Library Innovation Lab Grant

Overview

_UPDATE: Following the abrupt termination of federal NEH funding, California Humanities has suspended all programs and grant cycles until further notice._

Welcoming Immigrants at America’s Public Libraries

Library Innovation Lab 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. Each year, ten librarians participate in the cohort learning program. Meetings are conducted virtually.

Over the course of one year, with support from experienced mentors and peers, the cohort learns more about the immigrants in their communities. They design new events to engage these communities through public humanities programs while gaining skills in project management, collaborative program design, and sustainable community partnerships.

Each cohort member’s library receives a grant of up to $6,000 to support program costs.

Eligibility

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* Applicant institutions must be public libraries or nonprofit friends groups with active federal 501(c)(3) status.
* For our 2025 cohort, we invite applicants from other states in addition to California.
* We anticipate five participants from California, and five from across the US.

Ineligibility

* Expenses incurred prior to or after the grant period are not eligible for reimbursement nor can unspent funds be banked for future activities.

Application Details

LIL Guidelines 2025
Library Innovation Lab 2025
Information and Application Instructions
Welcoming Immigrants at America’s Public Libraries
Timeline Activity
Wed. October 23, 11am - 12:15pm PT Online information session (RSVP)
Tuesday, October 15 Application opens on grant portal
Monday, January 6 Application deadline at 5:00pm PT
Week of January 27, 2025 Awards announced. First installment of funds
released.
February-July 2025 Research and design. Mentorship and regular
cohort meetings.
February 12-14 Meeting 1: Introductions and skill building
workshops. (half days, virtual)
March 19-20 Meeting 2: Presentations of work-in-progress and
skill building workshops. (half days, virtual)
April 23-24 Meeting 3: Presentations of work-in-progress and
skill-building workshops. (half days, virtual)
June 23 Deadline: Interim report (Project Plan and
budget). Second installment of funds released.
July 16-17 Meeting 4: Presentations of Project Plans and
skill-building activities. (half days, virtual)
August – December Live Events: The cohort organizes public
humanities events at their library branches. This
includes project assessment. Ongoing support is
provided through monthly informal meetings (1
hour each) and library visits from mentors, staff,
and cohort peers.
January 2026 Meeting 5: Final presentations and debrief.
March 30, 2026 Deadline: Final Report due by 5pm PT
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LIL 2025 Program Information

LIL Guidelines 2025
Program Description
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.
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. See a list of projects
from prior cohorts.
In 2025, a new national cohort will include library professionals from all states, in addition to
California. Participants will be selected through the open call process outlined below. This
national expansion is made possible by a generous grant from IMLS Laura Bush 21st Century
Library Program* and partnership with the Califa Group.
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
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LIL 2025 Program Information

LIL Guidelines 2025
• 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
Program Overview
LIL 2025 will support a cohort of 10 public library professionals as they plan, implement and
assess a small scale, short-term public humanities project between February and December
2025. Working in a collaborative learning environment that will include virtual group meetings
as well as individualized advising, cohort participants will acquire new skills and knowledge
about program development and project management, build confidence and develop capacity
to work effectively with immigrants and other desired audiences. Participants will 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 who are program alumni. 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)
Applicant Eligibility
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.
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LIL 2025 Program Information

LIL Guidelines 2025
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
Project Directors will be expected to prepare for, attend, and actively participate in all cohort
meetings (see schedule on page 1 or this document for meeting dates) and actively participate
in other ongoing program activities, including completing homework assignments.
Application Instructions
To apply, please visit https://ch-grants.smapply.io/prog/LIL/ and complete the online form and
required attachments.
This URL is also accessible on the Library Innovation Lab homepage:
http://calhum.org/funding-opportunities/library-innovation-lab/ when you click on the “Grant
Portal” button (available between October 15, 2024 and January 6, 2025).
The application form requests information about the Applicant Library and Project Director (the
person who will plan and oversee the project and participate in cohort activities). If a Friends
group or Foundation is applying on behalf of the Applicant Library (serving as a Fiscal Agent),
information should be provided about that organization as well.
The application should be signed by an Authorizing Official at the of the Applicant Library (as
well as by the Friends organization or library foundation, if that organization will serve as the
fiscal agent), The Authorizing Official is a person who is authorized to enter into contracts or
grant agreements on behalf of the Applicant Library (or the fiscal agent).
The application should also be signed by the prospective Project Director’s Supervisor,
indicating their approval of the application and, if selected, the Project Director’s participation
in the program.
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LIL 2025 Program Information

