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LSTA Grant Update

LSTA Grant Update
LSTA Grant Update: Historic Preservation Enthusiasts Rejoice!
September 23rd, 2009 | Permalink | Comment?

Among Illinois counties, Champaign County possesses unusually rich historical documentation, hosting a number of institutions dedicated to the collection and preservation of our community’s historical record. This fall, we are fortunate to see the release of a grant-funded project that serves as the first phase of a portal to digital content about our county, drawn from a variety of repositories in our community, called Historic Champaign County: Neighborhoods and Homes.

Developed by staff at the Champaign County Historical Archives at The Urbana Free Library, and hosted at the Illinois Digital Archives, the collection should be of great interest to historic preservation enthusiasts and architectural historians, but also makes available primary source material to a broad audience of students, genealogists, historians, and others interested in the history of east central Illinois.

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LSTA Grant Update
LSTA Grant Updates: September 10, 2009
September 10th, 2009 | Permalink | Comment?
Here are a few more LSTA grant updates to inspire you in your library:
- Bridgeview Library Becomes a full SWAN Member: Rose Taylor, Bridgeview Public Library. Bridgeview Public Library received a $25,000 LSTA grant in order to join SWAN (System Wide Area Network) as a full member. Patrons gain access to information through local, state, regional, international electronic networks. The grant gave patrons of the Bridgeview Public Library access to more than 30 databases and materials in multiple formats from all types of libraries. Bridgeview is a small blue-collar community,16 miles southwest of Chicago with a population of 14,933. On a daily bases the library serves 450-500 patrons of diverse ethnicities, including Arabic, Polish, Slovak and Spanish speaking patrons.
- Collaborative Project between UIC and the Puerto Rican Cultural Center: Peggy Glowacki, University of Illinois at Chicago, University Library. Thanks to a generous Library Services & Technology Act grant awarded by the Illinois State Library, the Special Collections Department of the University of Illinois at Chicago recently completed a collaborative project with the Puerto Rican Cultural Center of Chicago and the Graduate School of Information Science at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Over 1000 images from the Puerto Rican Cultural Center in Chicago, Illinois are now online. The images illustrate the rich history of the Juan Antonio Corretjer Puerto Rican Cultural Center and the vibrant neighborhood that it serves.
- Enhancement of Huntley Library Technology: Rob Aavang and Elizabeth Steffensen, Huntley Area Public Library District. The Huntley Area Public Library District in Huntley, IL was awarded an LSTA FY09 In Sync with Technology grant in the amount of $45,000. Thanks to this funding the library was able to update its public computer network by replacing outdated computer equipment and adding new equipment including a server, color printer, twenty PCs, thirty monitors, a LCD projector, four Early Literacy Stations, and four laptops.
- Increased Access to ILL via LHRs in OCLC: Mary Burkee, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In an effort to enhance user services and provide greater access to our collections the library is currently attempting to address the backlog of serial titles without holdings or with inaccurate holdings currently in the UIUC catalog. These titles are housed in various locations throughout the library. Processing these serials is slow and time consuming due to the complexity of the records and the lack of adequate serials cataloging resources. With LSTA funding, we were able to hire a cataloger to work exclusively with this material and add a significant number local holdings records into our online catalog to the benefit of all of our patrons searching for available serials. By entering local holdings records, patrons can enjoy more accurate and faster turnaround for journal articles requested through ILL. Other potential benefits of this project include an increased interlibrary loan fill rate for patrons requesting journal articles from UIUC, increased onsite access for in person patrons at UIUC, and increased patron access overall.
LSTA Grant Update
LSTA Grant Updates: August 6, 2009
August 6th, 2009 | Permalink | Comment?
Here are more of the LSTA grant updates that are posted on the LSTA Grant page. Check out what some of your colleagues have done with their LSTA funds.
