The Institute of Museum and Library Services has announced a new funding opportunity for museums, libraries, and Native American and Native Hawaiian communities. The $15 million federal grant program will provide direct support to address community needs created or exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and in assisting with recovery.
Funding will be through the American Rescue Plan Act to provide libraries, museums, federally recognized tribes, and nonprofit organizations serving Native Hawaiians what they need to continue, enhance, or expand existing programs and services to their communities. The investment will:
- Advance digital inclusion through approaches that may include, but are not limited to, improving digital platforms, online services, connectivity (e.g., hotspots), and creating digital literacy programs, as well as creating new processes and procedures needed to sustain a robust online environment.
- Support hiring new staff and training or retraining existing staff to ensure a workforce that has the appropriate knowledge, skills, and abilities.
- Build community-focused partnerships, networks, and alliances with organizations with an emphasis on complementing, rather than duplicating, resources and services.
- Support the creation and delivery of online and in-person educational, interpretive, and experiential programs and exhibitions for learners of all ages.
- Provide trusted spaces for community engagement and dialogue to foster recovery and rebuilding.
- Support efforts to collect, preserve, manage, and interpret documentary sources and tangible objects representing all aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic experience.
The deadline for submitting applications is June 28, 2021, with award announcements anticipated in October 2021. A free informational webinar will be made available on-demand on the IMLS website. Backstage Library Works can assist you with pricing your projects for your applications, and discussing what to consider when narrowing your project scope.
If you need a partner organization to assist with digitization, metadata, identities management, preservation microfilm, or on-site services for any of this work, please contact us.
