Insight

              A Newsletter from the Illinois State Library
Jesse White •Secretary of State & State Librarian
November/December
in
this
issue
LSTA grants
awarded
ILA conference
Arabic language
kits
Construction
grants awarded
Illinois Host
Program
Synergy 2007
2006
Secretary of State Jesse White has awarded FY07
Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grants
totaling $3.4 million to nearly 500 libraries, library
systems and museum libraries in Illinois.
“LSTA funds encourage our libraries to be creative
and innovative,” said Secretary White. “Illinois
librarians work hard to identify specific local needs
and use these funds to address those needs. Over the
years, LSTA grants have produced hundreds of new
programs in our state’s more than 4,000 libraries,
regional library systems and museum libraries.”
LSTA grants were awarded in six cate-gories:
• Bridging the Gap Between Community and
Collection — Funds are used to “bridge the
gap” between the needs of a specific targeted
audience within the library community and the
library’s non-fiction materials collection.
• Bring in a Trainer — Grants help underwrite
the cost of bringing in a trainer for library staff,
boards of trustees, faculty, patrons or students
to learn more about library-related topics and
issues to better serve patrons.
• Digital Imaging — Libraries may create elec-tronic
versions of their materials and collec-tions,
specifically Illinois-related historical,
archival and cultural materials.
• Emerging Technologies and Methodologies —
Grants are put toward the research, develop-ment
and implementation of emerging tech-nologies
and incorporating innovative methods
to address the diverse needs of library patrons.
• Demonstration of Public Library Services —
Grants are used to expand public library services
to new areas. A demonstration project must cul-minate
in a referendum question for tax support.
• Developing a Statewide Technology Toolkit —
Regional library systems are encouraged to col-laborate
on a statewide initiative to enhance
library services using new technologies such as
blogs, RSS, Wikis and instant messaging.
Secretary White awards $3.4 million in LSTA grants
INSIGHT
State Library employee and Illinois
Center for the Book coordinator
Bonnie Matheis (center) represented
Illinois at the 2006 National Book
Festival in Washington, D.C., in
September. Joining Bonnie in the
States Pavilion on the National Mall
were award-winning Illinois author
Richard Peck (left) and Ray Elliott,
Illinois author, board member of the
Illinois Center for the Book and presi-dent
of the James Jones Literary
Society. More than 100,000 visitors
attended the festival.
NATIONAL BOOK FESTIVAL