2022 ARPA Library Improvement Grant Program

1. Please Identify the type of Library Submitting the Application:

Public

Institutional

Tribal

3. Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) Purposes

Indicate which of the following LSTA Purposes will be addressed by your project by checking one or more of the following:

Facilitate access to resources … for the purpose of cultivating an educated and informed citizenry;

Encourage resource sharing among … libraries for the purpose of achieving economical and efficient delivery of library services to the public;

Promote literacy, education, lifelong learning, and to enhance and expand the services and resources provided by libraries, including those services and resources relating to workforce development, 21st century skills, and digital literacy skills;

Ensure the preservation of knowledge and library collections in all formats and to enable libraries to serve their communities during disasters;

Promote library services that provide users with access to information through national, state, local, regional, and international collaborations and networks.

Executive Summary:

Summarize the essence of your Library Improvement Grant.
Strong Suggestion: Use the terminology and information from the rest of this grant application form as you write the Executive Summary. This means you should use the choices you make on this application form (LSTA Purposes, Project Intent, Activity, Beneficiaries, Formats of the Activity, Project Outcome – Expectations, and Project Budget) as you write the Executive Summary. You may wish to print out and complete your application form in preparation for writing the Executive Summary.

4. Project Intent

The Project Intent is the objective, intended result, or outcome of your project. Choose one of the following 13 boxes to indicate the Intent of your project:

Lifelong Learning:

Improve users' formal education

Improve users' general knowledge and skills

Information Access:

Improve users' ability to discover information resources

Improve users' ability to obtain and/or use information resources

Institutional Capacity:

Improve the library's physical and technological infrastructure

Improve library operations

Economic & Employment Development:

Improve users' ability to use resources and apply information for employment support

Improve users' ability to use and apply business resources

Human Services:

Improve users' ability to apply information that furthers their personal, family or household finances

Improve users' ability to apply information that furthers their personal or family health & wellness

Improve users' ability to apply information that furthers their parenting and family skills

Civic Engagement:

Improve users' ability to participate in their community

Improve users' ability to participate in their community conversations around topics of concern

5. Activity

An Activity is an action or actions through which the Intent of a project is accomplished. An Activity accounts for at least 10% of the total amount of resources committed to the project. Choose only one of the four Activity areas below to indicate the primary Activity of your project. Then choose one or more of the Modes for the Activity you chose:

Note: A Mode is a characteristic of an Activity.

Procurement — Involves purchasing facilities, equipment/supplies, hardware/software, or other materials (not content) that support general library infrastructure.

Mode: (not applicable)

Planning/Evaluation — Involves design, development, or assessment of operations, services, or resources.

Mode – When information is collected, analyzed, and/or disseminated (choose one or more)

Retrospective — Research effort that involves historical assessment of the condition of a project, program, services, operation, resources and/or user group

Prospective — Research effort that involves assessments of a future condition of a project, program, services, operation, resources and/or user group

Content — Involves the acquisition, development, or transfer of information

Mode – How the information is made accessible (choose one or more)

Acquisition — Selecting, ordering, and receiving materials for the library; may also include      procuring software or hardware for the purposes of storing or retrieving information or interacting with that information.

Creation — Design or production of an information tool or resources; includes digitization or the process of converting data to digital formal for processing by a computer.

Description — Apply standardized descriptive information to items in a collection for intellectual control, organization, and retrieval.

Lending — Provision of a library's resources and collections through circulation of materials; may also refer to the physical or electronic delivery of library documents to a residence or business.

Preservation — Effort that extends the life or useful life of a collection or of individual items by reducing the likelihood or speed of deterioration.

Instruction — Involves an interaction for knowledge or skill transfer

Mode – How learning is delivered or experienced (choose one or more)

Program — Formal interaction and active user engagement (e.g., a class on computer skills)

Presentation — Formal interaction and passive user engagement (e.g., an author's talk)

Consultation/Drop-In/Referral — Informal interaction with an individual or group; the provision of expert advice or reference services to individuals, units, or organizations

6. Beneficiaries

Beneficiaries are the people who will use, visit, participate, or otherwise experience a project activity. Indicate who will benefit from this project. Choose one of those listed below as the primary beneficiary.

Is the activity for the general population or for a targeted group?

General Population

Targeted Group

7. Formats of the Activity

A Format is a characteristic of a Mode. Using the same Mode(s) as you chose in question #3 above, indicate which Formats the project will be using:

Activity: Procurement — Format (not applicable)

Activity: Planning/Evaluation – Format

Prospective:

In-house

Third party

Retrospective:

In-house

Third party

Activity: Content – Format

Acquisition

Digital

Physical

Combined digital and physical

Creation

Digital

Physical

Combined digital and physical

Description

Digital

Physical

Combined digital and physical

 Lending

Digital

Physical

Combined digital and physical

Preservation

Digital

Physical

Combined digital and physical

Activity: Instruction – Format

Program

Virtual

In-person

Combined in-person & virtual

Presentation/performance

Virtual

In-person

Combined in-person & virtual

Consultation/Drop-in/Referral

Virtual

In-person

Combined in-person & virtual

8. Project Outcomes – Expectations

What Outcomes do you anticipate from your project? What difference(s) do you think this project will make?

What methods do you anticipate using to determine or measure these Outcomes? Check all that apply:

Survey

Participant Observation

Review of Administrative Data

Interview/Focus Group

Other

Do you anticipate continuing the project after the current reporting period ends?

Yes

No

Do you anticipate any changes in the project's scope?

Yes

No

Do you anticipate any other changes in the project?

Yes

No

9. Project Budget

Please describe what you will do with each of the budget items and amounts listed:

10. DUNS Number

In order to receive funding, you must provide NLC with a Unique Entity Identifier, as required by the federal government. Currently, this is a DUNS number provided by registration through Dun & Bradstreet.