LIL Guidelines 2025
Prospective Project Directors should provide responses to the following questions in the form:
1. Why would you like to participate in this program? What especially interests you about
it? How do you imagine this experience will benefit you, your library, the immigrant
community/communities you will engage, as well as the broader community you serve?
2. How would you describe the community in which you work? Briefly describe important
geographic, cultural, demographic, economic, and historical factors. What are some
current community issues and concerns and how do they relate to immigrants?
3. What immigrant community/ies, population(s), or constituency/ies in your community
do you want to engage? Why? What do you already know about their needs,
circumstances, and interests? If you have any established relationships within these
groups, detail them here (it’s okay if not!).
4. Have you ever developed a new program or activity based on a needs assessment or
other type of community research? If so, please describe.
5. What is your level of experience with public programming (can include past as well as
current activities)? Have you had any previous experience with public humanities
programming? *If so, please describe.
6. What human and material resources will you be able to draw on for support? Who
would you like to involve in your team? What tangible resources do you anticipate your
library and/or community will be able to contribute to provide the required budget
match by the end of the grant period?
A resume (two pages or less) outlining the prospective Project Director’s relevant background,
interests, knowledge, and experience should be included in the submission.
NOTE: Prospective Project Directors are strongly encouraged to become familiar with grants
management systems and protocols at their library in order to facilitate the application and
award process at their institutions.
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LIL 2025 Program Information

LIL Guidelines 2025
Award and Notification
The selection of library participants will be made based on information provided in the
application, taking into account the nationwide scope of this program and our desire to reflect
the geographical and cultural diversity of our nation and its immigrant communities. We aim to
assemble a cohort of Project Directors who 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 (children’s, YA and adult librarians as well as literacy specialists and community
engagement coordinators).
Applicants will be notified as to their status before the end of January 2025. As part of the
review process, we may contact applicants for a brief interview. An initial installment of funds
($1,000) will be issued upon return of the signed grant agreement; the second installment will
be disbursed upon approval of a proposed project plan and budget to be submitted at the
conclusion of the planning phase in June 2025.
For More Information
An informational webinar will be held October 23 at 11am PT. Register here. A recording will be
available on the LIL webpage if you are unable to attend the live event.
More information can be found in the FAQs accessible from the LIL webpage.
For more information or assistance, please contact Program Officer Kirsten Vega,
kvega@calhum.org.
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LIL 2025 Program Information

LIL Guidelines 2025
*Public humanities programs provide opportunities for people to experience, engage with, and
participate in the humanities outside formal educational environments. The humanities
encompass a wide range of activities that enable us to understand, explore, and communicate
about the human experience, including such “everyday” activities as reading, conversation, and
reflection. Public humanities programs can take many forms depending on the subject matter
at hand, the programmer’s goals and intent, as well as the characteristics, interests, and needs
of the intended audience. California Humanities encourages experimentation and innovation
with new approaches to public humanities programming along with time-tested formats, such
as oral history, writing, photovoice or participatory documentary projects, reading- or film-and-
discussion programs, interpretive exhibits, lectures, presentations, demonstration or
performances with interactive elements, story-sharing activities, and cultural festivals with
strong interpretive components. Programming may be virtual or face-to-face but must include
interactive elements. For more ideas, see the list of projects implemented by previous LIL
cohort members.
This national expansion is made possible by a generous grant from IMLS Laura Bush 21st
Century Library Program and partnership with the Califa Group. Funds from IMLS are being
provided through the grant Fostering Empathy with Immigrant Communities to Enhance Library
Public Programs and Services (RE-256614-OLS-24).
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LIL 2025 Program Information