The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) is now accepting applications for mini-grants intended to allow libraries to initiate Día Family Book Club programs. Mini-grants are part of ALSC’s Everyone Reads @ your library grant, generously funded by the Dollar General Literacy Foundation.
Intended as an expansion of El día de los niños/El día de los libros (Día), the Día Family Book Club is a reading program that engages children and families in the shared reading and discussion of contemporary children’s literature that reflects our common plurality.
Up to 15 mini-grants will be awarded at $2,000 each to public libraries that demonstrate a need to better address diversity within their communities through Día Family Book Club programs. In addition to awarding mini-grants, funding from this grant will also allow ALSC to create a Día Family Book Club National Curriculum that will be accessible to all. For more information, and the application form, click here. The deadline to accept mini-grant applications is November 30, 2013.
“The Día Family Book Club program allows families to come together at their library and to learn and share with each other diverse cultures and languages,” said ALSC President Starr Latronica. “These programs allow for stronger community relationships, and we are grateful for Dollar General Literacy Foundation’s continued support of this program.”
Día is an every day celebration of children, families and reading that emphasizes the importance of literacy for children of all linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Día was founded in 1996 by children’s book author Pat Mora, who proposed conceptually linking the existing Children’s Day with literacy. Día’s primary goals are to honor children and their diverse backgrounds; to encourage reading and literacy; and to promote library collections and programs that reflect our plurality, on a daily basis. The founding partner of Día is REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Literacy and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking.
The mini-grants are part of the activities leading up to Dia’s 18th anniversary, culminating on April 30, 2014: Dia: Diversity in Action. For more information, click here.