Please enter your 9-digit DUNS Number:

11. CIPA Compliance Certification

Projects which provide access to the Internet require compliance with the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA); this means Internet access must be filtered as required by the federal LSTA funding. Grantees need to certify that the library complies with the Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) for grant proposals involving access via the Internet.

Upon submission of this grant application, I hereby certify that:

This organization is CIPA compliant. The applicant library has complied with the requirements of section 9134(f)(1) of the Library Services and Technology Act.

This organization is not CIPA compliant. Applicant understands and acknowledges that grant funds may not be used to purchase computers used to access the Internet or to pay for direct costs associated with accessing the internet.

12. Assurances

By submitting this application and completing the certification section (part 11), the applicant agrees to the timetables set forth in the formula grant notice, reporting requirements, allowable and unallowable costs, and the submission of copies of invoices to NLC in accordance with the grant timelines. Additionally, the applicant provides the following assurances:

(A) Civil Rights and Nondiscrimination Statutes and Regulations:

The Applicant shall comply with all applicable statutory and regulatory requirements. These requirements include, but are not limited to, applicable provisions of:

• Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 [45 U.S.C. 2000d through 2000d-4]
• Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 [20 U.S.C. 1681-1683]
• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 [29 U.S.C.794]
• The Age Discrimination Act [42 U.S.C. 6101 et seq.]

(B) Allowable Costs:

Costs incurred shall be allowable under the principles established in the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards; Final Rule [2 CFR 200 Subpart E-Cost Principles].

(C) Conflict of Interest:

No board or staff member of a public library or library system may use his or her position to obtain financial gain or anything of substantial value for the private benefit of himself or herself or his or her immediate family, or for an organization with which he or she is associated, such as a royalty, commission, contingent fee, brokerage fee, consultant fee, or other benefit [Generally, see 2 CFR § 200.112].

(D) Contracts and procurement:

The Applicant will use its own procurement procedures that reflect applicable state and local laws and regulations, provided the procurements conform to applicable federal law and the standards in [2 CFR §§ 200.318-200.326] Procurement Standards.

(E) Cooperation with Evaluation:

(F) Copyright, Acknowledgement, and Publications:

The Applicant/ Recipient will comply with all copyright and materials acknowledgement requirements as addressed in the projects’ grant guidelines. IMLS and NLC reserve royalty-free, nonexclusive, and irrevocable licenses to reproduce, publish or otherwise use, and to authorize others to use, for their purposes. The copyright in any work developed under this subgrant or contract under this subgrant; and any rights of copyright to which the Applicant or a contractor purchases ownership with grant support. The content of any grant-funded publication or product may be reprinted in whole or in part, with credit to the IMLS acknowledged. However, reproduction of this product in whole or in part for resale must be authorized by the NLC. When issuing statements, press releases, and other documents describing projects or programs funded in whole or in part with federal grant funds, the grant award recipient shall clearly acknowledge the receipt of federal funds in a statement. Subrecipients must acknowledge IMLS in all related publications and activities supported with LSTA award money. A kit with suggestions and materials to help subrecipients publicize grant activities is available at www.imls.gov/grants/grant-recipients/grantee-communications-kit

(G) Fiscal Control:

The Applicant will use fiscal control and fund accounting procedures and will ensure proper disbursement of, and accounting for, federal funds received and distributed under this program [2 CFR §200.328(1)].

(H) OMB Standard Form 424B:

(I) Record Retention:

(J) Reporting:

(K) Grant Evaluation:

(L) Single Audit:

(M) Text Messaging and E-Mailing While Driving:

(N) Time and Effort Supporting Documentation:

(O) Trafficking in Persons:

(P) Debarment and Suspension:

1. are presently debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, declared ineligible, or voluntarily excluded from covered transactions by any federal department or agency;
2. have within a three year period preceding this proposal been convicted of or had a civil judgment rendered against them for commission of fraud or a criminal offense in connection with obtaining, attempting to obtain, or performing a public (federal, state or local) transaction or contract under a public transaction, or in connection with a violation of federal or state antitrust statutes or commission of embezzlement, theft, forgery, bribery, falsification or destruction of records, making false statements, or receiving stolen property;
3. are presently indicted for or otherwise criminally or civilly charged by a governmental entity (federal, state, or local) with commission of any of the offenses enumerated in paragraph (b) of this certification;
4. have within a three-year period preceding this application/proposal had one or more public transactions (federal, state, or local) terminated for cause or default. Where the applicant is unable to certify to any of the statements in this certification, he or she shall attach an explanation to this application.

(Q) Lobbying:

1. No federal appropriated funds have been paid or will be paid, by or on behalf of the undersigned, to any person for influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of any agency, a Member of Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a Member of Congress in connection with the awarding of a federal contract, the making of a federal grant, the making of a federal loan, the entering into of a cooperative agreement, or the extension, continuation, renewal, amendment, or modification of a federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agreement.
2. If any funds other than appropriated federal funds have been paid or will be paid to any person (other than a regularly employed officer or employee of the applicant) for influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of any agency, a Member of Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a Member of Congress in connection with this federal contract, grant, loan, or cooperative agreement, the undersigned shall request, complete, and submit Standard Form LLL, “Disclosure of Lobbying Activities,” in accordance with its instructions. State Programs 3 Issued 2/9/2006.
3. The undersigned shall require that the language of this certification be included in the award documents for all subawards at all tiers (including subcontracts, subgrants, and contracts under grants, loans, and cooperative agreements) and that all subrecipients shall certify and disclose accordingly.

(R) Equipment:

(S) Access to Records:

13. Certification: