The SALS Board of Trustees recognizes libraries in our region must keep up with change, incorporate new ideas and adapt both technology & space in order to provide and expand upon crucial library services.  For this reason, the SALS Board of Trustees initiated a competitive grant program to help member libraries continue to innovate and better serve their communities.

Congratulations to the Recipients of our 2015 Technology Grants:

Town of Ballston Community Library: Digital Literacy for Seniors project
Ballston Spa Public Library: Digital Literacy for Seniors project
Crandall Public Library: Art & New Technology project
Galway Public Library: STEAM Makerspace project
Mechanicville District Public Library: Makerspace & Digital Literacy project

Congratulations to the Recipients of our 2015 Construction Grants:

Town of Ballston Community Library: Safety/Surveillance Cameras
Bolton Free Library: Handicapped Accessibility & Entryway improvements
Galway Public Library: Handicapped Accessibility improvements
Hadley-Luzerne Public Library: Illuminated Sign & Book Drop Box addition
The Richards Library: Handicapped Accessibility improvements
Waterford Public Library: Reconfiguration & Re-purposing project

For a list of previous winners, click here.

Nominations for the Library Program of the Year Awards are due on March 27^th.  A program may be nominated by the library, by a community member, or by a Trustee.  The winners will be honored at the SALS 57^th Annual meeting on May 18^th, 2015.  Two awards will be given.  One program per library will be considered.  The SALS Library Services Committee is responsible for the selection of the award recipients.
Eligibility Requirements:

• Program must have been initiated during the 2014 calendar year.
• Any program—adult, outreach, young adult, children, community services or public relations is eligible.
• Selection is based on programs that have demonstrated creativity and innovation, demonstrated community partnerships, enhanced services to the community, or reached a previously unserved constituency.
• Program must have pursued excellence in library services and sought to have the library make a difference in the community.

The program being nominated should be described on library letterhead and accompanied by any supporting materials.  Nominations by e-mail or fax will not be accepted.  The nomination must be received at SALS on March 27^th before 4:30 PM, Attention: Sara Dallas.

Last year’s winners included:  Stony Creek Free Library for their Joe McChesney Showcase and Clifton Park-Halfmoon Public Library for their program The Holocaust Revisited: A Retrospective Review.
This year’s winners will be announced at the April 21^st, 2015 SALS Board Meeting.  Awards consist of a framed certificate honoring the library’s achievements and a financial award to the library.  In the event that a representative from an award-winning library is not present at the Annual Meeting, the certificate will be given to the library’s Board President for presentation at the library’s next Board Meeting.