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The March 1, 2006, deadline has passed.
These guidelines explain the program and how to prepare an online application.
New for this year: You don't have to complete your application in one session!
Questions?
Contact the American Library Association staff at 1-800-545-2433, ext. 5045, or publicprograms@ala.org. You can also contact the NEH at 202-606-8299 or wethepeople@neh.gov. Hearing-impaired applicants can contact NEH via TDD at 1-866-372-2930.
Technical questions regarding the online application should be sent to wethepeople@neh.gov.
Type of Award
Successful applicants will receive fifteen books and promotional materials, which include bookplates, bookmarks, and posters.
As part of its We the People initiative, NEH is collaborating with the American Library Association (ALA) to present the We the People Bookshelf, a program that encourages young people to read classic books and explore themes in American history, culture, and ideas. School (K-12) and public libraries are invited to apply for fifteen thematically related books which embody the theme of "Becoming American."
The Bookshelf
Books selected for the "Becoming American" Bookshelf are:
Kindergarten to Grade 3
The Lotus Seed by Sherry Garland
Watch the Stars Come Out by Riki Levinson
Grandfather's Journey by Allen Say
Grades 4 to 6
Immigrant Kids by Russell Freedman
The People Could Fly: The Picture Book by Virginia Hamilton
Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving
In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson by Bette Bao Lord
Grades 7 to 8
Rifles for Watie by Harold Keith
The Glory Field by Walter Dean Myers
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
Dragonwings by Laurence Yep
Grades 9 to 12
Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather
Barrio Boy by Ernesto Galarza
Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, edited by Louis P. Masur
Giants in the Earth: A Saga of the Prairie by Ole Edvart Rølvaag
NEH selected these books, in consultation with members of the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) and the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), divisions of ALA.
Library and community programs
In return for receiving a Bookshelf, libraries are required to organize programs that introduce the books and the "Becoming American" theme to the library's students, young patrons, or to intergenerational audiences. Programs should take place between May 1, 2006 and May 31, 2007. In addition to the books, libraries will receive supplemental materials to help with publicity and administration of public programs.
Programs can take place within the applicant's school or library. Programs can also extend beyond the library walls through collaboration with other libraries or schools in the system. NEH especially encourages programs in which the Bookshelf is part of a larger effort to encourage young people and other members of the community to reflect on the "Becoming American" theme. Libraries may collaborate with other (non-library) organizations to develop local history displays, intergenerational story hours, living history presentations, or public events focused on the meaning or the process of "Becoming American."
Activities might include, but are not limited to:
- prominent display of the Bookshelf to promote patron awareness;
- a program of readings based on the Bookshelf by local civic and business leaders;
- special story hours featuring one or more books and exploring how it (or they) illustrate the theme of "Becoming American;"
- a panel discussion with community leaders and teachers highlighting the "Becoming American" theme and how the books express that theme;
- a book club for young readers based on the Bookshelf;
- ribbons or certificates to recognize young readers who read all the books in their age category;
- discussion of the books on local cable TV and/or radio programs; and
- the presentation of one of the books as a play, after which children are encouraged to discuss how the work illustrates the theme of "Becoming American."
Additional programmatic and publicity ideas will be available from the American Library Association's website at www.ala.org/wethepeople.
The We the People Bookshelf will be awarded to 1,000 libraries. The libraries selected will receive fifteen books, along with supplementary materials, including bookplates, bookmarks, and posters.
Applications will be accepted from all public libraries and school libraries (K-12), including public, private, parochial, or charter schools, in the United States and its territories. Multiple libraries within a library system or school district may apply for a Bookshelf, but an application must be submitted for each individual library. Libraries may also collaborate with other (non-library) organizations to develop and deliver programs; however, the applicant must be a library.
Individuals and organizations other than libraries are not eligible to apply.
Ineligible applications will not be reviewed.
NEH will accept applications for the Bookshelf at http://grants.neh.gov between September 6, 2005 and March 1, 2006.
Note: Libraries to do not submit applications for this program via Grants.gov.
Please review the Frequently Asked Questions before filling out an application.
Getting started
To begin the application process, go to http://grants.neh.gov. You must create a user account by providing your name and e-mail address and then selecting a password. Use an e-mail address that will be valid until at least May 31, 2006. Your user account will allow you to create, save, and revise your application. You cannot log in to the application system until you have created an account.
From the list of grant programs, select "We the People Bookshelf." Once you have done so, the Bookshelf main menu will appear. From this menu, you may:
- create and edit your cover sheet;
- create and edit your library information;
- create and edit your project description;
- print your application receipt; and
- change your password.
