1.Use of Funds from the North Carolina Humanities Council

North Carolina Humanities Council ●320 East 9th Street, Suite 414Charlotte, NC 28202●Phone:(704) 687-1520●Fax:(704) 687-1550
© The North Carolina Humanities Council is a statewide nonprofit and affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
LT-4026 Project Director Guidelines 113010 ● ●

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Let’s Talk About It

Project Director Guidelines

Fiscal Responsibilities

1.Use of Funds from the North Carolina Humanities Council

The North Carolina Humanities Council grant funds will be used to provide stipends for the scholars. The stipends will total $1,000, based on $200 per scholar for five programs. The grant funds cannot be used for any other purpose.

1. Matching with In-Kind Donations or Cash Contributions

North Carolina Humanities Council grant funds must be matched by in-kind and/or cash contributions at least equal to the amount of North Carolina Humanities Council funds requested.

Examples of in-kind contributions are:

• the value of time for persons involved in planning or administering the project
• the rental value of a donated meeting room or auditorium
• the value of publicity donated by local outlets
• the value of refreshments

Examples of cash contributions are:

• speaker’s travel, meals, and lodging

Registration

Start your registration as soon as you begin your publicity, providing each person with a copy of the first book(s) to be read and with information about lecture dates, time, and location. A call or postcard several days before the first session will often result in a higher turnout, and in fact, reminders before each session are a good idea. People seem to have more of a commitment to the program if they are made to feel personally important to its success.

You might not want to limit registration to the number of books you have, since there is often attrition in attendance, and the group is usually smaller by the last session. Take names of people who want to attend even if you have run out of books to give them. Urge them to come to the sessions anyway–

some of your regular participants might drop out and spaces might open up.

Book Distribution

Book distribution and retrieval is another responsibility of the local program director. We have found that book distribution works better if one person is in charge of it and if it is not handled through the library’s regular checkout procedure. This job might be handled by the local program director or delegated to a staff member or one of the participants. It is easier to keep track of the copies if they are picked up and turned in at the actual program sessions, but that is up to the discretion of the program director.

The Humanities Council program coordinator will send the schedule of the “Let’s Talk About It” programs to the State Library, which will serve as the distribution center. They will send you the books and inform you where you will return them. Most of the time you will return them to the State Library, but in some cases you will send them to the next participating library. If two libraries are offering the same series, it might be necessary that you send the books after each session, but you will be informed of that.

PLEASE RETURN BOOKS IN A TIMELY FASHION.

Keep track of the copies distributed by keeping an index card for each book, showing the title, copy number, and the borrower’s full name, address, and phone number. If a copy is not returned, please follow up with a personal phone call to the borrower. Please remember that the books you are using for your program will be used again by other libraries, so urge your participants to take good care of them.

Publicity

A major responsibility of the local program director is the promotion and publicizing of the program in the community. Start early. You should begin “spreading the word” approximately one month before the start of the program -- certainly no later. We have found that multiple approaches to publicity work best, including newspaper articles, public announcements, letters to the schools and community organizations, and especially individual “word of mouth” communications. You will get better results if you take the initiative and personally invite your regular patrons and other individuals to participate in the program. The Humanities Council will provide copies of the “Let’s Talk About It”poster for your use. Display a copy of the poster prominently in the room where your program takes place. Additional copies are available upon request.

Remember to save copies of all publicity and send them to the program coordinator. Also, remember to include in all your publicity the following statement:

Let’s Talk About It is made possible by a grant from the North Carolina Humanities Council,

a statewide nonprofit and affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, in partnership

with the North CarolinaCenter for the Book, a program of the State Library of North Carolina.

Scholars

Your scholars should be contacted as soon as your program has been funded. They should be sent a memorandum of understanding (see sample included); travel expense information (see sample included); and if possible, a profile of the audience they will address, including age level, education, sex, social, and economic background. Estimate the size of the audience so the scholars can better relate their expertise to this particular audience. Please ask for information on the scholar’s background to supplement the information you receive so that you are able to give your audience an informative introduction on the night of the program.

Please make overnight arrangements for the scholars when necessary and provide them with directions and a map to the library. Give the scholar a firm time frame, including the overall format of the evening.

Dining with the scholar before the lecture is optional, of course, but usually is appreciated.

Scholars should send you their discussion questions well in advance of their talk, so they can be distributed to the discussion leaders before they meet on the evening of the program.

General Organization of the Program

Set up chairs audience-style or in a circle for lecture and wrap-up question and answer period. If possible, arrange additional chairs in small groups for discussion session, preferably in separate rooms or areas of the library. Set up table for sign-in, name tags, logging of teacher renewal credits, and distribution/collection of books. An optional touch is to serve refreshments between the lecture and discussion periods.

