News

July 30, 2010: Deadline to Apply for AILA Emerging Leader
AILA supports the ALA Emerging Leaders Program. The application for the class of 2011 is now available. You will need to choose AILA as a sponsor if you are interested. The program is designed to enable a group of library workers to get on the fast track to ALA and professional leadership. Participants are given the opportunity to work on a variety of projects, network with peers and get an inside look into the ALA structure and activities.

June 27, 2010: DEMCO/AILA 2010 Library School Scholarship Winner Annouced!
The American Indian Library Association is pleased to announce that, through the generosity of DEMCO, we have awarded the 2010 DEMCO/AILA Library School Scholarship to Mary Gibson. Mary is an enrolled member of the Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone, and she will be pursuing her Master of Science in Library and Information Science at the Simmons Graduate School of Library and Information Science.

June 17, 2010: San Jose SLIS to Award Scholarships to American Indians and Alaska Natives.

The San Jose School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) is partnering with the American Indian Library Association (AILA) to launch Circle of Learning — an initiative designed to recruit and support American Indians and Alaska Natives who are interested in earning a Master of Library and Information Science (MLIS) degree.

The scholarship program is designed for Native students who want to earn a fully online ALA-accredited MLIS degree. Scholarship recipients will receive financial assistance and other support, including mentoring, career advisement, field experiences, involvement in professional conferences and workshops, and interaction with Native leaders in the profession.

Because all courses are delivered fully online, students will be able to live anywhere while earning their MLIS degree. Circle of Learning’s unique blended approach of online curriculum delivery and face-to-face social and professional interactions will help ensure that scholarship recipients receive personalized support and develop a professional network that will benefit them in the years ahead.

The Circle of Learning scholarship program is made possible because of a generous grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the primary source of federal support for the nation’s libraries and museums. IMLS announced the award on June 15, 2010. View their announcement here: http://www.imls.gov/news/2010/061510.shtm.

For more information regarding the Circle of Learning project, including application information and deadlines, please visit the project's website at http://slisweb.sjsu.edu/circleoflearning/.

May 20, 2010: Introducing the Talk Story Website!
The American Indian Library Association and the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association announce the launch of their Family Literacy Focus project Talk Story: Sharing Stories, Sharing Culture website.

Talk Story is a library literacy model that reaches out to Asian/Pacific American (APA) and Native American/Alaska Native children and families. It promotes basic and cultural literacy in pre-readers and early readers by engaging children and their families in storytime, storytelling, books, art, music, dance, and other cultural activities. Upcoming Talk Story events will take place at Laguna Public Library (Laguna, NM), Tuzzy Consortium Library (Barrow, AK), Marlborough Public Library (Marlborogh, MA), and Jemez Pueblo Community Library (Jemez Pueblo, NM).

Talk Story is generously supported by the American Library Association as part of ALA 2009-2010 President Camila Alire's Family Literacy Focus Initiative.

May 10, 2010: DEMCO/AILA Travel Grant to ALA Annual 2010 Winners Announced!
The American Indian Library Association is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2010 DEMCO/AILA Travel Grant. Thanks to the generosity of DEMCO, AILA will provide financial assistance to four tribal librarians to attend the American Library Association Annual Conference in Washington, DC.

Congratulations to this year's awardees:
Teresa Mares, Librarian, Noli Indian School
Sandra Tharp, Tribal Librarian, Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma
Melanie Toledo, Library Manager, Ak-Chin Indian Community Library

AILA has Movers and Shakers!
Big congratulations to AILA member Janice Kowemy and AILA president Liana Juliano for being honored in this year's group of Movers & Shakers!

January 13, 2010: 2009 Distinguished Services Award Winner Announced
David Ongley was awarded the 2009 American Indian Library Association Distinguised Services Award at the Tribal Archives, Libraries and Museums conference in Portland, OR.

The American Indian Library Association Distinguished Service Award honors someone who has worked for the improvement in library and information services for and to American Indian people as well as advancing the initiatives of the American Indian Library Association.