- Elmwood Park High School – In Synch with Technology Grant: Jeane Fillipitch, Elmwood Park High School. Thanks to this funding the library was able to add 41 laptop computers, 4 laser printers, and an LCD projector to the high school library. Entitled “Moving Elmwood Park High School Library’s Reference Collection into the 21st Century: Transitioning from Print to Online Resources”, the laptops have made it much easier for our students to access our growing collection of online subscription database resources by improving our student-to-computer ratio in the library from approximately 20:1 to 13:1. We also partnered with the Elmwood Park Public Library to streamline the process by which students can obtain a public library card, thereby making it possible for students to apply for and receive a new card at school. Throughout the school year we collaborated on a number of activities with the purpose of educating students and the community at large about the online database resources available to them, in addition to those through the school, with an Elmwood Park Public Library card.
- PePod: Pekin Programs on Demand: Alissa Williams, Pekin Public Library. PePod stands for Pekin Programs on Demand and makes library programs available to users anytime they wanted via podcasts. The library also started Storytime Anytime, which makes a video of storytime available on demand for parents and children. The Pekin Public Library partnered with the Pekin Area Chamber of Commerce on the project, and the chamber recorded its monthly events, which the library uploaded to its website. PePod is also available via subscription in iTunes. Currently, the library has eight podcasts available, and usually one program a month is suitable for recording. All of the presenters have allowed their programs to be recorded and several were quite excited about the opportunity.
- Using Historical Aerial Photos to to Map Palimpsest Landscapes in Illinois:Deette Lund and Don Luman, Illinois State Geological Survey. The dictionary defines ‘palimpsest’ as a writing material, such as an ancient wax tablet, repeatedly used after earlier writing has been erased. The analogy is similar to the geologic study of physical landscapes, which through the passage of time have become altered or eliminated by natural and human factors. Scientists at the Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS) are routinely using historical aerial photographs acquired over Illinois during the 1930s and 1940s to reconstruct past landscapes now hidden due to changes in agricultural practices (nearly three-fourths of the state’s surface area is comprised of agricultural lands), urban encroachment, or modified by natural processes such as stream erosion. These oldest statewide aerial photographs, consisting of nearly 35,000 individual frames, are being preserved through LSTA Digital Imaging and other grants. Public access and free download of the digitized aerial photographs is available on the ISGS website at ISGS website.
- Linking Individuals in a Virtual Environment @ the Library Media Center: Ann Marie Jinkins, Rochelle Township High School. “Linking Individuals in a Virtual Environment @ the Library-Media Center,” or “L.ī.V.E. @ the LMC,” has brought students together in online book clubs at Rochelle Township High School, extending the existing reading communities that meet monthly after school. The LSTA In Synch with Technology Grant of $9,333 established a wireless network in the LMC and funded 18 student-use computers to improve online access for students during their study halls. The number of student-use computers in the LMC has more than doubled with this LSTA-funded project. Students no longer have to wait in line for computer access, so the “homework only” policy has been eliminated. Students use six of the new PCs at stand-up stations for access to online catalogs and the book discussion blogs. The remaining two PCs and 10 laptops are used for homework and access to book discussion blogs. These 12 machines run on the wireless network in areas of the library that would be difficult and expensive to cable traditionally.
LSTA Grant Update
FY09 LSTA Grant Updates: July 31, 2009
July 31st, 2009 | Permalink | Comment?
Keep checking out the LSTA grant updates that are posted on the LSTA Grant page. Here is a recent sample of what some of your Illinois colleagues have done with their LSTA grant funds.
