California Humanities’ Library Innovation Lab (LIL) Program

Program Overview

Building on past success, LIL 2022 will support a cohort of 10 public library staff members as they research, design, implement and assess a small-scale, short-term public humanities project between April and December 2022. Working in a collaborative learning environment that will include group meetings as well as individualized advising, participants will acquire new skills and knowledge in program development and project management, build confidence and develop capacity in working with immigrants and other target audiences and exercise creativity and imagination through experimenting with new programming approaches. This process of learning and discovery will be facilitated by library and humanities field experts, including peer mentors drawn from the previous cohorts. Grant funds will provide material support for planning and programming activities.
Specifically, the LIL program will provide participants with:

• A framework for collaborative learning (group virtual and/or in-person meetings, electronic communications platforms, individual consultations, and site visits). Support will be provided by peers, project staff, library mentors, and consulting experts
• A $5,000 grant to each participating library (or fiscal receiver) to support project-related research, planning, implementation, and assessment
• Additional support for travel and related expenses associated with attending any face-to-face program meetings (tbd in response to official public health advisory)

Eligibility Criteria

• A California public library or affiliated nonprofit organization with active federal tax-exempt status (e.g. Friends group or library foundation) must serve as the “applicant organization.” This organization will receive the award funds and will be responsible for administering them in alignment with program activities.
• 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 their primary contact for the grant.
• Seek participants who will represent the geographical and cultural diversity of the state, and are curious, open-minded, and eager to experiment with new approaches to public humanities programming. Applicants should demonstrate a strong desire to strengthen library-community connections, an interest in immigrant populations, openness to innovation and experimentation, and enthusiasm about being part of a group-learning professional development experience. Past cohorts have included participants with varying levels of experience and tenure, as well as different areas of library work specialization. Participants (librarians and their sponsoring libraries) will be expected to:
  • Research, design, implement and assess a public humanities project in alignment with LIL goals over the program period (April – December 2022)
  • Prepare for, attend, and actively participate in program meetings (may be in-person or virtual, depending on current public health recommendations)
  • Actively participate in other ongoing program activities, including virtual meetings and other program communication channels
  • Submit a written plan and budget at the conclusion of the planning phase
  • 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 sources
  • Maintain records and supply requested programmatic and budgetary information as part of the final reporting process
  • Cooperate with California Humanities’ grantmaking and publicity protocols