Volume 41 No. 9 | November 2022
Renew your membership and register for TLA 2023
Your TLA 2022 membership expires on December 31. Renew today to avoid a disruption in member benefits! For your convenience, we are offering a 2023 TLA Membership & Conference Registration package for $531. The package includes your 2023 membership and full conference registration. The package is available via the membership form. Deadline to purchase is December 31. Individual dues rates are posted here, and conference registration rates are here. Renew your membership. Register for conference.
Note: In accordance with CDC guidelines, TLA is not requiring proof of vaccination, or a negative COVID-19 test result, to attend TLA 2023.
ABC News journalist Deborah Roberts is the TLA 2023 General Session III speaker Deborah Roberts is the senior national affairs correspondent for 20/20, Nightline, Good Morning America, and World News Tonight with David Muir. Roberts has also served as a substitute anchor for Good Morning America, World News Weekend, and 20/20, as well as a guest co-host on The View. She will discuss her new book, Lessons Learned and Cherished: The Teacher Who Changed My Life. You can register for conference here.
TSLAC Family Place Libraries Project grant application open
The Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) announced that the FY 2023 Family Place Libraries Project grant application is open. TSLAC is looking for qualified libraries to attend an in-state Family Place Libraries Training Institute and implement the program in their libraries. The purpose of this grant is to create a welcoming, family-centered environment that empowers caregivers of young children as they become their child's first teachers. More information here.
ALA grant for small and rural libraries
The American Library Association invites applications from small and rural libraries for the Libraries Transforming Communities (LTC): Accessible Small and Rural Communities grant. The grant will offer more than $7 million in grants to small and rural libraries to increase the accessibility of facilities, services, and programs to better serve people with disabilities. The online grant application is currently open and closes February 28, 2023.Up to 300 libraries will be awarded in this application period, part of ALA's longtime community engagement initiative.
Nominations open for TLA Awards & Scholarships
The TLA Awards nomination deadline is January 31! Honoring excellence in, and contributions to, the library profession, TLA’s awards celebrate individuals and organizations which inspire us all. From leadership, lifetime achievement, and library service, to advocacy, outstanding projects and innovative partnerships, the awards showcase the best of the profession. Nominate a deserving librarian today! TLA’s scholarships support library education and encourage future librarians. Applicants must be Texas residents and current TLA members. Learn more. Apply today!
Library Grants
The J. Frank Dobie Library Trust Grant assists small Texas libraries in purchasing books. Applications for the 2022 grants are being accepted through December 16, 2022. Libraries which serve a population of 20,000 or less are eligible. Learn more and apply. Applications for the Jeannette and Jim Larson Grant and the Woll Memorial Fund collection development grants are open, please apply.
Letters About Literature contest deadline Dec. 17
The Texas Center for the Book (TCFB) has launched the 2022-2023 Letters About Literature Texas contest, a program that invites students to respond to authors about how their books or poetry has touched their lives. The contest is open to Texas students in grades 4 through 12. To learn more about the contest, how to submit and to view winning entries from previous years, visit www.tsl.texas.gov/lettersaboutliterature.
New Texas Bluebonnet Award list announced!
The Texas Library Association’s (TLA) 2023-2024 Texas Bluebonnet Award (TBA) Master List was announced at the Texas Book Festival in Austin on Saturday, November 5, 2023. Here’s the full list and announcement. Look for more reading lists to come out at the beginning of December!
Texas Bluebonnet Award registration
Don't forget to register your school or public library for Texas Bluebonnet Award voting! Register online here. If you are unable to make your payment online, you can register by mailing in a paper check and this form. You can find the current TBA list here; and this is the guide to voting.
Names in the News
Bettie J. Agnew, longtime TLA member, former president of the Houston Association of School Librarians and the Texas Library Association Black Caucus, passed away on October 5.

Myrtis Moore McCord, longtime school librarian and TLA member, and mother of former TLA President Gretchen McCord, passed away on October 15.
Continuing Education
All times, unless noted otherwise, are Central Time. Register online for any of these events via this link.
For more information and to register for upcoming district meetings, go here.

November 18
District 4 Fall Meeting
Harlingen | 9am - 3:15pm
Cost: $20 members; $30 non-members; register by November 11