You are invited to apply for a Museum/Library Partnership grant under the auspices of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) program. The amount of funding available to SCRLC members for this initiative is $47,727 in total. Applications are due ASAP and limited to $12,000.

These funds are being provided through the NY State Library and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to strengthen library/museum partnerships at the regional and/or local levels.

Here is the link. If you cannot access, please contact Claire Lovell at clovell@scrlc.org for a PDF version.

Here is information about the initiative as extracted from the New York State Library's ARPA website:

Organizations are stronger when they work together with intention, to achieve a common goal or purpose. Plans should show how both primary project partners - libraries and museums - will be engaged in the work and how communities will benefit from the project.

Grant projects could focus on issues such as long-term sustainability, resilience efforts, preparing libraries and museums for future crises, establishing/reinforcing relationships between museum workers and library workers, reaching at-risk communities, and bridging the digital divide.

Projects will bridge and connect information, increase visual and material literacy, and may include activities that address objects-based learning.

For these projects, at least one eligible museum must be identified as a primary project partner. Click here for the definition of "eligible museum partner." (Note that lead agencies must also be a member of SCRLC.)

Partners could include academic libraries, school libraries, public libraries, or special libraries. 

Selected examples of possible Eligible Projects for the Library/Museum Partnership Component within the federal IMLS ARPA guidelines include, but are not limited to:

Projects that consider the intersection of digital and physical programs and exhibits in a pandemic-aware manner, for example:

• Improved infrastructure: creating platforms, tools, or systems for museums and libraries to create, manage, distribute, transform, share, reuse, and access their content

• Learning through curation: work with an audience to build their own digital exhibits using library and museum resources

Projects that address audiences that were particularly impacted by COVID-19, for example:

• Supporting P-12 education: Collaborative library/museum education projects that engage directly with P-12 teachers and students, such as projects focusing on next generation science standards

• Career readiness: Career exploration opportunities for teens at libraries and museums, with a focus on STEAM

• Ensuring that all communities are represented: All programming should include a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Access component

Projects that explore new modalities for existing programs, for example:

• Bring collections into communities: Make a circulating kit from a popular program or exhibit

• Creative outreach: Find ways to take museum and library work outside, including pop-up festivals in the community showcasing libraries and museums

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If your project is selected for funding, you will need to sign assurances if needed and any other documentation as required by the New York State Library and IMLS. You will also need to submit a final report to SCRLC by June 30, 2022.

Contact Mary-Carol Lindbloom (mclindbloom@scrlc.org) or Claire Lovell (clovell@scrlc.org) for questions.