Strong Libraries LSTA Mini Grant

The State Library is offering small grants to strengthen libraries in Oregon and enable them to more fully support their communities. Projects must address one or more of the following focal areas:

• Collections: Make reading relevant to your community.
• Community: Get involved in your local area.
• Economy: Help foster a prosperous community.
• Staff: Encourage growth and engagement.
• Technology: Support digital access and skills training.

See our list of Possible Projects (below) for examples in each of these areas.

Timeline

Eligibility and Project Scope

Who may apply

Applicants must have a Unique Entity ID from Sam.gov and must certify compliance with applicable federal statutes and regulations.

Eligible organizations:

• Officially recognized public libraries and public library systems in Oregon.
• Academic libraries at public and private (nonprofit only) colleges and universities in Oregon, that are freely accessible to the public.
• Federally recognized tribes in the state of Oregon.
• Special libraries in Oregon (government or nonprofit only), including county law libraries, that are freely accessible to the public.
• Oregon public school districts, nonprofit private schools and public charter schools that have a library facility and some level of FTE of paid library staff at each participating library. [NOTE : Except for private and charter schools, applications must be at the district level. Each district may decide how many and which schools to include, based on priorities, needs, etc. Coordinate with library staff in the district before submitting one application on behalf of the district.] 

How much you may apply for and for what

Each organization may request up to $3,000 for one project that fits into one of the focal areas.

• There can only be one application per organization (meaning, one application per public school district, per university or college, per public library, etc.).
• Spending must adhere to Allowable Costs.
• Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) compliance is required for public libraries and K-12 school libraries using funds for devices that access the Internet and/or for costs associated with accessing the Internet.
• Entities may include indirect costs in the budget, as outlined in 2 CFR 200.414.

Possible Projects

This is a list of ideas to get you thinking about the possibilities; you are not required to choose any of these projects.

Collections: Make reading relevant to your community.

• Enhance a nonfiction collection with recent titles or a specialty section (ex: travel).
• Engage reluctant readers with manga and/or graphic novels.
• Acquire books by Oregon authors and/or Tribal Nations.
• Purchase Spanish-language or bilingual materials.
• Complete incomplete series or add additional copies of popular titles.

Community: Get involved in your local area.

• Bring services out of the building and into the community (ex: pop-up library, lending collection in laundromat, booth at farmers’ market).
• Perform outreach to communities that are underserved.
• Collaborate with local organizations to host public events or classes on topics of interest to the community (ex: civics workshops, language learning, seed exchange).
• Host or participate in a cultural festival.

Economy: Help foster a prosperous community.

• Collaborate with local organizations (such as WorkSource, OSU Extension Service, small businesses, community financial or entrepreneur groups, or chambers of commerce ) to host public programs or training.
• Curate a set of resources that support Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs at local high schools or community colleges.
• Host and/or participate in a local job fair.
• Add products to a makerspace that supports local business needs.
• Establish a work area for job seekers, remote workers, and/or small business owners.

Staff: Encourage growth and engagement.

• Organize a learning opportunity for staff.
• Coordinate staff visits to other area libraries and/or community organizations.
• Conduct a workforce analysis and create a plan for implementing improvements.
• Bring in a facilitator to host activities that build staff morale.
• Pilot a mentoring or peer-to-peer training program.

Technology: Support digital access and skills training.

• Lend devices to eliminate barriers to technology.
• Update public and/or staff computer workstations.
• Acquire assistive technology that enhances access for individuals with disabilities.
• Collaborate with a local organization to host computer skills training workshops.

Evaluation and Awards

Technical Evaluation

State Library staff will review proposals for eligibility and compliance and may return an application to the organization to make changes necessary to meet federal funding requirements. Applications that meet requirements will be moved to the evaluation phase.

Committee Evaluation

Applications will be scored by members of the LSTA Advisory Council and State Library staff using the following criteria:

• Application presents strong rationale for identified need.
• Application documents how project will address identified need.
• Application shows that project is doable within grant period.
• Application demonstrates potential for significant benefit to underserved and/or under-resourced community.
• Application budget is linked to activities and contains reasonable cost estimates.

Final Selection

State Library staff will make final funding decisions, considering:

• Application score from the committee evaluation.
• The number of LSTA grants the organization has received in the past 10 years (the State Library strives to award grants to as many different entities as possible).
• Organization geography, size, and type (the State Library strives to award grants to a diversity of organizations throughout the state).

State Library staff will notify applicants of their final status according to the grant cycle timeline.

What You Will Be Required To Do if Awarded a Grant

• Sign a grant agreement (see example).
• Acknowledge the funding source on any public-facing information or resources purchases made with these grant funds.
• Comply with applicable federal statutes and regulations.
• Contact the State Library to make changes to the project and/or budget.
• Submit a midterm report and a final report.
• Have all purchases completed by the end of the grant period.
• Keep records pertinent to the grant for ten (10) years after the end of the grant period, as such records may be needed for audit purposes.

How to Apply

You may preview the application before applying.

To start your application:

• Log in to our grants portal
  • If you are new to the system, you will need to create an account. You may want to first check if someone else from your organization has created an account for this site. If so, please email lsta.grants@slo.oregon.gov. We can create an account for you that will be connected to your organization in the site.
• Once logged in, select Apply in the top menu.
• Locate the Strong Libraries LSTA Mini Grant box, and select the Apply button. 
• You may save your work, log out, and come back to your application at any time before submitting.

Final applications must be submitted by the deadline listed in the timeline above. Applications that are left incomplete in the system or not submitted by the deadline will be considered abandoned requests and will not be considered for funding.