There are some great opportunities for participation in LSTA grants this coming year. Look for a few system-wide possibilities that are coming your way in the next month, but you can also consider applying for a grant of your own, too!
This year’s LSTA Information and Guidelines are now available. This year, there is a breakdown, with different categories for small libraries (service area under 10,000) and large libraries and systems. There are several categories that you might be interested in looking at:
- Digital Creation Technology (think maker-spaces, encouraging all ages to create digital content)
- Early Literacy
- Literacy
- Accessibility
In addition, this year there are going to be small planning grants available in both the accessibility and the literacy categories. These grants will allow participants to delve deeply into finding out more about the groups you are hoping to serve better, what is unique about the needs in your community, and use this information to decide on what your next steps might be. Information gathering and planning are crucial for successful projects, and it is great to have resources to help libraries with this stage of in-depth planning.