FOCUS ON NATIVE AMERICANS    
       
       Date:  Summer  2008                                        
       no. 08-03                          
       
       
       NEWS
       
       Joseph Medicine Crow, author of__ Counting Coup: Becoming a Crow
       Chief on the Reservation and Beyond (RC 62442)__ and an American
       Indian Library Association (AILA) 2008 Youth Literature Award winner,
       has been nominated for a Congressional Gold Medal for his heroic actions
       during World War II. The ninety-four-year-old veteran from the Crow
       Tribe was also nominated for a Presidential Medal of Freedom by Senator
       Jon Tester of Montana.
       
       Joseph Bruchac, a Native American author of stories and poems for
       children and adults, will be a participant in this year's National Book
       Festival, which will be held on Saturday, September 27, 2008, on the
       National Mall in Washington, D.C. Information about the festival is
       available at www.loc.gov/bookfest.
       
       NLS has produced the following titles in audio or braille format:
       
      The Arrow over the Door. RC 46648.
      Bowman's Store: A Journey to Myself. RC 47175.
      Children of the Longhouse. RC 43907.
      Code Talker: A Novel about the Navajo Marines of World War Two.
      RC 60312.
      Crazy Horse's Vision. BR 13064.
      The Dark Pond. BR 16147.
      The First Strawberries: A Cherokee Story. BR 09943.
      The Girl Who Married the Moon: Tales from Native North America. 
      BR 10192.
      Gluskabe and the Four Wishes. RC 43269.
      The Great Ball Game: A Muskogee Story. BR 10047.
      The Heart of a Chief: A Novel. RC 49205.
      Hidden Roots. RC 65485.
      Iroquois Stories: Heroes and Heroines, Monsters and Magic. 
      RC 41284.                     
          
       
	
	Workplace wellness
 
       A wellness fair was held during the 2008 American Library Association's
       annual conference in Anaheim, California, on Sunday, June 29, 2008. The
       exhibit hall featured health-related products, cooking demonstrations, and
       posters from librarians across the country sharing health initiatives in their
       libraries. Demonstrations of chair yoga, seated pilates, and hula dancing
       were held in an exercise pavilion. In addition, an online site titled Join the
       Circle of Wellness@Your Library is now available at
       www.ala-apa.org/wellness/home.html. The site has an inventory form to
       assess workplace wellness and perceptions of workplace wellness at
       libraries. It also hosts a "wellness passport," designed to help monitor
       personal wellness week by week.
       
       Lois Lenski Covey Foundation grants

       The Lois Lenski Covey Foundation, Inc., is a charitable institution that
       assists organizations in their efforts to provide books to young readers
       who might otherwise lack access to children's literature.  Established by
       Lois Lenski, the 1946 Newbury medalist for Strawberry Girl (BR 09585, 
       RC 15118), the foundation annually awards grants to public and school
       libraries that serve at-risk children. Funds are earmarked for purchasing
       books for young people and are not intended for administrative or
       operational use. Tribal libraries are eligible. Completed 2008 application
       forms must be received by September 15. Grants will be awarded on
       December 15, 2008. For further information and an application contact
       Michael Covey, the Lois Lenski Covey Foundation, Inc., P.O. Box
       255366, Sacramento, CA, 95865; or e-mail
       [log in to unmask] The application form can be found at
       www.loislenskicovey.org/grantApp2008.pdf.
       
      	
	 National Institutes for Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums 
      
	 The Oklahoma Department of Libraries, in conjunction with the Institute
       of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and the National Historical
       Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), will host a three-day
       conference on "Training for American Indian Library Services,"
       October 21 23, 2008, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The cost is $200. For further
       information and an application, contact Susan Feller, conference
       coordinator, at (405) 522-3515, or e-mail [log in to unmask]
       us. Details can be found at www.tribalconference.org.
       
       
	IMLS Native American Library Services basic grants

       The Native American Library Services basic grant is noncompetitive and 
       available to Indian tribes and Alaska Native villages and corporations to
       support existing library operations and maintain core library services. The
       Education-Assessment Option is supplemental to the basic grant. It also is
       noncompetitive and must be requested. The purpose of the Education-
       Assessment Option is to provide funding for library staff to attend
       continuing education courses and training workshops on- or off-site, for
       library staff to attend or give presentations at conferences related to library
       services, and for libraries to hire a consultant for an on-site professional
       library assessment. The grant period is one year and the amount varies.
       Applicants are required to file online. The deadline for FY 2009 is March
       3. Details can be found at www.imls.gov/applicants/
       grants/nativeAmerican.shtm.