Toyota Family Learning Funding Opportunity

The National Center for Families Learning (NCFL) is seeking proposals for a three-year $175,000 Toyota Family Learning Grant to fund family learning programs that feature service learning and family mentoring. Five selected organizations will also receive a wide range of NCFL training, communication and technical support, learning items and materials. Organizations are asked to complete an initial brief application - less than 5 pages!  From this pool of initial applications, NCFL will invite selected organizations to submit a full proposal. The deadline for the initial application is Monday, June 23. Find out more and apply for the grant!



The Aspen Task Force on Learning and the Internet has released Learner at the Center of a Networked World, a report that distills findings from a year-long exploration of how young people learn today. The report (pictured to the right) contends that serious issues of trust, safety, privacy, literacy and equity of access must be engaged for young people to realize the full benefits of learning in a networked world.  To resolve some of these challenges, the Task Force has highlighted five essential principles and twenty-six action steps with the intention they be used as a guide for action. Read the Task Force report.



IMLS continues its partnership with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Agency to offer a new webinar about immigration and citizenship issues. This program, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, will provide libraries with the basic understanding of what "deferred action" can mean for people who arrive to the U.S. as children and includes information on how to file for those new Americans who qualify.This series was developed by IMLS and USCIS to ensure that librarians have the necessary tools and knowledge to refer their patrons to accurate and reliable sources of information on immigration-related topics. Find out more about their partnership and register for the June 25 webinar.

Congratulations to Edmonton Public Library, AB, CEO Linda Cook and her team for the great honor of being named the Gale/Library Journal 2014 Library of the Year, the first Canadian library to achieve this distinction. Citing its "team-driven enterprise" and role as a "pioneering gathering place, connecting people and expanding minds," LJ traces the library's long history of embracing change and innovation to continuously serve the community.     

Read about the storied history and futurist vision of this outstanding ULC public library.



ULC member libraries shine brightly in the pantheon of 2014 Achievement Award winners honored by the National Association of Counties (NACo). Started in 1970, this is an annual non-competitive awards program that recognizes achievement in county government programs. 



Each program is judged on its own merits and not against other submitted applications. Awards are given in 21 categories including children and youth, environmental protection and information technology:

Baltimore County Public Library

Charlotte Mecklenburg Library

Contra Costa County Library

County of Los Angeles Public Library

Hennepin County Library

Johnson County Library

Miami-Dade Public Library System

The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County

Salt Lake County Library Services

San Diego County Library

Wake County Public Libraries