CALL FOR APPLICATIONS!

The American Library Association (ALA) Office for Diversity seeks proposals for its Diversity Research Grant program. Applications may address any diversity topic, including the recruitment and promotion of diverse individuals within the profession or the provision of library services to diverse populations.

Since 2002, the office has sponsored the program to address critical gaps in the knowledge of diversity issues within library and information science. The application deadline is April 30, 2011. Applicants must be current ALA members.

The Diversity Research Grant consists of a one-time $2,000 award for original research and a $500 travel grant to attend and present at the 2012 ALA Annual Conference. A jury of ALA members will evaluate proposals and is encouraged to award a total of three awards. Grant recipients will be announced ahead of the 2011 ALA Annual Conference and will be expected to compile the results of their research into a presentation for the 2012 ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim, Calif.

A complete proposal must include the following: a cover letter, a one-page vita for each of the researchers involved, a concise abstract of the project and a description of the project detailing the justification and needs for the research project, research objectives, expected outcomes and benefits, budget plan and timeline. For a complete list of the criteria on which proposals will be evaluated and to see examples of previously funded projects, please visit:

http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/diversity/divresearchgrants/diversityresearch.cfm

Persons submitting a proposal must be current ALA members. If you are not presently a member of ALA, but wish to submit a proposal, please visit http://www.ala.org/membership/ for information on becoming a member. Applicants must supply membership ID numbers with proposals.

ALA’s Office for Diversity offers thanks to the Diversity Research Grants Advisory Committee for their work in planning the 2011 Diversity Research Grants program:

Veronica L.C. Stevenson-Moudamane (chair), Aimee Babcock-Ellis, Vickie E. Beene, Dr. Stanton F. Biddle, Eileen K. Bosch, Robert J. Bremer, Elizabeth Jean Brumfield, Nicole Lea Busch, Denyvetta Davis, Kim L. Eccles, Michael Gutierrez, Joyce E. Jelks, Raymond P. Schwartz, Susan Elizabeth Shepley, Kathryn Sigler and R. Niccole Westbrook. Submissions should be sent by mail to the ALA Office for Diversity, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611. Electronic submissions are preferred and should be submitted in a Word document attachment. Email electronic submissions to diversity@ala.org. For more information, please email diversity@ala.org or call (800) 545-2433, ext. 5048.

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Veronica L. C. Stevenson-Moudamane; MSLS, MA

Interim Children's Manager Novato Regional Libraries

1720 Novato Boulevard; Novato, California 94947

Voice: 415-897-1143; Fax: 415-898-3454

Chair, COD's DRG Advisory Committee, 2010-2011

NMRT Assistant Treasurer/Treasurer-Elect, 2010-2011

Web Coordinator, IFLA SC LSSN, 2009-2011

WHERE YOUR TREASURE IS, SO SHALL YOUR HEART BE ALSO!

I remember some years ago a meditational moment that was so inspiring to me that it forced me to truly reflect upon and account for my STOREHOUSE TREASURE! The meditation in and of itself was fairly banal and relatively basic as far as meditations go, but the instructor's parting WORDS OF REFLECTION really got me going. He said: "Remember, where your treasure is, so shall your heart be also." I pondered this for quite sometime. I knew it was a metaphor from the Biblical text BUT I wondered if I was guilty of possessing a storehouse OF MEANINGLESS TREASURE--And I WAS. For years I had done nothing more than actively participate in the American culture of CONSUMERISM. I had stuff that came with stuff that required MORE STUFF to maintain it. I realized that I spent way too much time ACCOUNTING for my stuff and finding ways to keep my stuff from becoming someone else's stuff. I also DISCOVERED that I had formed quite INTELLIGENT RATIONALES to justify my detailed attention to ALL MY STUFF. What I didn't realize at the time BUT definitely believe in now is that THIS STOREHOUSE I had created was where my heart was. I put STUFF over family, STUFF over friends, STUFF over my own SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT because my stuff represented what I wanted the world to KNOW ABOUT ME. My sense of BELONGING was EMBEDDED in my stuff; my APPROVAL OF SELF was embedded in my stuff, and MY DESTINATION had to be determined by THE STUFF I had acquired. The AWFUL TRUTH was and is that I needed stuff to DEFINE ME, to get me into PLACES and SPACES, and to COMFORT ME and REASSURE ME. A bright note to this meditative reflection, however, is that over the years I've developed a SPIRITUAL understanding of how TEMPORAL I really am in relation to MY STUFF and recognition that my TREASURES are all about my interactions with NATURE AROUND me~At the end of the day, it's REALLY all about what I truly get to keep!