Apply for the 2003 Museum and Library Grants

For Immediate Release
June 13, 2002

The Institute of Museum and Library Services is accepting applications for funding from libraries and museums as part of its Fiscal Year 2003 Grant and Award Programs.

Each year the federal program awards millions of dollars in grants to museums, libraries, professional museum and library service organizations, and museum-library partnerships.

The IMLS administers four grant programs for libraries: State Library Agencies, Native American Library Services, Native Hawaiian Library Services and National Leadership Grants for Libraries. Law libraries may particularly be interested in applying for the National Leadership Grants for Libraries in the following funding categories: Education and Training, Research and Demonstration, or Preservation or Digitization of Library Materials. See http://www.imls.gov/grants/library/lib_nlgl.asp for more information about these grants.

Congress established the Institute of Museum and Library Services through the Museum and Library Services Act of 1996 as an independent federal grantmaking agency. The IMLS invests federal funding in libraries, museums and related organizations to enhance their unique resources and ensure broad community access to these vital educational institutions. By providing funding to all types of libraries, the IMLS intends to improve access to information through technology, to ensure equity of access and to help bring resources to underserved audiences.

Grant application deadlines vary with each grant, but the first deadline begins as early as Oct. 15. All deadlines are posted at http://www.imls.gov/grants/dedln/index.htm.

The IMLS encourages all eligible museums and libraries to begin planning their grant applications for FY 2003 funding. For a Fiscal Year 2003 Grant and Award Programs booklet or for more information, contact the IMLS by mail at 1100 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20506; by phone at 202-606-8536; or by e-mail at imlsinfo@imls.gov. A PDF version of the booklet is available at http://www.imls.gov/pubs/pdf/2003ProgramsFinal.pdf.