Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program

The Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian (LB21) grant progam supports the recruitment, development, and retention of library and archives professionals to meet the information needs of their communities. GOAL 1: Recruit and educate future library and archives professionals, faculty, and staff. Obj. 1.1: Develop or enhance practices, programs, or initiatives encouraging students to pursue careers in library and information science. Obj. 1.2: Develop or enhance initiatives, programs, or curricula to increase to increase the capacity of institutions to educate or retain library and information science students. GOAL 2: Train and retain current library and archives professionals, faculty, and staff. Obj. 2.1: Develop or enhance professional development and training programs to enable the library and archival workforce to meet the needs of their communities. Obj. 2.2: Support the research of untenured, tenure-track library and information science faculty, furthering the faculty member�s long-term research agenda, career trajectory, and professional development.

An applicant must meet geographic and governance criteria and qualify as one of the following six 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 would apply; 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 services within its jurisdiction; 5. A library or archives consortium that is a local, statewide, regional, interstate, or international cooperative association of library 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;...

Successful proposals in this grant program are structured to result in broad impact in training and educating library and archives professionals; address a critical issue or opportunity for library and archives professionals and build on current strategic initiatives, knowledge, and agendas in these fields; involve key stakeholders and partners in strategic collaborations; employ a team possessing demonstrated expertise; and address issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion. IMLS staff review applications for eligibility and completeness. IMLS uses a peer review process to evaluate all eligible and complete applications. Peer reviewers are experts in the field with relevant knowledge and expertise in the types of project activities identified in the applications. IMLS instructs reviewers to evaluate applications according to the review criteria outlined in the Notice of Funding Opportunity. Peer reviewers must comply with Federal ethics and conflicts of interest requirements.

One-to-one cost share from non-federal sources is required for National Implementation Project requests more than $299,999, excluding Student Support costs. Cost share is allowed but not required for all other project types.