The following three grants aim to enhance abilities to provide services to traditionally underserved populations and address Goal 1, Goal 2, and Goal 4 in the new LSTA Plan. Citizenship Corners and Expanded English Language Services for New Americans Description: To assist in developing a range of services for New Americans. There are two levels to this grant category: one would design a citizen corner with resources and programming; the other would add ESOL as a component of the grant. $ 7,500 for first level - $15,000 for second level. MBLC supports learners of all ages with their individual educational and learning goals. Promoting learning for a lifetime encompasses all levels and all parts of the education system, including adult education, continuing training, and informal learning. Lifelong learning is a shared responsibility, in which people s knowledge, skills and competencies are developed and applied and promoted in all parts of society. Access for Description: Grants to plan and implement a project to improve accessibility to library services based on a specific need identified by the library, using an MBLC-provided community assessment of unmet needs. *Previously described as Serving People with Disabilities $7500 - $20,000 MBLC provides access to information and educational resources directly and through and networks in a variety of formats to everyone in the Commonwealth for their individual pursuit of research, education and innovation. Pathways to Success For to provide resources for career development and job information, funding is available for special focused programming, to update current resources, and to conduct promotional and outreach activities. Goal 4: Building the Workforce MBLC supports in exploring ways to develop and enrich non-traditional skills and aid community members in job searching. The latest data point out that Massachusetts labor markets are highly concentrated in the technology center, and many service level jobs have disappeared. These new types of jobs require 21 st Century skills. Massachusetts are wellpositioned to collaborate with state and community partners in delivering new programs and services to enhance the education and training of the workforce. Page 1 of 5
The target audience for the following five grants is Children and and address Goal 1 and Goal 4 in the new LSTA Plan First Contact: Students & Primary Sources will work with educators to promote research and learning using primary sources that will be made available for classroom use and include a visit to the owning institution to introduce students to special collections and their proper handling. IdeaLab: Rethinking Library Spaces to Create and Inspire can implement, promote, and sustain an interactive creative space with an emphasis on programming, instruction, and hands-on learning. $7500 to $15,000 MBLC supports learners of all ages with their individual educational and learning goals. Promoting learning for a lifetime encompasses all levels and all parts of the education system, including adult education, continuing training, and informal learning. Lifelong learning is a shared responsibility, in which people s knowledge, skills and competencies are developed and applied and promoted in all parts of society. Mind in the Making To assist a library in establishing or enhancing play spaces for children ages 0-6. These play spaces are aimed at early learning and social interaction among children and their caregivers. $7,500- $10,000 Serving Tweens and After conducting a needs assessment, will develop creative programming strategies, with input from a Teen Advisory Board, which will reach out and meet the needs of young adults. This is a two year project. $10,000 to $15,000 Anytime STEM Learning can offer science learning experiences that enrich the STEM learning ecosystem with hands-on, inquiry based experiential learning. (Previously two grants: Full STEAM Ahead and Science is Everywhere) and School Goal 4: Building the Workforce MBLC supports in exploring ways to develop and enrich nontraditional skills and aid community members in job searching. The latest data point out that Massachusetts labor markets are highly concentrated in the technology center, and many service level jobs have disappeared. These new types of jobs require 21 st Century skills. Massachusetts are well-positioned to collaborate with state and community partners in delivering new programs and services to enhance the education and training of the workforce. Page 2 of 5
These five grants are aimed at a Audience and address Goal 3, Goal 5, and Goal 6 in the new LSTA Plan Customer Experience in the Digital Age To help develop a two-pronged approach to customer service, grants focus on traditional elements while embracing emerging technologies. must conduct pre- and post- surveys of the community Up to $10,000 Goal 3: Strengthening MBLC strengthens by educating and training staff, trustees, and municipal officials and by offering direct grants to to explore diverse models of library service delivery. Well-trained personnel at all levels, supportive administration, and knowledgeable boards are key for to stay relevant to the changing needs of the community. Financial Literacy for Ages To strengthen a library s role as a resource for improving financial literacy in their community or organization. Goal 5: Developing Skills MBLC supports in their efforts to improve the literacy and basic life skills of the people in their communities. are a trusted community resource and are able to coordinate with other organizations to provide programs and services that inform and educate a wide audience on issues related to day to day life. Framework for Health Literacy To strengthen a library s role as a resource for improving the health literacy in their community or organization. Goal 5: Developing Skills. Civic Hub: Extending Conversations on Civic Engagement Grants to fund public programming, community-wide discussions, pop-up displays and exhibits on civic issues, staff training in facilitation techniques, and other structured opportunities for discussion and learning., Academic, School MBLC promotes as centers of the community and provide common and inclusive spaces for everyone in Go Local: Building Communities & Collections can capture, collect, and make community stories available; can be at the center of community celebrations and historic events and create records of those events in traditional and new formats. can develop projects that use historical documents and artifacts to make new stories. $7500 - $15,000 MBLC promotes as centers of the community and provide common and inclusive spaces for everyone in Page 3 of 5
These grants provide funding for efforts and address Goal 2 and Goal 6 of the new LSTA Plan Manuscripts Arrangement & Description Arrange and describe archival materials according to national standards, assist with collection development, train staff in basic archival theory and practice, and prepare finding aids for increased access. 1 $5,000 - $10,000 and cooperating groups MBLC provides access to information and educational resources directly and through and networks in a variety of formats to everyone in the Commonwealth for their individual pursuit of research, education and innovation. Conserving & Digitizing Historical Resources To conserve and digitize collections of significant research value. (See Prerequisite footnote 1) $5000 - $30,000 Assessment To perform a preservation survey to determine individual item conservation requirements and needs for proper storage, care and handling. must complete a Critical Collections Questionnaire to apply. $4200 /Conservation of Library & Archival Materials Support the preservation/conservation of materials of significant research value (See Prerequisite footnote 1) $5000 to $30,000 Town-Wide Assessment & Collection Identification library and other local repositories will receive a preservation assessment as a first step in the process of preserving, arranging and describing, and digitizing historically significant local collections for access. (Funded as a Special Project in 2015 and 2016.) and cooperating groups MBLC promotes as centers of the community and provide common and inclusive spaces for everyone in 1 (Prerequisite: must have completed a Assessment within five years and have a Long Range Plan.) Page 4 of 5
Innovative Projects can address any audience and meet any of the six goals, depending on project design. The maximum award recommended in this category has been reduced from $25,000 to $15,000 for FY2019 based on the level of funding that will be available. Innovative Open Projects can apply to implement specific projects that do not clearly fit into one of the current programs. These projects can be one or two year. This category will allow some flexibility and creativity in meeting their plan objectives, and will provide the Board with ideas of key interests in the library community. Open/ Goals 1-6 must submit 150-200 word abstract describing project with Letter of Intent. Page 5 of 5