- PictureIt! Global Gallery: Pat Whisler, Kewanee Public Library District. Kewanee Public Library District was awarded an LSTA FY09 Digital Imaging grant in the amount of $20,300.00. Funding for this grant was awarded by the Illinois State Library (ISL), a Department of the Office of the Secretary of State, using funds provided by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), under the federal Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). Thanks to this funding the library was able to digitize 162 volumes of both Kewanee and Wethersfield high schools entire collections of yearbooks dated from 1904 up to 2008. Due to grant restrictions each year after 2002 will be uploaded and added one at a time. The “PictureIt! Global Gallery” digital imaging grant has created worldwide access to a collection that was once available only to library visitors. The library is also entering this historical part of its community’s heritage into the Illinois Digital Archives (IDA).
- Where Progress Meets the Prairie: Beth Fuchs, Kitchell Memorial Library. LSTA Grant 2009 received by Kitchell Memorial Library to join the Local Library System Automation Program using the shared SirsiDynix Horizon system, provides access to a full-featured, state-of-the-art library automation system
- Art and Architecture in Illinois Libraries: Allen Lanham, Booth Library, Eastern Illinois University. Artists and architects have long used the library as a pulpit from which to draw citizens’ attention to the issues and styles of the day or to enrich understanding of the local landscape and customs. The LSTA grant for Art and Architecture in Illinois Libraries allowed us to focus research on the major role our libraries play as cultural centers for Illinois communities.
- Community Copy and Digitization Center: Phyllis Von Arb, Colona Public Library. An LSTA grant enabled the Colona Public Library to create a Community Copy and Digitization Center, providing color copying and printing, scanning, faxing, image manipulation, and OCR conversion to its patrons and community groups.
- Educating the Entrepeneur: From Dreaming to Doing using E-Commerce: Linda Means, Hoopeston Public Library. The In Sync With Technology grant provided training on starting a small business, developing a business plan,and establishing a web-based business. In addition, the grant provided tools and technology to aid the entrepreneur and other patrons
- Gaming to Get Fit: Sue Elder, Fondulac Public Library District. You may be wondering, how do you entice junior high and high school students to come to the library for fitness programs? The answer is through the use of Wii and Playstation3. With this grant the library was able to purchase flat screen TVs, Wiis, Playstation3s and fitness games.
- Public Access Laptops: Tamarah Grah, Chester Public Library. The Chester Public Library has purchased ten laptop computers and a portable storage cart for them. The laptops have been used for basic computer skills classes, tutoring, adult and youth informational programs and public access workstations. All ten computers are identical and have Wi-Fi accessibility. The locked portable storage cart enables the library staff to safely use the equipment on both levels of the building. The entire grant project has been a success, and the Chester Public Library staff and patrons are thrilled to have the new equipment.
- Video Games = Fun + Learning: Maggie Hommel, Park Ridge Public Library. The Park Ridge Public Library set out to show that video games could not only be fun, but also promote learning and literacy. Activities ranged from a community-wide Gaming and Learning Expo to gaming equipment checkouts for local organizations.
LSTA Grant Update
FY09 LSTA Grant Update: July 20, 2009
July 20th, 2009 | Permalink | Comment?
Updates continue to come in from LSTA grant recipients from 2009 and are posted on the LSTA Grant page. Here is yet another sampling of what some of your Illinois colleagues have done with their LSTA grant funds.
- Accessibility to Information for All: Merna Youngblood and Charlotte Bruce, Frontier Community College and Olney Central College. Frontier Community College (FCC) partnering with Olney Central College (OCC), both members of the Illinois Eastern Community Colleges (IECC) received a Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant for $40,000. The money was split evenly between the two colleges. Prior to receiving the grant library directors Charlotte Bruce and Merna Youngblood collaborated with community members to obtain information regarding services needed to access information, see materials, and hear a program.
- Destination Automation Comes to Rick Warren Library: Mary Ann Horstman, Rick Warren Memorial Public Library. Rick Warren Memorial Public Library located in Elkville, Illinois, is in the process of automation. Automation was made possible by a LSTA grant in the amount of $10,488 and local matching funds of $10,453. Destination Automation began in October 2008, and will end August 15, 2009, with an Open House at the library to celebrate the completion of Destination Automation.
