Thank you, domo arigato, thank you & thank you!

As I may have mentioned before, the Library’s budget is always tight so we frequently seek grants to help ease the burden.  Grants are usually for a specific purpose or program, and not intended as supplements for day-to-day operating expenses.  Sometimes they are monetary and sometimes they are materials, they can come from local groups, state level or even national organizations.  So far this year, we have been awarded four grants and we are so grateful for the wonderful organizations who make these grants possible.

The first grant is from the Community Foundation of Morgan County and it was technically awarded last year, but it is for our upcoming summer reading program that will kick off in another month and so I tend to think of it as this year’s grant.   The summer reading theme is “Be Creative @ Your Library” and this grant of $1,100 will help pay for a special quilting program for children.  Kids will actually get to make a quilt block and they will also receive a free copy of the book, The Quilt Story by Tony Johnston and Tomie dePaola. This program will be presented at each of the six branches in early June, so contact your local branch to sign your child up for it if you are interested.

The second grant comes from the American Library Association and Toyota Motor Corporation.  It is a collection of notable Japanese books that have been translated into English and is valued at over $900. These translated works of award winning authors (through Vertical Publishing) provide a great sampling of popular works from Japan in many genres and will add diversity to our library and introduce readers to new authors.

These are the books we received. If you click on the headings, you can see reviews and plot summaries:

Crime and Mystery
Ashes, Kitakata Kenzo
Winter Sleep, Kitakata Kenzo
The Cage, Kitakata Kenzo
The Poison Ape, Osawa Arimasa
Promenade of the Gods, Suzuki Koji

Fiction
Twinkle Twinkle, Ekuni Kaori
May in the Valley of the Rainbow, Funado Yoichi
A Rabbit’s Eyes, Haitani Kenjiro
Naoko, Higashino, Keigo
Boy, Kitano Takeshi
The Guin Saga (Book 1, 2), Kurimoto Kaoru
The Blade of the Courtesans, Ryu Keiichiro
Outlet, Taguchi Randy
Sayonara, Gangsters, Takahashi Genichiro

Historical
Zero Over Berlin, Sasaki Joh
The Battle of Lepanto, Shiono Nanami (2 copies)
The Fall of Constantinople, Shiono Nanami (2 copies)
The Siege of Rhodes, Shiono Nanami (2 copies)

Horror
The Crimson Labyrinth, Kishi Yusuke
Now You’re One of Us, Nonami Asa
Parasite Eve, Sena Hideaki
Birthday, Suzuki Koji
Dark Water, Suzuki Koji
Ring, Suzuki Koji

Love & Lust
Paradise, Suzuki Koji
Translucent Tree, Takagi Nobuko

Manga
To Terra… (Volume 1, 2, 3), Takemiya Keiko
Andromeda Stories (Volume 1, 2, 3), Takemiya Keiko
Black Jack (Volume 1, 2, 3), Tezuka Osamu
Guin Saga Manga (Volume 1, 2, 3), Kurimoto Kaoru, Illustrated by Yanagisawa Kazuaki

Nonfiction
Saying Yes to Japan, Clark Tim
J-Horror, Kalat David
A Slow Death, NHK TV Crew
The Toyota Leaders, Sato Masaaki (2 copies)
North Korea Kidnapped My Daughter, Yokota Sakie

Science-Fiction
Loop, Suzuki Koji
Spiral, Suzuki Koji

The third grant is a Library Services Technology Act (LSTA) grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services that is administered through the Indiana State Library.  This $6,500 grant will allow us to purchase a new digital microfilm reader-printer for our genealogy department.  If you’ve visited our genealogy department recently, you’ll know that our two old Minolta reader-printers are on their last legs and a new one is desperately needed.  The addition of a new one will give us two up-to-date working machines for genealogists and local historians.

The fourth grant we’ve received is the We the People - Picturing America Bookshelf from the National Endowment for the Humanities in cooperation with the American Library Association. This collection of twenty-two books for young readers aims to encourage and strengthen the teaching, study, and understanding of American history and culture through reading. Click here to see a list of the books and descriptions.

Once again, I’d like to thank the organizations that made these grants possible.  Libraries open windows to new worlds for people who might not otherwise be able to afford it and these wonderful organizations provide funds that allow for new programs, new ideas and new opportunities.  Even the smallest gift can make a difference and if you would like to give to the library, be assured that we will put your gift to good use.

Add comment May 4th, 2009