USA: Alabama; Alaska; Arizona; Arkansas; California; Colorado; Connecticut; Delaware; Florida; Georgia; Hawaii; Idaho; Illinois; Indiana; Iowa; Kansas; Kentucky; Louisiana; Maine; Maryland; Massachusetts; Michigan; Minnesota; Mississippi; Missouri; Montana; Nebraska; Nevada; New Hampshire; New Jersey; New Mexico; New York City; New York; North Carolina; North Dakota; Ohio; Oklahoma; Oregon; Pennsylvania; Rhode Island; South Carolina; South Dakota; Tennessee; Texas; Utah; Vermont; Virginia; Washington, DC; Washington; West Virginia; Wisconsin; Wyoming
USA Territories: American Samoa (USA); Guam (USA); Puerto Rico (USA); Virgin Islands (USA); Northern Mariana Islands (USA)
USA Compact Free Associations: The Federated States of Micronesia (USA) Marshall Islands (USA) Republic of Palau (USA)
Grants of up to $25,000 to USA and territories public and nonprofit libraries, archives and IHEs to test and evaluate new library tools, products, services, or organizational practices. On January 7 and January 13 webinars will be held. Eligible projects are of significant relevance to libraries and archives and test a significant innovation.
These small grants encourage libraries and archives to test and evaluate specific innovations in the ways they operate and the services they provide. Sparks Grants support the deployment, testing, and evaluation of promising and groundbreaking new tools, products, services, or organizational practices.
You may propose activities or approaches that involve risk, as long as the risk is balanced by significant potential for improvement in the ways libraries and archives serve their communities.
Successful proposals will address problems, challenges, or needs of broad relevance to libraries and/or archives. Characteristics of successful projects are as follows:
- Broad Impact: Your project should show the potential for far-reaching impact beyond your institution, and influence practice across one or more disciplines or specific fields within the library or archival profession.
- In-depth Knowledge: Your project should reflect a thorough understanding of current practice and knowledge about the subject matter and an awareness and support of current strategic initiatives and agendas in the field.
- Innovative Approach: Your project should employ new approaches to strengthen and improve services to benefit the audiences and communities being served.
- Shared Results: Your project should generate results that can be widely used, adapted, scaled, or replicated to leverage the benefits of federal investment. Grantees are required to submit a short white paper to be publicly posted and shared with the field.
Number of Grants:
Estimated Size of Grant:
October 2016 - October 2017. Projects must begin on October 1, November 1, or December 1, 2016. Project activities may generally be carried out for up to one year.
Mary Alice Ball, AMLS, PhD, Senior Library Program Officer
202-653-4730
mball@imls.gov
Tim Carrigan, Senior Library Program Officer
202-653-4639
tcarrigan@imls.gov
Sandra Toro, PhD, Senior Library Program Officer
202-653-4662
storo@imls.gov
Emily Reynolds, Library Program Officer
202-653-4665
ereynolds@imls.gov
Contact the Grants.gov help line:
support@grants.gov
1-800-518-4726
for assistance with hardware and software issues, registration issues, and technical problems. The help line is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, except for federal holidays, on which it is closed.
Before starting your grant application, please review the funding source's website listed below for updates / changes / addendums / conferences / LOIs.