- In Sync with Planet Earth, Maria Zawacki, Johnsburg Public Library. With this In Sync with Technology grant, twenty new energy-efficient computers were purchased. Patrons were also encouraged to maintain an environmentally-friendly lifestyle through a variety of library activities, displays, and programs.
- LSTA: Expanding our World, Beth Harp-Huffines, Roodhouse Public Library. Roodhouse Public Library was granted funding thru the LSTA Grant this year to allow their Library to join GateNet. Librarian Beth Huffines, Asst. Librarian Carole Wells along with help from many others spent many hours cataloging the books in their collections. It began with the weeding! We had to look at each book and decide whether we wanted to keep it or discard it, then if it made the cut it was cataloged. Anyone who has done this before knows what a chore it can be! Roodhouse felt that it needed to join the GateNet Community to bring the library up to the standards of most other libraries in the system. It will mean better record keeping for Roodhouse and access to a bigger selection of sources for the patrons.
- Mac and Windy Get Married: Bringing Library Technology Instruction into the 21st Century, Joanna Kluever, Julia Hull District Library. The purpose of Mac & Windy Get Married was to educate older adults and senior citizens about current trends in computer technologies, including software programs and laptop hardware. The library recognized a need in the community for such training among the grant target audience: of the library’s total cardholders, approximately one-third are over the age of 40, and 54 percent of cardholders were over the age of 50, qualifying them as Senior Citizens, according to the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP). To demonstrate the need within this demographic of users, a National Public Radio (NPR) survey reported a year ago that Americans over the age of 60 are only half as likely to have ever used a computer as younger people.” The library’s rural location compounds such statistics: most of the library’s Seniors had few opportunities for technology training within and around the library district prior to the library receiving this grant.
- Neoga Jr-Sr High School Participates in Veteran’s History Project, Vicky Ludwig, Neoga Jr-Sr High School. Students at Neoga Jr-Sr High School got a rare opportunity this past school year. They were involved in a video interview project that brought veterans and students together. Thanks to funding from an LSTA grant, Lights, Camera, Veterans!, librarian Vicky Ludwig was able to purchase a portable wireless laptop lab, a video camera, and editing software for students to use to complete the project. A 40” LCD TV and cart was also purchased for showing the completed videos to students.
- PCs and People, Donella Odum, The Sallie Logan Public Library in Murphysboro was awarded an LSTA grant to upgrade and enhance library services through technology. The project, PCs & People, enabled the Library to replace 5 older computers with faster machines and larger monitors, purchase a laptop and LCD projector. The library has 4 computers that have access to the Internet and a stand alone PC for Office applications. The library also has 2 computers for accessing the shared library catalog. The Library is offering classes for Murphysboro residents who have never used a computer or wish to learn more about searching the Internet. The library has set up a training area using the computers replaced by new equipment in the meeting room. Training classes are in a private setting and learners get one on one instruction.
- Resource Sharing for Carmi Students, Robbin Huggins, Carmi-White County Unit District #5 is a K-12 school district with a current enrollment of approximately 1400 students. Carmi-White County Unit District #5 was awarded an $8540 LSTA Resource Sharing grant through the Illinois State Library. The FY 2009 LSTA project has allowed Carmi-White County Unit District #5 libraries to become full SILNET members.
- Root for Your Ancestors @ Your Library, Linda Summers, Nashville Public Library and Washington County Historical Society. The Nashville Public Library in Nashville, Illinois partnered with the Washington County Historical Society to offer a series of history and genealogy programs called “Root for Your Ancestors @ Your Library.” The library applied for a Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant and was awarded a grant of $14,813 in October 2008. The target audience for this grant included adults, ages 45 and over, although some of the programs attracted people of all ages. The historical society did not have a meeting space large enough for their membership to hold regular programs. However, the public library was able to provide that space and had an established tradition of offering educational, informational, and recreational programs to the public. The Nashville Public Library hoped through this grant to acquaint people with the technology and resources available to them at the library while working with the historical society to encourage people’s interests in genealogy and local history.