You can modify your application until the deadline, March 1, 2006, 5:00 p.m. local time. (For example, applicants in California can make changes until 5:00 p.m. Pacific time.) After that time, no changes will be allowed. Please note that technical help is not available after 5:00 p.m. EST.
NEH estimates the average time to complete an online application is one hour. Additional time will be needed to gather and prepare the required material.
Formatting
Your application will be saved as plain text. Special formatting such as italics, underlining, and "curly quotes" will not be saved. You should plan accordingly by using alternatives to such formatting (e.g., putting book titles in quotation marks or all uppercase letters). You should not, however, use angle brackets ("<" and ">"). Since brackets are commonly used in HTML, the code that drives the web-based online application system, the system will interpret them as faulty HTML code and generate an error message.
Application cover sheet
The cover sheet asks for basic information about you and your project. You must provide the following information before your application is considered complete:
- Applicant information
Provide the name, address, e-mail, telephone and fax numbers for the person coordinating We the People Bookshelf activities.
Save your work before going to the next section.
- Library information
Provide the following:
- name of library.
- type of library (public, public school, private school, charter school, or armed forces).
- level (elementary, secondary, or combined).
- size of the community in which the library is located (less than 25,000; 25,000 to 100,000; or more than 100,000).
- number of U.S. congressional district in which your library resides (for help identifying your congressional district, see the FAQs).
- your or your library's ALA membership number (enter 0, if not a member).
- the shipping address of your library (street address, city, state, and zip code). This address must be accessible via UPS or Fed Ex. Do not include P.O. Box addresses in this field.
- the name and title of the person authorized to submit applications for funding on behalf of the library. Depending upon the institution, this could be the director of the library, another library administrator, the school principal, or a member of an appointed or elected board.
Save your work before going to the next section.
- Project description
Provide a description of the activities planned for the Bookshelf. The description should address the following questions:
- What programs will your library use to promote the We the People Bookshelf?
- How will the programs explore the theme of "Becoming American"?
- How will the programs engage young readers?
- Is the program being planned in collaboration with other libraries and/or other community organizations?
- What strategies will the library use to encourage long-term use of the Bookshelf?
The description must not exceed 3,200 characters (approximately 425 words) in length. We recommend that you prepare the text using a word processing program. You can then "copy" and "paste" your essay into the submission form. If you exceed the character limit, you will receive an error message informing you of the total number of characters of your submission. You must make appropriate revisions to your project description in order to submit it. Tip: Most word processing programs provide character counts as part of their "word count" feature.
Save your work before going to the next section.
Submitting your application
After you have completed and saved the first three pages of the application, the system will generate a summary page that displays the information you have provided.
To submit your application to NEH, you must click the "Submit Application" button. Applications must be submitted by March 1, 2006, 5:00 p.m. local time.
Once you submit your information, the system will generate an application receipt. This receipt contains all the information you have provided, including the project description.
Print one copy of the application receipt. Have it signed and dated by your library's authorizing official and mail it to:
We the People "Becoming American" Applications
American Library Association
Public Programs Office
50 East Huron Street
Chicago, IL 60611
Your application receipt should arrive at ALA's Public Programs office within ten business days after you submit your online application. Applications that do not have a signed receipt page will not be considered eligible to receive a Bookshelf.
You should also print another copy of the application receipt for your records.
Application deadlines
Your online application must be submitted (i.e. you must hit the "submit" button) by March 1, 2006, 5:00 p.m. local time.
ALA must receive your application receipt within ten business days after you submit your online application.
Late applications will not be reviewed.
Selection criteria
Applications will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
- Are the proposed programs well conceived, and are they likely to appeal to the intended audience, whether it is young readers in a school, the young patrons of a library, or a broader public community?
- Do the proposed programs explore the theme of "Becoming American"?
- Do the proposed programs make good use of the Bookshelf in exploring the theme?
- Will the proposed programs engage young readers?
- Does the library provide a long-term plan for promoting ongoing interest in the Bookshelf?
- Is the application clear and complete?
Review process
Each application will be assessed by a review panel of librarians in collaboration with the staff of ALA and NEH. Evaluators may take geographical and demographic distribution into consideration when selecting libraries. The Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities will make the final decision.
| Application Deadline | Grant Notification | Programs at Libraries | Final Report Due |
| March 1, 2006 | March 31, 2006 | May 2006 through March 2007 | May 31, 2007 |
Award notices
Libraries that apply for the We the People Bookshelf will be notified via e-mail and/or letter regarding the success of their applications.
Use of books
Libraries should add the books they receive as part of the Bookshelf to their permanent collections. No sales are permitted.
Reporting requirements
Award recipients will be required to submit a one-page final performance report to the American Library Association by May 31, 2007.