David has worked diligently to make sure Alaska Natives and their concerns are always represented and he was instrumental in the drafting and publicizing of the Culturally Responsive Guidelines for Alaska Public Libraries, an essential resource that can be used by public libraries in any area that serves Native patrons. We are proud to have presented him with the Distinguished Service Award for his outstanding service to the Indian community and the American Indian Library Association.

September 18, 2009: DEMCO/AILA Travel Grant award winners announced!
The American Indian Library Association is pleased to announce the recipients of our first ever DEMCO/AILA Travel Grant. Thanks to the generosity of DEMCO, AILA will provide financial assistance to four American Indian library professionals currently working in tribal library of any kind to attend the Tribal Archives, Libraries and Museums Conference (TALM) in Portland, OR.

Congratulations to this year's awardees:
Mary Johnson, Library Director, Nebraska Indian Community College
Sarah Kostelecky, Library Director, Institute of American Indian Arts
Bernice Martinez, Library Director, Pueblo de San Ildefonso
Melanie Toledo, Library Manager, Ak-Chin Indian Community Library

April 3, 2009: AILA Past President Janice Rice receives award!
Janice Rice, senior academic librarian in the University of Wisconsin–Madison College Library and member of the Ho-Chunk Nation, has been selected as a recipient of the 14th annual UW System Outstanding Women of Color in Education Award. Read the story!

January 29, 2009: AILA Member Larel Tarulli awarded Esther J Percy Award!
AILA member Laurel Tarulli was chosen as the 2009 winner of the Esther J. Piercy award! Read the award description.

October 8, 2008: HOLLY TOMREN SELECTED AS 2009 EMERGING LEADER!
Congratulations to AILA Secretary Holly Tomren for being chosen for the 2009 Emerging Leader program! You may read the press release at the ALA website.

May 29, 2007: Senate Confirms President's Nominees to National Museum and Library Services Board
Lotsee Patterson, Ph.D., professor in the School of Library and Information Studies at the University of Oklahoma, was born and raised in rural southwestern Oklahoma. A member of the Comanche Nation, she credits her experience growing up in Indian country with developing her passion for libraries and library services for Native Americans. She is a recipient of the Oklahoma Library Association's highest honor receiving their Distinguished Service Award and being designated by this association as a Library Legend. Patterson has also been honored for her work with tribal libraries and for recruiting and mentoring American Indian librarians by the American Library Association. Patterson's research interestsfocus on library and information services to indigenous populations. In this context she has been an invited presenter at symposia and conferences throughout the United States and in Sweden, New Zealand, Ukraine and Canada. She has been a visiting scholar at the University of British Columbia and a visiting lecturer at the University of Maryland. She has served as consultant to the National Commission on Libraries and Information Studies, as well as many universities, publishers and organizations. Most recently she was a senior advisor to the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian.

The National Museum and Library Services Board (NMLSB) is a twenty-four member advisory body that includes the IMLS director and deputy directors for libraries and museums, the chair of the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science, and twenty presidentially appointed and Senate-confirmed members of the general public who have demonstrated expertise in, or commitment to, library or museum services. Informed by its collective experience and knowledge, the NMLSB advises the IMLS director on general policy and practices, and on selections for the National Awards for Museum and Library Services. For more information about the National Museum and Library Services Board visit the Institute's Web site at www.imls.gov/about/board.shtm.

February 28, 2007
Demco donates $1000 towards Loriene's Honor Dance at the NMAI!

Storyteller Tim Tingle, Member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, performed at the AILA Midwinter Social. Thanks to Cinco Punto Press, Salinas Bookshelf, Demco and Gaylord for sponsoring this wonderful event.

May 1, 2006: LORIENE ROY ELECTED ALA PRESIDENT!
AILA's own Loriene Roy, professor of Library and Information Science at the University of Texas, Austin, former ALA council member, and past AILA president, has been elected as the incoming president of the American Library Association for the 2007-2008 term. You may read the press release at the ALA website. Also, Loriene's web site provides information about her plans for her presidency.