraryCall services to support your harder-to-reach communities? The Institute of Museum & Library Services (IMLS) received an influx of funds this year through the American Rescue Plan. There is an opportunity to apply for $10,000-$50,000 grants to “address community needs created or exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and assist with recovery. Projects may continue, enhance, or expand existing programs and services, or they may launch new ones to address emergent needs and unexpected hardships.” For more information, visit the IMLS American Rescue Plan site. The deadline to apply is June 28.
If you’re not already using the LibraryCall Community Resource Hotline, it might be a great candidate for this funding opportunity. The Resource Hotline allows you to record and share via telephone information in response to community needs, such as Covid vaccination sites, food resources, and housing assistance.
Happy Summer Reading,
Madeline and the LibraryCall Team