CALIFORNIA READS

Guidelines and Application Instructions

Grants for Library Jurisdictions for Reading & Discussion Programs

Topic: Searching for Democracy

The last deadline to apply is October 31, 2011.

Click HERE to attend a California Reads Grant Program Webinar that explains the guidelines and application process, or click HERE to watch a recorded webinar.

Application Deadlines	Notification Dates
Deadline extended to July 29, 2011	August 2011
August 31, 2011	October 2011
October 31, 2011	December 2011
Programming Period: March-November 2012

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Purpose
California Reads aims to bring Californians together to explore important topics through books that invite conversation. This grant and resource program of the California Council for the Humanities (CCH), in partnership with the California Center for the Book (CFB), is designed to support public libraries in developing programs that will stimulate meaningful dialogue among diverse community members by using works of fiction and non-fiction. California Reads seeks to demonstrate the power of the humanities to inspire Californians to engage with challenging issues together and showcase public libraries as active centers of community life. To coincide with CCH’s two-year statewide initiative to animate a public conversation on democracy and civic values leading into the 2012 elections, the theme of the current round of California Reads is Searching for Democracy.

How do we come together to talk about the things that matter to us all? On a foundation of thought-provoking books, California Reads provides a springboard for people to think about and discuss ideas that are critical to life in our state. Thinking of libraries as “community living rooms,” California Reads encourages libraries to reach out beyond their walls to schools, community centers, museums, bookstores, or other local partners to host reading/discussion activities and related programs that bring together people with diverse points of view and experiences.

Grant awards and program resources will be available to support participation in this program. We are pleased to invite proposals from public library jurisdictions or their library-support organizations for community-wide reading and discussion activities and related programs to take place from March to November of 2012.

Types of Activities
CCH and CFB welcome libraries to approach their California Reads activities in a range of creative and engaging ways. Programming options (possibly in conjunction with community partners or at locations outside of the library) could include but are not limited to:

Story-sharing or local history activities inspired by the book or related topics
A community forum or civic engagement activities focused on a theme or topic raised by the book
Participatory or interactive programming such as creating a mural, exhibit, publication, or digital media project on a topic related to the theme of democracy
Live or virtual presentations or discussions involving scholars, authors or others knowledgeable of the topics to be discussed
Screening and discussion programs featuring a film-adaptation or films related to the book or a topic it addresses
Staged readings or other dramatizations
Relevant musical or other performing arts events

The Books
Through a spirited public nomination and selection process, California Reads has chosen a diverse slate of books on a broad range of democracy-related themes. They are:

The Penguin Guide to the United States Constitution: A Fully Annotated Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution and Amendments, and Selections from The Federalist Papers, by Richard Beeman. Annotated by one of the nation’s foremost Constitutional scholars, this compact edition of our nation’s founding documents provides both text and context for readers seeking to understand their meaning, past and present.
Farewell to Manzanar, by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston. A heartbreaking and compelling memoir about the Japanese American internment experience, as seen through the eyes of a young girl, bears witness to a failure of American democracy.
A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities That Arise in Disaster, by Rebecca Solnit. A masterwork of narrative nonfiction by a contemporary California writer reaches surprising conclusions about our need for community and common purpose, which she argues are fundamental to democratic forms of social and political life.
It Can’t Happen Here, by Sinclair Lewis. This underappreciated classic by one of America’s greatest novelists, first published in 1935, imagines a chillingly undemocratic America under a fascist regime, and reminds us of the fragility of democratic institutions.
Lost City Radio, by Daniel Alarcón. A haunting novel by a young California writer explores the aftermath of a traumatic civil war in a fictitious South American country, raising questions about the importance of historical knowledge, collective memory, and access to information in a democratic society.

Any or all of these books are to be the basis of California Reads-sponsored activities. More information about each of the books can be found here.

Last winter, over 330 books were nominated by the public—both classic and contemporary works—by authors from a wide variety of genres (including fiction, non-fiction, fantasy/sci-fi, biography, memoir, letters). These nominations were reviewed by a team of librarians, scholars, authors, publishers, and critics. They were asked to identify books that not only addressed a range of democracy-related themes, but also reflected a variety of viewpoints, perspectives, and experiences; and that were stimulating and discussion-provoking and could be enjoyed by many kinds of readers.

Eligibility
This grant opportunity is limited to California public library jurisdictions or tax-exempt library-support organizations (e.g., Friends of the Library groups) applying on behalf of CA public library jurisdictions.

Program Support
Participating library jurisdictions will be provided with a grant award as well as a number of book- and topic-related resources and programming tools to support widespread community participation in reading and discussion activities and related programs. Libraries are encouraged to be creative in how they reach out to different kinds of people, for example, with respect to age, cultural background, levels of literacy, and to see this as an opportunity for the community to see libraries in a new light and for libraries to connect with new constituencies. Book-based discussions can be enhanced through related programs involving film screenings, speakers, interactive web-based activities, and/or other kinds of events.

Funding: Grant awards will range from $500 to $15,000, depending on the size of the service population of the applicant organization and breadth and quality of programming plans.

Library jurisdictions that serve a population of up to 50,000 may request a maximum of $2,000
Library jurisdictions that serve up to 500,000 may request a maximum of $7,500
Library jurisdictions that serve over 500,000 people may request a maximum of $15,000

For full details regarding budget requirements and restrictions, click here.

Program Resources: In addition to grant funding, CCH and CFB will provide programming resources, including:

Discussion guides for each book that include contextualizing essays, bibliographies, filmographies, and information about potential speakers and presenters
Classroom and curricular support materials for educator use
A “tool box” to support program planning and implementation that will include public programming suggestions and tips; information on project-related vendors and resource providers; templates for program marketing and publicity; program evaluation and record-keeping tools
An online forum for project directors to exchange information, share resources, and collaborate on programming planning
Information about other Searching for Democracy initiative activities and programs and inclusion in initiative communications

Program Requirements
Booklist: All CA Reads programs must include reading and discussion activities for audiences (an appropriate number for the scope of your project) involving a book or books on the program booklist.

Broad and Diverse Audiences: Successful California Reads programs will incorporate programming activities that engage participation by broad and diverse audiences in your community.

Community Partnerships: To broaden and deepen community participation, successful applicants will collaborate on program development and/or delivery with community partners. These may include educational institutions (K-12 schools or colleges/universities); arts and culture or community-based service organizations, businesses, senior centers, youth programs, media organizations, and relevant local, state or federal agencies.

Applicants are urged to review the list of initiative partners at http://www.searchingfordemocracy.org/?/about-searching-for-democracy and contact local affiliated organizations.

Review Criteria
In making their decisions, CCH and CFB will evaluate proposals on the following criteria:

the quality of the proposed activities and their promise for encouraging thoughtful community discussion of the topic
the potential of the activities to reach a broad and diverse range of community members, including consideration of proposed partnerships
the capacity of the applicant and its partners to implement the program

In addition to evaluating the merits of each application, geographic diversity and coverage of the state will be taken into consideration.

Back to top^