The Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program from the Institute of Museum and Library Services supports the training, education, and professional development of current and future library professionals. They offer grants in five categories: Planning, Forum, Implementation, Early Career Research Development, and Applied Research.
Preliminary proposals are due through Grants.gov by September 20, 2023 at 11:59 PM ET. Full proposals are by invitation only and will be due March 20, 2024. Award amounts and performance periods vary by grant category, but the IMLS anticipates having a total of $8.5 million to award to approximately 31 grantees.
Eligibility
This grant is open to the following types of organizations in the United States, including the District of Columbia and all US territories:
- Nonprofit organizations
- Units of city government
- Units of state government
- Units of Tribal government
Eligible applicants must also be a library or parent organization (school district, municipality, state agency, or academic institution) responsible for administration of a library.
Program Goals
The goals of this program are:
- Goal 1 – Recruit, train, develop, and retain a diverse workforce of library and archives professionals.
- Goal 2 – Develop faculty, library, and archives leaders by increasing the institutional capacity of libraries, archives, and graduate programs related to library and information science.
- Goal 3 – Enhance the training and professional development of the library and archival workforce to meet the needs of their communities.
Grant Categories
| Project Type | Performance Period | Funding | Cost Share |
| Planning | 1-2 years | $50,000 – $150,000 | None |
| Forum | 1-2 years | $50,000 – $150,000 | None |
| Implementation | 1-3 years | $50,000 – $1 million | Requests of more than $249,999 in IMLS funds require at least 1:1 cost share from non-federal sources. |
| Early Career Research Development | 1-3 years | $50,000 – $750,000 | None |
| Applied Research | 1-3 years | $50,000 – $750,000 | None |
- Planning Projects – These grants are intended for exploratory activities in preparation for future projects. This might include analyzing needs, feasibility studies, creating prototypes, or pilot studies.
- Forum Projects – Forum grants fund bringing together subject matter experts and key stakeholders to discuss needs for education and professional development in the library and archives field. Reports of the results should be prepared for wide distribution.
- Implementation Projects – Implementation grants support professional development to increase the knowledge of and retain library and archives professionals. New tools for the field may be developed or existing resources may be improved upon.
- Early Career Research Development – This grant category is exclusively for research by untenured, tenure-track faculty with a PhD. Researchers must also have teaching responsibilities.
- Applied Research – Applied research projects may be undertaken by anyone in the library and archives field. Research should focus on key questions within the field or building on the work of others.
Review Criteria
All applications will be reviewed based on:
- Project justification
- Project work plan
- Diversity plan (optional)
- Project results
