School Library ARPA Grant

Application window for this grant is now closed.

The State Library is offering small grants to Oregon’s K-12 schools to enhance their school library collections and furnishings to meet needs arising from the pandemic. The maximum award ranges from $1,000 to $10,000 based on student enrollment. This project is funded by American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) monies awarded to the State Library from the Institute of Museum and Library Services through the Library Services and Technology Act.

Oregon school districts, non-profit private schools, and public charter schools are eligible to apply. Except for private and charter schools, applications must be at the district level. Each district may decide how many and which schools to include, based on priorities, needs, etc.

The application period will open on Tuesday, February 1, 2022 and close Friday, February 18, 2022. Grants will be awarded by March 1, 2022. Recipients will receive funds up front instead of through a reimbursement model. All funds must be expended and invoices/receipts submitted to the State Library by June 30, 2022.

Eligibility & Requirements

Who may apply

• Any Oregon public school district, non-profit private school, or public charter school that has a library facility and has some level of FTE of paid library staff at each participating library.
• Only school library staff may apply, or their administrator on their behalf, after consulting with them.
• Library staff at individual schools in a public school district may not apply individually. Instead, all interested library staff at schools within a district should coordinate to determine which grant purpose to choose (collections or furniture) and how to share or divide potential grant funds. Each district may decide how many and which schools to include, based on priorities, needs, etc. Then designate a lead from among the library staff to apply. If a district has district-level staff who work with libraries, such as a district librarian, that person would be a good designated lead. That means there can be only one application per district.

IMPORTANT! Be sure to check with your school’s administration and finance department BEFORE applying, to ensure your school/district is willing and able to accept and administer grant funding.

How much you may apply for

Student enrollment (ODE 2020-21 data) => Maximum allowable grant request

• 20,000 students and more => $10,000        
• 12,500 to 19,999 students => $7,500           
• 6,000 to 12,499 students => $5,000             
• 3,000 to 5,999 students => $2,500                
• 2,999 or fewer students => $1,000 (including all non-profit private schools and public charter schools)

What you will be required to do, if awarded a grant

• Adhere to the purchasing criteria (listed below)
• Acknowledge the funding source in any publicity about the project; if you purchase books for your collection, you may choose to include acknowledgement in your catalog records and/or on book plates
• Submit a simple status report indicating how much of the funds have been expended to date, by May 1, 2022
• Expend ALL funds received by June 30, 2022
• Submit a simple final report*, and attach all invoices and documentation related to grant purchases, by June 30, 2022

* Note that the final report asks about outcomes, so grantees should keep those questions in mind as the project is being implemented so they are prepared to answer them.

Allowable Activities & Expenditures

Applicants may apply for ONE of the following:

• School library collection development with a focus on EDI (equity, diversity, inclusion) and/or reading engagement; or
• Furniture for school libraries that facilitates student learning while adhering to pandemic restrictions.

Due to ongoing supply chain issues, we recommend grantees check with their suppliers PRIOR to purchasing titles or furniture, to ensure they can receive all items by the end of the grant period (June 30, 2022).

Collections

• Funds may only be used to purchase books; titles may be in print, audiobook, and/or ebook format
• Books must be in support of one or more EDI (equity, diversity, inclusion) and/or reading engagement goals or initiatives; this is flexible in that it could address ebooks or audiobooks for accessibility, hi-lo books for struggling readers, materials in Spanish, popular books that students ask for, extra copies of books that have long holds lists, books with characters or by authors that reflect the demographics of your student population, books as windows to cultures that are not heavily represented in your student population, etc.
• Funds must be spent on school library collections, and may not be used for classroom libraries, novel sets, or textbooks
• Books must be for students (versus for a staff professional collection, for example)
• No more than 3 copies of the same title in all, or 3 of the same title per school if multiple schools will receive books to add to their library collections
• Districts must use funds at the district level (such as ebooks for a shared platform) or for multiple schools; a district may not use all of the funds for one school except when the district is small and only has one school
• Example spending scenarios:
  • District: Purchase titles to add to an ebook platform shared by all or multiple schools
  • District: Coordinate with library staff at a specific number of schools to build the print, audiobook, and/or ebook library collection at those schools
  • Non-profit private school or public charter school: Build the print, audiobook, and/or ebook library collection at your school

Furniture

Furniture purchases must focus on needs arising from the pandemic. This could include, but is not limited to:

• Furnishings to facilitate social distancing (ex: tables that can be moved and reconfigured)
• Furniture that can be easily sanitized
• Outfitting space for students to attend online classes, access online resources, etc.

Construction or remodeling is NOT allowed, and this includes the following:

• Hiring contractors in a construction trade (ex: builders, carpenters)
• Trenching for cabling, such as for laying fiber
• Permanent outdoor structures (ex: gazebos on concrete pads)
• Permanent fixtures to the interior or exterior of buildings (ex: awnings, fixed shelving)
• Projects that require getting building permits and/or having building inspections

Timeline & Application Process

Timeline

• February 1, 2022 - Applications open
• February 18, 2022 - Applications close at 11:45 p.m. Pacific Time
• March 1, 2022 - Applicants notified of award status
• March 31, 2022 - Grantees receive funds
• May 1, 2022 - Status report due
• June 30, 2022 - Deadline for grantees to spend funds and submit final report, including receipts

All applicants must apply through the State Library of Oregon’s online grants portal.

• You may preview the application before applying.
• You will need to create an account if your organization does do not already have one. If your organization already has an account, the system will alert you when you enter the employer identification number (EIN). District or school administrators or secretaries should know the EIN.
• You may save your work, log out, and come back to your application at any time before submitting.
• View the applicant tutorial for details on using the system.
• Final applications must be submitted by the deadline listed in the timeline. Applications that are left incomplete in the system or not submitted by the deadline will be considered abandoned requests and will not be considered for funding.

Evaluation

• Preference may be given to applicants that have not received a mini-grant from the State Library in the last 12 months.
• Preview the scoring rubric to help you as you fill out the application.