Nebraska Public, Institutional Libraries Awarded Over $330,000 In Library Improvement Grants

LINCOLN – Library Improvement Grants were awarded to 74 Nebraska public libraries, a library consortium and a state-run institutional library totaling $332,471.

According to a release from the Nebraska Library Commission, this competitive grant process featured legally-established public libraries, tribal libraries and institutional libraries in Nebraska.

The purpose of the Library Improvement Grant is to facilitate growth and development of library programs and services in Nebraska public and institutional libraries, by supplementing local funding with federal funds designated for these purposes. The 2022 funding was provided from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), the federal stimulus bill passed by Congress, as administered by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).

Northeast Nebraska recipients were the Hartington Public Library ($5,229 – Story Walk); House Memorial Library in Pender ($5,000 – computers, webcams, router, switch, UPS battery backup); Lied Battle Creek Public Library ($2,900 – replacing cloth chairs with vinyl or plastic covered); Lied Lincoln Township Library in Wausa ($1,000 – children’s area furniture, book organizers, sofas, floor cushions); Lied Pierce Public Library ($4,100 – chairs, vacuum, Roomba, OverDrive titles); Lied Randolph Public Library ($4,831 – Makerspace equipment and supplies) and Norfolk Public Library ($5,000 – local history digitization project).

You can find the full list of grant recipients in the Nebraska Library Commission grants database at http://nlc.nebraska.gov/scripts/grants/Database/grantsdb.asp?grantnamedropdown=Library+Improvement+Grant&YearDropdown=2022&libraryDropdown=blank&cityDropdown=blank&B1=Submit

 

In order to be funded, projects had to meet one or more of the following LSTA Purposes listed in the Commission’s long-range plan:

  • Facilitate access to resources . . . for the purpose of cultivating an educated and informed citizenry;
  • Encourage resource sharing among . . . libraries for the purpose of achieving economical and efficient delivery of library services to the public;
  • Promote literacy, education, and lifelong learning and to enhance and expand the services and resources provided by libraries, including those services and resources relating to workforce development, 21st century skills, and digital literacy skills;
  • Ensure the preservation of knowledge and library collections in all formats and to enable libraries to serve their communities during disasters;
  • Promote library services that provide users with access to information through national, state, local, regional, and international collaborations and networks.

 

The projects and services planned include: Story Walks, makerspace equipment and supplies, indoor and outdoor furniture/shelving, laptops/tablets/PC computers, outdoor book returns, a book bike, wireless printing/copying systems, a sensory music garden, COVID-19 response and cleaning supplies, and digitization projects, as well as funding the migration of the Pioneer Consortium to a new ILS service with ByWater Solutions.

As the state library agency, the Nebraska Library Commission is an advocate for the library and information needs of all Nebraskans. The mission of the Library Commission is statewide promotion, development, and coordination of library and information services, “bringing together people and information.”

The most up-to-date news releases from the Nebraska Library Commission are always available on the Library Commission Website, http://nlc.nebraska.gov/publications/newsreleases.

 

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