Preserving the Union: Grant Collaborations are a Win-Win for Academic LibrariesOver the last several years, faculty from Sims Memorial Library have partnered with several community agencies to fulfill Southeastern Louisiana University’s strategic priority to promote lifelong learning in the community. Most recently, three librarians secured funding from the American Library Association/National Endowment for the Humanities for Let’s Talk About It: Making Sense of the American Civil War, a reading and discussion series. Sims Librarians collaborated with the Tangipahoa Parish Public Library and the Department of History and Political Science at Southeastern to provide five discussion meetings and six presentations at Tangipahoa branch libraries. Let’s Talk About It was successful in bringing community members into Sims Library for the first time and established a working relationship with the local public library that is sure to continue. Louisiana academic libraries face trying economic times, and connecting with local communities with high quality programming is one way to demonstrate our value. The presentation will discuss how to search for and secure ALA grants, how to promote and publicize grant related events, and how to plan for successful implementation with administrative support.
