Mineola funds library director's grant-writing class

The Mineola Village board unanimously decided last week to fund a local library director's participation in a grant-writing class.

“I’m presented with various proposals, and I don’t have a great deal of background in grant writing,” said Charles Sleefe, director of Mineola Memorial Library.

His approved request includes tuition — less than $500 — and a night at a hotel in Mahwah, N.J., where the two-day class will be held starting Sept. 6.

“My attendance benefits the residents of Mineola,” he said, adding that he hopes to bring more cultural shows to the library, such as a traveling Abraham Lincoln exhibit he hosted in 2009. “There’s a lot more out there than we’ve done,” he said.

The class, presented by USA Grant Writing, will be Sleefe’s first lesson on the topic in seven years of directing the library, he said.

“I’m educating myself as I go along.”