91´«Ã½

CHICAGO — The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), a division of the 91´«Ã½ (91´«Ã½), has opened up the applications for its 2019 and .

Through generous funding from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation, two grants are available: the and the . The purpose of the grants is to help libraries combat the summer slide, as described in YALSA’s position paper, “."

Twenty-five , worth $1,000 each, will be awarded to libraries in need to allow them to provide resources and services to teens who are English language learners, struggling in school and/or who are from socio-economically challenged communities. Twenty-five , also worth $1,000 each, will be awarded to libraries to provide teens a chance to build hands-on job skills while supporting the implementation of summer learning programs.

Interested applicants are invited to for the grants if they meet the following eligibility requirements:

• Be a at the time the application is submitted and throughout the grant implementation process (not a member? Join )
• Summer learning program must be administered through a library
• Summer learning program must be open to all teens in the community
• Library must be within 20 miles of a Dollar General store

Eligible applicants can now through Jan. 1, 2019. Recipients will be notified during the week of Feb. 18, 2019. For information about joining YALSA, visit . YALSA/91´«Ã½ membership starts at $65 per year.

To learn more about the grants and to apply, please visit YALSA’s . To learn more about how the grants support summer learning programs, view a brief featuring past grantees.

For years, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation has provided Youth Literacy Grants to schools, public libraries, and nonprofit organizations in hopes to provide assistance in implementing and expanding literacy programs for youth. For more information about Dollar General and its Youth Literacy Grants, visit .

The mission of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) is to support library staff in alleviating the challenges teens face, and in putting all teens ‒ especially those with the greatest needs ‒ on the path to successful and fulfilling lives. For more information about YALSA or to access national guidelines and other resources go to , or contact the YALSA office by phone, 800-545-2433, ext. 4390; or e-mail: yalsa@ala.org.