Meet with scholar and discussion leaders about thirty minutes before the scheduled time of the program. Be sure to confirm with the scholar whether your group will stay together or break into small groups for discussion time.

Greet the participants as they arrive and distribute series information, name tags, books for next program, etc.

Call the session to order, using the statement in the box above before introducing the scholar.Start the program on time.The project director or another designated staff member should be in the room for the entire length of the program, to assist the scholar or control any unexpected audience or building issues.

After the scholar’s presentation (30-40 minutes), allow time for a ten minute break (refreshments optional) then introduce discussion leaders for the small group discussion, if using this format (30-45 minutes).

If breaking into small groups for discussion, reconvene the large group for the closing discussion with the scholar and wrap-up. Opening up discussion for questions and answers usually works well.Thank everyone (including scholar) and announce the next program.

Collect and distribute books.

Discussion Leaders

If there are a large number of participants in the program, you will want to break into small discussion groups for the participant discussion portion of the program. In this case, it is important that the local program director select a sufficient number of discussion leaders so that discussion groups do not have more than ten to twelve participants. The most loquacious participants do not necessarily make the best discussion leaders.

Prospective discussion leaders should receive a personal description of and an invitation to help with the program and should be made to feel necessary and important in all of your communications with them. Let them know clearly what their responsibilities will be. Every discussion leader should receive Tips for Discussion Leaders, which is enclosed in this packet.

Before each program, make sure discussion leaders have received copies of the scholar’s questions about a week before the program. Arrange to have them meet with the visiting scholar thirty minutes before the scheduled talk. This will give them an opportunity to go over the questions with the scholar and feel comfortable with the format of the program.

The wrap-up period after the discussion can be as important as the discussion itself. Libraries have had success with a variety of approaches, including (1) having the discussion leader or an assigned “reporter” from the group summarize or provide highlights of the group’s discussion; (2) having the scholar visit each group during the discussion and provide an overall summary at the end. Both have worked well, but the particular approach to be used should be agreed upon by the scholar and discussion leaders when they meet prior to the program.

TIPS FOR DISCUSSION LEADERS

1. Set a non-evaluative and non-critical climate, reducing the tendency of members to be afraid to say what they really mean.

2. Listen attentively to what each group member has to say. Attempt to listen to the feelings as well as the ideas of the members. Encourage others to listen to what is being said without interruption.

3. Try to set aside your own evaluations of ideas offered by the members and avoid judging any comment as irrelevant or off the subject.

4. Avoid preaching, teaching, or moralizing.

5. When necessary, restate, in your own words, what you have heard, and then give a person a chance to indicate whether he or she has been understood.

6. If a member seems to dominate the group to the exclusion of others who wish to speak, gently shift gears by thanking that member for his comment and inviting the comments of others, i.e., “That is an interesting point you’ve raised -- I wonder what other members of the group think about it.”

7. Avoid pushing people into participation before they feel comfortable. Allow an opportunity for everyone to talk, but convey the idea that it is safe for members to refrain from talking.

8. Encourage members to address their remarks to each other rather than the leader.

9. Create a comfortable and informal atmosphere.

SAMPLE MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN HOST LIBRARY AND SCHOLAR

This is an agreement between ______(scholar) and______(library).

It shall be understood that the duties and responsibilities of the participating scholar shall include the following:

1. Becoming familiar with the theme, concept, and overall series approach to the material

1. Preparing and delivering an approximately thirty- to forty-minute presentation on the material to be discussed.

1. Preparing several opening discussion questions to be used as a basis for participant discussion; questions will be sent to project director at least one week before the program.

1. Meeting with program director and discussion leaders at least one-half hour before the program to review the discussion questions and program agenda. (Be sure to confirm with scholar whether discussion will take place in one large group or small group break-out.)

1. If small groups are used,circulating among the groups during the discussion time to answer questions and listening to what is said.If requested, briefly highlighting before the large group the important ideas expressed in small-group discussions.

If discussion takes place in one large group, facilitating open discussion among participants.

1. If requested, briefly highlighting and summarizing before the large group the important ideas expressed in small group discussions.

1. Completing an evaluation form for the program.

Be it resolved that ______(scholar) shall be paid an honorarium of $200 for the session on ______(name of book) scheduled for ______(date) and reimbursed for mileage and meal.

______

Program Director “Let’s Talk About It” Scholar

______

Date Date

Please sign and date both copies and return one copy to ______(program director) at ______(address)on or before ______(date).

The program director should retain this copy.

SAMPLE REQUEST FOR REIMBURSEMENT

LT-4026 Project Director Guidelines