- Will County: Preserving History’s Heritage, Tina Beaird, Plainfield Public Library;Shorewood-Troy Public Library. The Will County: Preserving History’s Heritage grant paid to clean, digitize and preserve Will County atlases for 1873 and 1909, Plainfield photographs, Shorewood newspapers and three Will County Recorder of Deeds property indexes from 1836-1889.
LSTA Grant Update
FY09 LSTA Grant Update: July 7, 2009
July 7th, 2009 | Permalink | Comment?
LSTA grant recipients from 2009 are now beginning to post their updates to the WJIL site on the LSTA Grant page. Here is another sampling of what some of your Illinois colleagues have done with their LSTA grant funds.
- BCHS Access Project: Marla Harp, Benton Consolidated High School. This In Sync with Technology grant has provided students access to technology equipment, specifically 20 new computers, 2 printers, 2 scanners, and a student presentation station which includes a projector, SMART Board and laptop with wireless Internet access in the BCHS media center.
- Daily Life Along the Railroads: Ginger Frere, The Newberry Library. With funding from a FY2009 LSTA grant, the Newberry Library has digitized photographs commissioned by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad in the 1940’s to tell their story through striking images of trains, stations, travelers and workers.
- Linking Carrier Mills to the World of Information, Louis Shaw, Carrier Mills-Stonefort Public Library District. This FY 2009 LSTA project is bringing the Carrier Mills-Stonefort Public Library District into the SILNET database maintained by the Shawnee Library System
- Preserving Nursing History: Providing Digital Access, Michelle Quinones, Graham Hospital School of Nursing. Marking the 100th anniversary of the Graham Hospital School of Nursing, this digital imaging project includes two distinct components. Seventy eight oral history interviews of Graham graduates were transcribed, edited, cataloged and uploaded to the Digital Past website, along with the addition of 480 digital images of documents and photographs from the School’s historical collection. The interviews and items selected for inclusion were organized by decade so that examples were collected from across the century.
LSTA Grant Update
FY09 LSTA Grant Updates: June 19, 2009
June 19th, 2009 | Permalink | Comment?
LSTA grant recipients from 2009 are now beginning to post their updates to the WJIL site on the LSTA Grant page. Here is another sampling of what some of your Illinois colleagues have done with their LSTA grant funds.
- A Village Grows: 50 Years of Life in Elmwood Park: Russel Parker, Elmwood Park Public Library. The Elmwood Park Public Library features 408 digitized photos of the early years of life in the Village of Elmwood Park. These images offer views of early area pioneers, businesses, government officials, street scenes and other aspects of the Village.
- BRRRRRR Blog: Deborah Bailey, Rockford Public Schools District #205. Because Rockford Public Schools District #205 restricts most aspects of Web 2.0, we had to provide a way to help our students understand a small piece of social networking. We chose a moderated blog.Books =Reviews, Reflections, Responses & Reactions, Rebuttals, Recommendations.This blog is our district’s first foray into web 2.0 thinking. It provided a technological venue for our elementary students to increase their appreciation of books and reading as well as improve their writing skills.
- Centurions Quest for Knowledge, Tracy Lance, Century CUSD #100 Libraries. The Centurions Quest for Knowledge program was designed to introduce students in 4th – 8th grades to better research skills using WebQuests, scavenger hunts and daily “Quests”.
- Progressive Links, Molly Scanlan, O’Fallon Public Library. Self checkout machines, a new state of the art drupal website, laptop computers, and presentation of a digital storytime workshop are some ways this grant was used to update technology at the O’Fallon Public Library.
- Sharing our Past: Digitally Archiving the History of USF, Linnea Knapp, University of St. Francis. “Sharing Our Past: Digitally Archiving the History of the University of St. Francis” is a project that will create an online collection of digitized photographs, brochures, newspapers, posters, and other materials related to the history of the University of St. Francis, the City of Joliet, and Will County.
LSTA Grant Update
Tip for Posting your LSTA Grant Update
June 16th, 2009 | Permalink | Comment?

