"The world is heartbroken at the passing of legendary country music superstar, cultural icon, and literacy champion Dolly Parton, who died August 25 at her Nashville home at age 80.
Parton’s award-winning Imagination Library initiative, inspired by her father’s inability to read or write, has put hundreds of millions of books into the hands of children and was considered by her to be one of her greatest achievements. The book-gifting program, part of the nonprofit Dollywood Foundation, mails free, high-quality books to children across the country and around the world once a month from birth to age 5.
“We’re giving books to kids who wouldn’t have a chance to get them otherwise,” Parton told American Libraries in a 2018 interview. “A lot of people think this is just for poor children—it’s for all children. It’s important to get books into the hands of any child that we can...”
"In 2026, the role of the public library as an essential democratic institution is in profound jeopardy. Across the United States, efforts to pressure and censor libraries continue to erupt with great frequency, as local citizens, pressure groups, and elected officials try to dictate what ideas and books are readily accessible to the public. As with schools, universities, and other institutions committed to the free exchange of ideas, attacks on public libraries have been worsening and proliferating in recent years, threatening freedoms that form the bedrock of American society..."
ADVOCACY CENTER
Sign Up with the Virginia Library Association as an Advocate!
Click HEREand sign up for the VLA Advocacy Center Mailing List to make sure you're receiving Virginia action alerts and updates on policy issues related to the library field. This will help you keep abreast of legislation that could affect your local library and community.
VLA Library Trustees and Friends Forum
The forum is just getting started, but was "created to foster opportunities for trustees, friends of the library, foundation members, and other library advocates from around the state to network on common interests and to cooperate together to create better libraries and library services in Virginia. Whether you're currently serving, have served in the past, or simply believe in the power of libraries, your voice matters."
This is a great new resource for our Trustees and Friends across the Commonwealth. If you're interested in joining the forum, fill out this FORM. Stay tuned for more from the group as things continue to move forward!
UNITED FOR LIBRARIES RESOURCES
Virginia library staff and stakeholders (folks like you!) have access to a whole host of resources from United for Libraries.
Already signed up? Click HEREto access everything through the ALA eLearning Platform!
Forthcoming Dates - Topics TBD
(Note: All previous recordings are available to Virginia stakeholders as part of the Statewide Membership. Log in to your ALA eLearning Platform to access them!)
As of this newsletter's publication, the future topics have not yet been announced.
Tuesday, October 13, 2026 - 2:00 pm
Tuesday, November 10, 2026 - 2:00 pm
Tuesday, December 8, 2026 - 2:00 pm
CONTINUING EDUCATION
Mastering Difficult Conversations
Difficult conversations are inevitable, but that doesn't mean we should avoid them.
A study from Bravely found that 70% of employees are actively avoiding difficult conversations. Whether you avoid difficult conversations to keep the peace, freeze up when trying to negotiate with others, or feel bad when you’re responsible for giving bad news, the anxiety and fear you feel are more common than you think. And while there is no shortage of workshops and webinars that talk about communication skills, true confidence in hard conversations comes from both mastering ourselves as well as mastering the art of facilitating the conversation.
Learn how Brazoria County Library System (BCLS) in Texas transformed its "Library of Things" into a disaster response asset that directly supports community needs before, during, and after major disruptions. This webinar will explain how readiness planning and intentional selection helped expand access to essential tools during emergencies, strengthening recovery efforts and reinforcing the library's role as a trusted, practical community institution...
How to Keep All Those Donors You Worked So Hard to Get
Join fundraising master trainer, Chad Barger, ACFRE, ACNP, for a discussion on the importance of donor retention and learn simple, actionable steps that you can take to boost donor retention in your organization. Participants will leave the session with a greater understanding of what they can do to improve donor retention and the start of an improvement plan for their organization.
Public libraries face an increasingly complex legal landscape. From First Amendment challenges and book reconsideration disputes to patron behavior issues, privacy concerns, Open Meetings Act compliance, and Freedom of Information Act requests, library boards and leaders must navigate a growing number of litigation and liability risks.
This session provides a practical overview of the most significant legal trends affecting public libraries today. Participants will review recent court decisions from around the country, examine emerging areas of liability, and discuss strategies to reduce legal exposure through effective governance, policies, training, and risk management practices. The presentation will also address common claims involving intellectual freedom, public forum issues, patron suspensions, privacy and confidentiality, and First Amendment Auditors.
Designed for library directors, trustees, and administrators, this seminar will focus on real-world examples and practical guidance to help libraries identify legal risks before they become lawsuits and respond effectively when disputes arise. Attendees will leave with a better understanding of current litigation trends, lessons learned from recent cases, and proactive steps to strengthen their library's legal compliance and risk-management practices.
(Please note, if you register with a non-library-issued e-mail address, someone from the Library of Virginia will follow up with you to confirm that you are affiliated with a Virginia library before you can access the content.)
