Deadline: 28-Feb-23
The American Library Association is seeking applications for the Libraries Transforming Communities: Accessible Small and Rural Communities.
Libraries Transforming Communities (LTC): Accessible Small and Rural Communities is an initiative of the American Library Association (ALA) that provides community engagement and accessibility resources to small and rural libraries to help them better serve people with disabilities.
Community engagement is the process of working collaboratively with community members — be they library patrons, residents, faculty, students, or partner organizations — to address issues for the betterment of the community.
Through these grants, ALA strives to:
- Increase the accessibility of library facilities, services, and programs for people with disabilities in small and rural communities.
- Support libraries’ community engagement efforts by providing resources to help them to work with impacted populations to guide improvement of library services.
Funding Information
- Up to 300 libraries will be selected in this application period (November 2022 to February 2023). ALA will make up to 250 awards of $10,000 to eligible institutions. For applicants interested in undertaking a more ambitious project, ALA will make up to 50 awards of $20,000. Applicants interested in receiving a larger grant must complete an extended version of the application. These proposals will first be considered for an award of $20,000; if not selected for funding at the higher level, the proposal will be considered for a $10,000 award.
- Libraries selected for funding will receive:
- $10,000 or $20,000 to support costs related to their community engagement project
- Virtual training to assist project directors in developing their community engagement, facilitation, and disability service skills
- A suite of online resources developed to support local programs, including template press releases, social media messaging, logos, digital promotional materials, and template letters that can be used to notify local leaders/officials about the library’s project
- Technical and project support from the ALA Public Programs Office throughout the grant term, such as access to:
- Online learning opportunities for grantees intended to assist project directors in promoting their project, completing grant reporting requirements and participating in evaluation
- Community of practice for project directors and staff.
Eligible Expenses
- LTC grant funds are restricted to project-related expenses. Eligible expenses may include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Library staff time
- Honoraria for conversation participants
- Payment to project partners for reimbursement or direct funding of services and support provided (e.g., ASL interpreters, live captioners)
- Facility upgrades (e.g., automatic door openers, accessible signage, sensory space equipment)
- Tech equipment (e.g., Braillers, iPads, virtual meeting licenses)
- Books or other collection materials
- Training for library staff (e.g., disability inclusion training)
- Project supplies (e.g., markers, index cards, Post-its)
- Promotion and publicity.
Eligibility Criteria
- The opportunity is open to all types of libraries serving small and rural communities in the U.S. and U.S. territories.
- The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) defines libraries serving small and rural communities as those located in an area that’s more than, or equal to, five miles from an urbanized area and with a population of 25,000 or less.
- Only complete and eligible applications that are received on time will be reviewed.
Requirements
- All libraries awarded an LTC grant will be required to:
- Designate one staff member as the project director (local coordinator). This person will commit to completing all virtual trainings (approximately 4 – 6 hours) before implementing the proposed project.
- Share information about the library’s project, as appropriate, with area elected officials and community leaders.
- Host a minimum of one community conversation using skills learned from the virtual trainings. Conversation must
- Take place between June 1, 2023, and May 31, 2024.
- Include the primary audience identified in the library’s proposal.
- Focus on discussing accessibility in the community and library in order to collaboratively identify existing resources, needs, and priorities.
- Use findings/outcomes from the community conversation to refine project plans and submit updated plans to ALA.
- Share information about next steps from the conversation with the primary audience and invite their feedback on the project plans.
- Participate in the project evaluation and reporting by responding to requests from the independent project evaluators and completing any requested reports. This may include responding to surveys, participating in phone interviews, and/or hosting site visits.
- Spend the grant funds by May 31, 2024.
- Submit a final report to ALA by June 30, 2024.
For more information, visit LTC.