School Library Access (SLA) Mini-Grant

School Library Access (SLA) Mini-Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Idaho Commission for Libraries
Amount: US $1,000 - US $5,000
Last Updated: January 20, 2026

Summary

The Idaho Commission for Libraries is offering mini-grants to enhance school library access for elementary and secondary students. These grants aim to support schools that lack resources for students to check out books, especially crucial as educators work to recover learning lost during the pandemic. Research links strong school library collections to improved academic achievement, making funding essential for fostering literacy and providing students with the reading materials they need.

Overview

SLA Mini-Grant for Elementary & Secondary School Libraries School libraries play a vital role in ensuring Idaho’s students learn and continually develop strong literacy skills from their earliest grades, throughout their academic careers, and beyond. Unfortunately, many Idaho schools haven’t had the resources to allow students in developmental preschool programs, kindergarten, and even first grade, the years they are learning to read, to check out books to take home. Despite findings that secondary students who continue to read for pleasure are more academically successful and score higher on the SAT, students in many secondary schools have a selection of dated materials that do not meet their recreational or academic reading needs. To help school libraries provide students access to the books they need, the Idaho Commission for Libraries (ICfL) is offering mini-grants to Idaho’s publicly funded elementary and secondary schools. The 2024-2025 school year will see teachers and librarians connecting with students to help them recover learning that may have been lost during the pandemic. With that in mind, now more than ever it is important for all students to have fingertip access to lots of engaging reading material. Decades of research and empirical evidence shows a strong school library collection is linked with higher achievement in reading and other content areas, including math. Add the fact that for many students the school library is the only library where they can count on finding books to take home to read, and it becomes clear that a well-funded school library is essential for student success.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. Eligible elementary schools:Have not received funding from the SLA Mini-Grant program in the 2021-2022 school year or later;Serve any combination of pre-K through Grade 6 students;Are publicly funded (includes charter schools); andHave a physical space dedicated to library materials and service and a paid, contracted staff member who serves as the school librarian.Eligible secondary schools:Have not received funding from the SLA Mini-Grant program in the 2021-2022 school year or later;Serve any combination of Grade 6 through Grade 12 students;Are publicly funded (includes charter schools); andHave a physical space dedicated to library materials and service and a paid, contracted staff member who serves as the school librarian.Schools that serve Grade 6 with younger grades should apply for the Early and Elementary Literacy Mini-Grant;Schools that serve Grade 6 with older grades should apply for the Secondary School Mini-Grant;Schools that serve only Grade 6 may choose either grant, keeping in mind that receipt of any prior SLA Mini-Grant make the school a repeat grantee and therefore subject to the 10% match requirement and the three-year waiting period between funding years; andSchools that serve grades that span the elementary and secondary grant programs should choose whether the funds will be spent on the elementary grades or the secondary grades and apply for the appropriate grant. Subsequent applications may be submitted in either grant program observing the three year waiting period between grant applications.