Library Innovation Lab (LIL) is a national program that provides an intensive professional development experience for public library professionals who want to better meet the lifelong learning needs of immigrant communities through innovative cultural programs.
Donor Name: California Humanities
State: California
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 01/06/2025
Size of the Grant: $1000 to $10,000
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
Each year, ten library professionals are selected to participate in the cohort learning program, with a grant of up to $6,000 to their library to support program development and delivery. Since 2018, more than 100,000 people have attended over 2,000 programs conducted by over 84 California libraries participating in the Library Innovation Lab program.
Program Purpose
Immigrants and other newcomers form a significant part of the U.S. population. From 2005 to 2022, the U.S. immigrant population grew by almost 30%, reaching 46 million, or 13.9% of the total population. California, the most populous state, has over 10 million immigrants, making up nearly a quarter of the state population. One in two California children has at least one immigrant parent. Public libraries have long been crucial in welcoming newcomers, offering citizenship classes, English instruction, and other services. The American Library Association’s 2019 white paper recommended including new Americans in library decisions. ALA cites an urgent need to build connection between immigrants and local communities in America.
The Library Innovation Lab welcomes immigrants America’s public libraries. Public events at the libraries help them express and share their experiences, stories, traditions, values, dreams, and hopes for the future, and deepen their connection to their families and communities. By providing opportunities for all community members to develop greater understanding of what it means to make a new life and a new home in a new place, humanities programs build bridges between new and long-term residents and foster more inclusive communities.
In addition to engaging immigrants, California Humanities and its partner Califa also hope to reach and interest all Americans in learning more about their neighbors through these programs.
These key objectives of this program are to:
- Foster creative public humanities programs in and by libraries
- Champion collaborative design with immigrant community members
- Build the capacity of participating librarians and libraries to meaningfully engage with immigrants and all community members
- Use cohort learning and reflective practice as a means of professional growth and development
- Increase language accessibility in America’s public libraries by providing libraries the funds expand programming and services to translate events, flyers, and websites in many languages.
Funding Information
Grant funds will provide material support for planning and programming activities. Specifically, the LIL program will provide participants with:
- Collaborative learning (virtual whole group meetings, regular electronic communications, individual consultations, and site visits). Support will be provided by peers, project staff, library mentors, and consulting experts;
- A $6,000 grant to each participating library (or fiscal agent) to support project-related research, planning, implementation, and assessment;
- Travel support (up to additional $200 to visit peer programs, reimbursable at the conclusion of the grant period).
Eligibility Criteria
- A public library (system or branch) must serve as the “Applicant Library.” If the library wishes, an organization with active federally recognized 501c tax-exempt status (e.g. a Friends group or library foundation affiliated with a public library system or branch library) may serve as a “Fiscal Sponsor.” This organization will receive the award funds and will be responsible for seeing that they are used for approved program activities, in collaboration with the Applicant Library.
- Participation in the cohort is limited to librarians or other library staff members with direct public programming responsibilities. Only one person from each applicant library can serve in this capacity. This person will serve as the “Project Director” and will be our primary contact for the grant. This person should be in place at the time the application is made and any changes in project personnel after the award is made are subject to approval by California Humanities.
Participant Requirements
- Participating libraries (and their fiscal agents, if applicable) will be expected to:
- Commit to research, design, implement, and assess a public humanities project in alignment with LIL goals over the program period (February– December 2025)
- Submit a written plan and budget at the conclusion of the planning phase (June 2025)
- Match grant funds (1:1 minimum ratio) by the end of the grant period with cash or in- kind contributions of labor, goods, or services from the applicant library or local (non- federal) sources
- Maintain records and supply requested programmatic and budgetary information as part of the interim and final reporting process
- Cooperate with California Humanities’ grantmaking, acknowledgement and publicity protocols.
For more information, visit California Humanities.
