WSL Updates for June 28, 2012

Volume 8, June 28, 2012 for the WSL Updates mailing list Note: WSL Updates will be on hiatus next week. Have a safe and happy July 4th! Topics include: 1) IT’S AN ELECTION YEAR – MYVOTE IS HERE TO HELP 2) CONNECT FAMILIES TO SUMMER MEALS 3) PUBLIC COMMENT SOUGHT 4) APPLY NOW FOR BRIDGING CULTURES BOOKSHELF 5) GRASSROOTS ADVOCACY FOR LIBRARIES 6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) IT’S AN ELECTION YEAR – MYVOTE IS HERE TO HELP The 2012 Presidential Election is just around the corner and the Elections Division of the Washington Secretary of State is here to help. By visiting www.myvote.wa.gov, voters can:

  • Register;
  • Update their addresses;
  • Find out about local candidates and ballot measures;
  • Know where they can return their ballots;
  • Identify their elected officials.
To help spread the word, the Elections Division is making available pdfs of MyVote flyers in English, Spanish, and Chinese/Vietnamese. For more information about MyVote, contact Cristina Labra at [email protected] or 360-902-4175. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) CONNECT FAMILIES TO SUMMER MEALS The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) is a federally-funded child nutrition program that reimburses local organizations that provide free, nutritious meals to low-income children and teens when school meal programs are not available. Washington’s SFSP, also known as the Summer Meals Program, can offer up to two meals per day: breakfast, lunch, dinner, and/or snacks. ParentHelp123 has created a portal to make finding food programs and resources easier, enabling families to locate their closest meal site by:
  • Using the Summer Meals Site Search Tool, which displays sponsor, site, and meal information with online mapping tools;
  • Calling the multilingual Family Food Hotline, 1-888-4-FOOD-WA (1-888-436-6392);
  • Texting FoodWA to 877-877.
The portal also provides resources to local organizations that support summer meal programs in their communities, including:
  • The Summer Meals Resource Toolkit;
  • Grants;
  • Summer Meals Outreach Ideas.
Help spread the word about summer meals by placing a widget on your library’s website. It’s simple to use, and connects kids and teens to free meals and snacks in their communities by zip code. For more information about Summer Meals, check out the Resource Toolkit at www.sos.wa.gov/quicklinks/foodtool. For a copy of the widget’s HTML code and for more information about the summer meal program, contact Sue Waldin at [email protected]. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) PUBLIC COMMENT SOUGHT The Department of Early Learning (DEL), the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), and Thrive by Five Washington (Thrive) have been collaborating on the Washington Early Learning State and Local Coordination Project to explore how different parts of the state’s early learning system – state agencies, regional collaborative efforts, K-12 education, and child care providers – can work together more effectively, especially through improved coordination and communication, to strengthen Washington’s early learning services and programs. Research to date has identified barriers to early learning services as well as opportunities that could improve access. DEL, OSPI, and Thrive are currently seeking public input on this preliminary research so that early learning services are easier to find and use. For more information about the Washington Early Learning State and Local Coordination Project, and to take the survey, go to www.sos.wa.gov/quicklinks/SLC31July. Comments are due no later than Tuesday, July 31, 2012. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) APPLY NOW FOR BRIDGING CULTURES BOOKSHELF The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), in collaboration with the American Library Association (ALA) Public Programs Office, is currently accepting applications for “Muslim Journeys,” a Bridging Cultures Bookshelf program. The program aims to familiarize public audiences in the United States with the people, places, history, faith, and culture of Muslims in the United States and around the world. Up to 1,000 public libraries, community college and academic libraries, and state humanities councils will be selected to receive:
  • A collection of 25 books that highlight the pluralism of cultural forms and traditions within the Muslim world;
  • Two documentary films, with public performance rights;
  • Access to Oxford Islamic Studies Online, providing access to primary source documents and current works of scholarship;
  • Materials to support program promotion, including bookmarks, posters, and bookplates.
For more information and to apply, visit www.programminglibrarian.org/muslimjourneys.html. To find out more about the Bridging Cultures Initiative, go to www.neh.gov/divisions/bridging-cultures. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) GRASSROOTS ADVOCACY FOR LIBRARIES Now more than ever, library funding is a frequent target of budget cuts and it’s no secret that the consequences can be disastrous for staff and library users alike. Be prepared! ALA is offering two webinars on grassroots library advocacy that can help in challenging economic times:
  • Thursday, August 2, 2012, 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. PDT Introducing Grassroots Library Advocacy is a free, 90-minute workshop that provides a roadmap for saving your library from cuts or minimizing the damage that they cause. The presenters will discuss strategic uses of library campaign tools and tactics such as social networking, viral marketing, protest marches, read-ins, and postcard campaigns. To register, visit www.sos.wa.gov/quicklinks/ALAIntro.
  • Thursday, August 16, 2012, 11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. PDT Implementing Grassroots Library Advocacy is a fee-based, 90-minute participatory workshop that will teach participants how to advocate effectively for their libraries, regardless of their position, their library’s size, or the number of people served by the library. The instructors will demonstrate how to blend social media tools and traditional grassroots organizing techniques to develop an advocacy strategy. Topics will include thinking and planning strategically for specific advocacy outcomes, organizing in-person events in your community, using social media and viral marketing for online advocacy, and anticipating the challenges your library may face using projected funding trends in 2013 and beyond. For additional information, including pricing for this workshop and the registration process, go to www.sos.wa.gov/quicklinks/ALAImplement.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) FREE CE OPPORTUNITIES NEXT WEEK Tuesday, July 3: Thursday, July 5: --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Washington State Library has gone social! Friend/follow us at:
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