November 1, 2013
The American Indian Library Association (AILA) and the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA) Announce Continued Sponsor, Toyota Financial Services.
The American Indian Library Association (AILA) and the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA) are pleased to announce their continued sponsorship from Toyota Financial Services. Toyota Financial Services will sponsor the Talk Story: Sharing stories, sharing culture program by providing funding for the third year for mini-grants that will be awarded in early 2014.
Talk Story: Sharing stories, sharing culture (www.talkstorytogether.org) is a literacy program that reaches out to Asian Pacific American (APA) and American Indian/Alaska Native (AIAN) children and their families. The program celebrates and explores their stories through books, oral traditions, and art to provide an interactive, enriching experience. 2014 will be the fifth year that AILA and APALA have partnered on the Talk Story project and allocated grant funding to libraries to implement programs geared towards the APA/AIAN communities. To date, twenty-three Talk Story grants have been awarded.
This will be the third year that Toyota Financial Services has sponsored grant funding for Talk Story and we are thrilled to continue our partnership. “Thanks to Toyota Financial Services, we have been able to fund many deserving libraries over the years and we are so happy that the partnership will continue into the future. We know the funding provided to libraries and community organizations has made a profound difference in each community based on the stories and photos they share” said Liana Juliano and Lessa Pelayo-Lozada, chairs of the Talk Story committed for AILA and APALA.
Grant applications will be available beginning in December and will be due February 15, 2014.
An affiliate of the American Library Association (ALA), the American Indian Library Association is a membership action group that addresses the library-related needs of American Indians and Alaska Natives. Members are individuals and institutions interested in the development of programs to improve Indian library, cultural, and informational services in school, public, and research libraries on reservations. AILA is also committed to disseminating information about Indian cultures, languages, values, and information needs to the library community. Additional information about AILA can be found at www.ailanet.org.
The Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA) was established in 1980 by librarians of diverse Asian/Pacific ancestries committed to create an organization that would address and support the needs of Asian/Pacific American librarians and those who serve Asian/Pacific American communities. In addition, over the years, APALA has granted numerous scholarships and awards. Additional information about APALA can be found at www.apalaweb.org.
Talk Story: Sharing stories, sharing culture is a joint project between the American Indian Library Association and the Asian Pacific American Librarians Association that started as part of ALA 2009-2010 President Camila Alire’s Family Literacy Focus Initiative. The project is sponsored by Toyota Financial Services.
