News from the Division
The Alaska State Museum’s FY24 Grant-in-Aid (GIA) program is accepting applications through June 1. Mini-Grants of up to $2000 are available for small museums with annual operating budgets less than $100K. Museums of any size may apply for a Regular Grant of up to $12,000 to fund a project. Museums may apply for just one grant.
Grant-in-Aid funds projects that will be completed by June 30, 2024.
Visit the Grant-in-Aid website to find grant guidelines and applications. Please contact Mary Irvine, Curator of Statewide Services, with your questions. She can be reached at mary.irvine@alaska.gov or 907-465-4811.
Monday, April 17, noon
Are you looking for ways to help students in your community who are preparing for finals or summer school? Do you know that your library has access to Live Homework Help with Tutor.com? This training will be a comprehensive walk-through on using & sharing your Live Homework Help online tutoring service. We will touch upon how patrons can access the program, the different features available, the recent additions and expansions, and answer any lingering questions. You can use the Q and A or interact in this one.
Questions? Contact Jamie Thill 907.465.2575.
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If you missed the webinar, the recording is now available.
A panel discussion sponsored by the Alaska State Library on activities for the 2023 Alaska Summer Reading Program. Presenters: Jamie Thill (Alaska State Library), Geri Denkewalter (Talkeetna Public Library), Cinda Nofziger (Homer Public Library), Sara Saxton (Wasilla Public Library), Kelsey Skrobis (Anchorage Public Library), and MJ Grande (Juneau Public Library).
Webinar resources
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We're Hiring
Alaska State Libraries, Archives & Museums has two openings in our admin section! Applications due April 13.
Administrative Assistant 1
Under general direction of the Operations Manager, you will serve as one of the main go-to persons for facility management assistance. You will manage building rentals. You will assist in compiling items in the building that are due to be recycled, put into surplus, or disposed of. You will also assist in the acquisition of library materials, assist in supporting the Talking Book Center, and help with microfilming of Alaska's newspapers as part of the Alaska Newspaper Project.
Administrative Officer 2
You will serve as a subject matter expert and go-to person for division finances such as annual budget preparation, budget status, cost projections, accounts payable and receivable, procurement, and travel. You will also be point person on division human resource functions. Since fiscal year 2016, the division has been operating with an extremely tight budget and this position is empowered to monitor cash flow, project shortages, and develop solutions so the division ends each fiscal year in the black.
News from L.A.M.S in Alaska
Unalaska’s new public library is expected to open in April. It’ll have more space, a fireplace, and many new art installations, all created by artists from around the state.
That includes Valisa Higman, who grew up in Seldovia, Alaska, and spent her winters in Unalaska for about a decade.
KUCB’s Sofia Stuart-Rasi caught up with Higman recently to hear about the fairy tale-inspired artwork she developed for the library.
Sofia Stuart-Rasi, March 17, 2023. KUCB.org.
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“Dusty Funk" or "the Funkiverse” is a world of comic arts storytelling, surrealism and metaphorical space created by the artist known as the Amazing David Brame. He’s an Afro-futurist, educator and mixed media comic artist based on the Kenai Peninsula, and his exhibit is up now at the Bunnell Street Arts Center in Homer for the month of March.
He debuted his new show at a First Friday event, where a few dozen people gathered for the opening. He said it marries his commercial comic book artist work and the surreal side of his creativity.
Corinne Smith, March 16, 2023. KBBI.org.
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On Tuesday, the city of Palmer signed an agreement for a temporary library following the collapse of the Palmer Library on February 15.
“It’s going to be on Arctic Avenue at the old Great Northern Engineering building,” said Palmer City Manager John Moosey, who hopes the library will be able to salvage books and other materials from the library. “It’s probably going to take about a month for us to get everything in order to provide service from that location.”
Katie Stavick, March 16, 2023. Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman.
Related: Palmer sets up temporary site for library, storing books and materials from damaged building
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The Anchorage municipal attorney this week said the city law department won't review a book about teen sexuality — referred to her office by the Library Advisory Board — before the library follows its normal process for reviewing materials.
The vote to refer the book, "Let's Talk About It" by Erika Moen and Matthew Nolan, to the municipal attorney last week sidestepped the Library Advisory Board's existing process for reviewing and reconsidering materials, and raised concerns among some board members and Anchorage Assembly members.
Morgan Krakow, March 25, 2023. ADN.
The Institute of Museum and Library Services announced today (March 28, 2023) that the Kuskokwim Consortium Library is among 30 finalists for the 2023 National Medal for Museum and Library Service. The Kuskokwim Consortium Library is the only institution in Alaska to be selected as a finalist for this award...
“The Kuskokwim Consortium Library is honored to be recognized as a finalist for the National Medal for the second year in a row for our dedication and service to the UAF Kuskokwim Campus and the city of Bethel, Alaska. We are in a very rural and underserved community, and we work hard to provide robust programming on a scale comparable to much larger library systems. We are humbled by the recognition and proud to be one of 30 finalists in the country” says Library Director Theresa Quiner.
April 6, 2023. Delta Discovery.
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By the time U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens left office in 2009, he had amassed a huge collection of documents, enough to fill 4,800 boxes. Now that collection has found its final resting place, at the University of Alaska Anchorage.
Stevens’ widow, Catherine Stevens, the Ted Stevens Foundation and the university made the announcement this month.
“It was always Sen. Stevens’s desire to have the collection go to the university. He really wanted his papers to be open to the public,” said Karina Waller, executive director of the Ted Stevens Foundation, which has been archiving and organizing the collection for years. “Obviously, as a student of history, he knew that understanding our history was important in informing decisions that we make today and in the future.”
Liz Ruskin, March 29, 2023. Alaska Public Media.
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The fourth annual Far North Fashion Show held last Thursday drew a packed crowd to the Anchorage Museum of History and Art.
The event showcases Indigenous designs that are traditional, contemporary and a blend of the two. It has become a highlight of the three-day Arctic Encounter Symposium, a conference that this year drew nearly 1,000 participants from more than two dozen countries. Among the participants were ambassadors from Arctic and non-Arctic nations, prominent Arctic scientists and members of Congress.
Yereth Rosen, April 5, 2023. Alaska Beacon.
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April is National Poetry Month and Homer residents can experience the art and sound of poetry at the Friends of the Homer Public Library’s “Our Favorite Poems” performance event at the Homer Public Library on Thursday, April 6 from 6-7:30 p.m.
The free event is inspired and coordinated by Homer author Jessica Golden. Readers include several Homer authors and poets, who were each asked to choose a favorite poem for the reading. The selections include international content from the United States, Canada, South Africa, Ireland, the United Kingdom and Chile.
Golden, who has worked in journalism and public media in the past, shared what motivated her idea for the collaborative event.
Emilie Springer, April 6, 2023. Homer News.
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Other Announcements
Plan a National Park vacation with help from the Government Publishing Office (GPO).
Wednesday, April 26, 2023, 10 am AKDT
This presentation will provide tips and tricks for planning various National Park vacations, including ocean and coastal parks, night sky watching parks, day trip hiking, and most and least visited parks. It will also cover how to search for travel and hazard alerts, and the NPS Passport and Junior Ranger programs.
The Internal Revenue Service reminds taxpayers that the “Where’s My Refund?” tool on IRS.gov is the most convenient way to check the status of 2022, 2021 and 2020 tax refunds. IRS2Go, the mobile app, offers another way for users to check their refund status.
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