The program aims to support programs for which a relatively small amount of funding might make a large difference. The Foundation will consider requests to support museums, cultural and performing arts programs; schools and hospitals; educational, skills-training and other programs for youth, seniors, and persons with disabilities; environmental and wildlife protection activities; and other community-based organizations and programs. Awards typically range from $1,000 to $20,000. Grants may be used for projects, activities, or general operating support.
Grants are available to a wide variety of food garden projects including, but not limited to, school gardens, community gardens, food pantry gardens, homeless shelter gardens, job training gardens, tribal gardens, senior gardens, library gardens, college gardens, orphanage gardens, demonstration gardens, and healing and therapeutic gardens, as well as hybrid versions of these projects that defy easy categorization (i.e. a community garden project involving seniors who are growing extra food for their local food pantry).
The following types of grants are provided:
Challenge Grants of $100 to $1,000 will be awarded to 288 projects based on where they are ranked at the end of the 30-day challenge.
Strong Start & Finish Grants of $100 to $500 will be awarded to 74 projects that come out of the gate fast or finish hard in the final week.
Geographic Interest Grants of $150 to $300 will be awarded to 70 projects based in Maine or developing countries, with no crowdfunding challenge requirement.
Funds can be used for a variety of purposes, such as covering the annual operating costs of the garden project (e.g. buying seeds, supplies, tools, compost, etc.) or for specific purposes like installing an irrigation system, purchasing a greenhouse, etc.
Every project that applies is automatically awarded a free SeedMoney Garden Planner grant — a $50 value — whether or not you raise a dollar.
Grants of typically $5000 to $30,000 for programs that provide meals through food banks and pantries; deliver food and water during national disasters; support veterans, military families, and first responders; offer training and nutrition education for Special Olympics athletes; and equip young people with career and life skills. Applicants must be within a 30-mile radius of more than 200 retail stores, distribution centers, and service centers (including those in VA).
Application Deadlines: Friday, December 18, 2026
Review Process: Takes approximately 12 weeks from the due date. All organizations will be informed of their status once a decision has been made by the Foundation Board of Trustees.
Grants range from $500 to $3000 and are specifically for book purchases; they cannot be used for administrative or operational purposes. Provides grants for purchasing children's fiction or non-fiction books. Hardcopy application only.
Application Closes: All applications must be postmarked by August 15
Grants range from $7,500 to $32,500 towards addressing the root causes of poverty. Funding focuses on improving access to food, stable housing, education, workforce development, and support for veterans and their families. One application per organization per calendar year.
Application Deadline: January 15, May 15, September 15
Grants from $250 to $5000 awarded to address specific community needs. Projects must align with focus areas of Creating Opportunity, Advancing Sustainability, Strengthening Community, and/or Centering Racial Equity. Applicants must be within the service area of a Walmart store, Sam's Club, or distribution center.
Up to $50,000 for shovel-ready, physical builds or improvements that can be completed within 12 months of receiving grant funds. For communities with a population of 50,000 or less.
Application Open: Runs on a quarterly basis; portal closes on the last day of each quarter and reopens on the first of the month of the new quarter
Notification: Within 60 days after entries have closed for the quarter
Grants of $10,000 to $250,000 are provided for capital projects that will have an ongoing impact, such as constructing new facilities, acquiring land, or expanding existing structures; upgrading or improving current buildings and/or grounds; and purchasing significant and long-lasting equipment, e.g., new computers or other technology. Only 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations are eligible.
Application Open: Runs twice per year -- Spring: Open from November 1 - February 1 // Fall: Open from June 1 - September 1
Notification: Within six (6) weeks after the conclusion of each application period
Community Heart & Soul is a community development process that engages residents in identifying what matters most to the community and how to build lasting change. Activities and objectives are determined by communities, and projects have included volunteerism, leadership, business development, healthcare access, social programs, transportation, broadband, and emergency preparedness, among others. Grants are $10,000 but require a $10,000 cash match from the participating municipality or partnering organization.
Grants are typically $500 - $2,500 for staff and student-led projects in public schools and libraries. The funded projects are designed to spark student interest in technology-based careers such as computer science, computer engineering, information technology, programming, cybersecurity, robotics, and related areas.
In some cases, these project donations may include a few smaller items like a Raspberry Pi microcomputer or a robotics kit or entire Maker Spaces equipped with things like circuit development kits, 3-D printers, robotics kits, and classroom sets of individual microcomputers to build upon. Other projects include early-stage robotics classes, teams, and clubs interested in project-based learning that culminates in competitive events such as FIRST competitions.
"The Courage Project is a bold initiative honoring everyday acts of bravery -- the quiet, often unseen acts of heroism that reflect the best of the American spirit and strengthen democracy at the community level.
Application Open: Rolling application process
Awards Range: From $10,000 to $50,000
BOOKS
titles
Click on the image to learn more about each title, and then use your local library to request it from the Library of Virginia.
This newsletter is brought to you by the Library Development division of the Library of Virginia. Funding for this is provided through the Virginia General Assembly and the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS).
