Dear Librarians and SinC Members,

 

Looking ahead to 2023, I would like to encourage public and school library staff to consider applying for the $500 We Love Libraries grant! The grant is awarded six times per year, and the application is short and easy. Please see below for tips on how to create a successful WLL application!

 

Starting in January, to streamline and focus newsletter content, the publication schedule for WLL News will shift from monthly to every other month.

 

I am also pleased to announce the December We Love Libraries grant winner is Matheson Memorial Library in Elkhorn, Wisconsin! 

It is a simple, straightforward process to apply for the Doris Ann Norris We Love Libraries $500 grant, which is awarded six times per year to public and school libraries. The online form is short, but it does require some advanced preparation.

 

The handful of questions on the form include contact information for the applicant, basic information about the library, including the address, website, and the library director’s name. A brief description of the library, including the size and the number of constituents served is also requested. That information should be easy and quick to gather.

 

There are two questions that will require some forethought and planning. What does the library intend to spend the $500 on? And are there special circumstances that would make the application especially urgent or compelling, such as budgetary constraints, special programs that require funding, or a lack of library materials in a subject, format, or for a select audience? Please be specific and make your answers compelling. This is your chance to make your case for why your library should receive the We Love Libraries $500 grant. (Winners of the $500 award must use the funds to purchase library materials or for programming. The grant money can’t be directed to the operating budget.) 

 

The application also requires a photo of library staff members with three or more books by three different, current Sisters in Crime member authors. Taking the photo will also require a little planning. The photo of your library will be seen by all the subscribers to WLL News, SinC members, who visit the website, and everyone who follows SinC on social media platforms. That is thousands of people! Give them a memorable, favorable impression of your library by submitting a large format, excellent quality photo. For a high-quality photo that will look great on the website and social media sites, the photo should be at least 1200 by 800 pixels. Please make sure the photo is not blurry and is framed well—tops of heads aren’t cut off. 

 

The three books by three different, current members of Sisters in Crime should be highlighted in the photo. Sisters in Crime is working on making the list of member authors more accessible to nonmembers, but in the interim check the list of local chapters, which is publicly available on the SinC website. Most local chapters have a list of member authors that is publicly available. Your library is likely to have books by the authors who are members of your local or nearby SinC chapter.

 

It isn’t required in the grant application to have a theme in your photo, but if you do it will make your library even more memorable to everyone who sees the image. It’s an added benefit to winning the award. So, I would encourage you to take the opportunity to show off your library. Have fun. Be creative. 

Pictured above is the April 2022 Winner, Cedar Springs Public Library in Cedar Springs, Michigan. The photo is clear. The framing is great, and the covers of the books by current SinC member authors are legible. The library director also came up with a fun theme, she's dressed as Scooby-Doo’s Velma Dinkley. 

Pictured above is the April 2020 winning photo from Bullock Creek Middle School Library. This is another great photo that incorporates the theme of the grant request into the picture.

If your library hasn’t submitted a WLL application, I encourage you to! If you’ve submitted a WLL application in the past and think you can produce a more successful application now, please reach out to me at librarian@sistersincrime.org, so I can delete your old application.

 

Questions? Send me an email. 

Matheson Memorial Library, located in downtown Elkhorn, serves 5,828 residents from the City of Elkhorn, La Grange, Geneva, Sugar Creek, Lafayette, and the surrounding Delavan Township. The library also serves 5,620 non-resident borrowers. Per the WLL application, “We revised our reading programs during Covid to virtual and take-home programs. We are not reinstating in-person reading programs. With the help of the grant, we are hoping to reach more patrons and make these programs interesting and exciting for all.” 

 

The $500 grant will be used to purchase materials and books for the adults’ and children's reading programs. 

To find out more about all SinC offers, including live webinars, please visit our website.

 

Thank you for all you do for your communities. Sisters in Crime loves libraries.

 

Best wishes for a festive holiday season!

 

Susan Hammerman
Library Liaison

 

 

Susan Hammerman, a former rare book librarian, is the Library Liaison and coordinator of the We Love Libraries program. Susan writes crime and neo-noir short stories. Her stories have appeared in Mystery Magazine, Dark City Mystery Magazine, Blood and Bourbon, Retreats From Oblivion, and the Stories (Within) anthology. Website and Twitter 

 

WLL and WLB News Editor: Gail Lukasik’s latest book, White Like Her: My Family’s Story of Race and Racial Passing, was named one of the most inspiring stories of the year by The Washington Post. She is also the author of the Leigh Girard Mystery series and the stand-alone mystery, The Lost Artist. Her writing has appeared in numerous publications, such as The Washington Post, The Daily Beast, and The Georgia Review. Gail appeared in the documentary, History of Memory, which is available on Amazon Prime. Her fifth mystery, The Darkness Surrounds Us, a Gothic, historical mystery, will be released in Fall 2023. Website: www.gaillukasik.com

Here's a spreadsheet with our members' 2022 books. This month's releases are in a separate worksheet. Sort the spreadsheet by author name, location, title, or release date.

Sisters in Crime hosts LIVE webinars each month. Webinars last 60-90 minutes depending on the topic and the audience questions! These webinars are open to all.

Looking for diverse books? For many years, SINC has curated Frankie’s List, an extensive list of crime novels by people of color and other marginalized groups. Frankie Y. Bailey, building on work by the late Eleanor Taylor Bland, began to compile a list of published Black crime writers over a decade ago. Frankie has expanded the list to include other WOC and LGBTQ+ authors. Here’s a link: https://www.sistersincrime.org/page/FrankiesList