Many of you will be posting your FY09 LSTA Grant Update in the next 2 months on the WJIL LSTA page. We encourage you to include photos and graphics as a part of your report. However, to avoid a problem with the size of your file, if you insert images, please resize those images with an image editing program to reduce the overall file size prior to inserting them in Word. Another option is to save the Word document as a PDF which will compress the images as the PDF is generated. Total file size for documents can not exceed 3M.
LSTA Grant Update
FY09 LSTA Grant Updates: June 8, 2009
June 8th, 2009 | Permalink | Comment?
LSTA grant recipients from 2009 are now beginning to post their updates to the WJIL site on the LSTA Grant page. Here is another sampling of what some of your Illinois colleagues have done with their LSTA grant funds.

Click on the links to download the full updates and look for additional grant updates in upcoming months. Use the link to the person who posted the grant update to connect to their WJIL profile and add them as a friend on the site.
- Brownstown Junior/Senior High School GreEnergy Grant : Mary Nelle Douglas, Brownstown Junior/Senior High School. Brownstown Jr.Sr. High School Library received $9596.00 to go green with a
  LSTA Grant titled GreEnergy. We replaced ten energy inefficient computers and one color laser printer. Eighth grade students, science and language arts teachers, Sefton Home Extension, and the school librarian teamed up to study and investigate past and current home and school energy use. The final product of their research was a children’s book which they wrote, illustrated, and presented to the kindergarten classes.
- If you Blog It They Will Come: Susan Bohn, Hononegah High School Library. This LSTA project for the Hononegah High School Library used technology to promote reading for pleasure and to encourage more male involvement in the library.
- Making a Difference with Technology: Cathy D Sherwood, Martinsville Elementary and High School Libraries. This project provided students and staff with computers, interactive white boards, and multimedia projectors to enable them to prepare and present multimedia projects.
- PHS Library–The Place to Meet!: Sarah Hill, Paris High School. PHS Library—the Place to Meet! provides a state-of-the-art technology center in the library to attract extracurricular student groups to meet in the library. By having an easy-to-use projection center and interactive whiteboard, student groups like Student Council and CAMA (Coalition Against Methamphetamine Abuse) will be able to hold weekly meetings in the library and the library will continue to be seen as the center of the school—socially, academically, and philanthropically.
- Proviso Township in War and Peace: The Digitization of the Herald, 1941-1945: Melrose Park Library. The goal of this grant is to digitize the library’s editions of the local newspaper from the World War II years. By doing so, the library will be preserving this valuable historical record while providing online access for its target audience: students, historians, and past and present residents of Proviso Township. The digitally preserved newspaper will be placed on the Illinois Digital Archives. The library will digitize these years because the newspapers illustrate how World War II affected both the local population and industry.
- Resource Sharing Project: Alayne Davies-Smith, Hinchcliffe School. This resource sharing project allows Hinchcliffe School, a K-5 facility, part of the O’Fallon Illinois School District 90 to join GateNet, the ILS consortia database administered by the Lewis & Clark Library System. All of the schools’ approx. 13,000 items will be added to the database thereby expanding resources for all of the libraries in the Lewis & Clark Library System. Students will be able to acquire material not owned by Hinchcliffe for research use. Hinchcliffe faculty will be able to request material from school or home to supplement curricular materials that will broaden instruction in the classroom.
LSTA Grant Update
FY09 LSTA Grant Updates: May 11, 2009
May 12th, 2009 | Permalink | Comment?
LSTA grant recipients from 2009 are now beginning to post their updates to the WJIL site on the LSTA Grant page. Here is just a sampling of what some of your Illinois colleagues have done with their LSTA grant funds. Click on the links to download the full updates and look for a weekly list of LSTA grant updates in upcoming months.
- Fostering Information Fluency Through Technology: Catherine Oedewaldt, Pleasant Plains High School, This In Sync with Technology Grant Program was designed to equip the students and staff of Pleasant Plains High School with technology to facilitate information fluency instruction
- In Sync with Active Learning: Kathy Wickline, Unity Junior High School Library, This grant provided Unity Junior High School Library with the necessary technology to energize UJHS students to improve their skills in the areas of reading, writing, math, and science. The use of laptops and a projection system allowed for all students to actively participate and delve into developing new skills as well as furthering existing aptitudes.
- Read, Blog, Grow: Promoting Book Genre Variety: Karen Zuber, St. Joseph Library, Encourage students to read genre new to them and to share their books with classmates on their blog.
- Think Outside the Box: Jennifer Henderson/ Lincolnwood Jr. Sr. High School/ Panhandle CUSD#2, Think Outside the Box expands library services by providing technology presentation tools (interactive white boards, laptop computers, projectors and carts) to empower students and faculty with information literacy skills.

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LSTA Grant Update

LSTA Grant Update

LSTA Grant Update: Historic Preservation Enthusiasts Rejoice!

LSTA Grant Update

LSTA Grant Updates: September 10, 2009

LSTA Grant Update

LSTA Grant Updates: August 6, 2009

LSTA Grant Update

FY09 LSTA Grant Updates: July 31, 2009

LSTA Grant Update

FY09 LSTA Grant Update: July 20, 2009

LSTA Grant Update

FY09 LSTA Grant Update: July 7, 2009

LSTA Grant Update

FY09 LSTA Grant Updates: June 19, 2009

LSTA Grant Update

Tip for Posting your LSTA Grant Update

LSTA Grant Update

FY09 LSTA Grant Updates: June 8, 2009

LSTA Grant Update

FY09 LSTA Grant Updates: May 11, 2009