Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program (2027)
Funding Type
Grant
Grantor Agency
Institute of Museum and Library Services
Grant Range
Up to $1,000,000
# of Awards Available
Programmatic Area
Arts & Humanities
Programmatic Area
Capacity Building
Deadline
2026-11-13
Match Required?
Eligible Entities
To be eligible for an award under the LB21 Program, your organization must meet all three of the following eligibility criteria. 1) Your organization must be: a unit of a State, local, or Tribal government; or a private, nonprofit organization that has nonprofit status under the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as amended. See Conditionally Required Documents for more information). 2) Your organization must be located in: one of the 50 States of the United States of America, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia; or the Republic of Palau. 3) Your organization must qualify as one of the following seven types of organizations: (1) A library or a parent organization, such as a school district, a municipality, a State agency, or an academic institution, that is responsible for the administration of a library; (2) An academic or administrative unit, such as a graduate school of library and information science that is part of an institution of higher education through which it applies; (3) A digital library or archives, if it makes materials publicly available and provides library or archival services, including selection, organization, description, reference, and preservation, under the supervision of at least one permanent professional staff librarian/archivist; (4) A library or archival agency that is an official agency of a State, Tribal, or other unit of government and is charged by the law governing it with the extension and development of public library and archives services within its jurisdiction; (5) A library or archives consortium that is a local, statewide, regional, interstate, or international cooperative association of library or archives entities that provides for the systematic and effective coordination of the resources of eligible libraries or archives, as defined above, and information centers that work to improve the services delivered to the clientele of these libraries or archives; or (6) A library or archives association that exists on a permanent basis; primarily serves libraries, archives, or library or archival professionals on a national, regional, state, or local level; and engages in activities designed to advance the well-being of libraries, archives, and the library, and archives professions. (7) A nonprofit organization affiliated with a library or archives whose sole mission includes supporting the specified library or archives, has the ability to administer the project, and can comply with the terms of this NOFO and applicable laws, including the IMLS Assurances and Certifications. We require that you provide an agreement from the library or archives that details the activities the applicant and the library will perform and binds the library to the statements and assurances in the application. Native American Tribal organizations are encouraged to apply if they otherwise meet the above eligibility requirements.
Focus Area
Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian (LB21) projects build a library and archival workforce that can meet the information needs of communities of all types and sizes and increase the institutional capacity of libraries, archives, and library and information science graduate programs across the country.
Contact
imls-librarygrants@imls.gov
Link to Opportunity
https://www.grants.gov/search-results-detail/363765
Application Platform
grants.gov
Assistance Listing
45.313
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