Application: The FY 2020 Notice of Funding Opportunity (PDF 399KB) is available for reference.
Grant Amount: $10,000–$50,000
Grant Period: Two years
Cost Share Requirement: None

Program Overview:
Accelerating Promising Practices for Small Libraries (APP) is a special initiative of the National Leadership Grants for Libraries Program. The goal of this initiative is to support projects that strengthen the ability of small and/or rural libraries and archives to serve their communities and to build grantee capacity through participation in a community of practice. IMLS invites applications that focus on the following topics:

• transforming school library practice
• community memory
• digital inclusion

Program Status:
APP was a pilot initiative launched in 2018 as a commitment to support small and rural libraries. After these two pilot years, a program evaluation is now underway to understand how this funding opportunity meets the needs of these organizations, and how IMLS can best serve grantees and their communities. During FY 2021, the agency will not invite applications for APP. Please sign up for email updates to receive updates about opportunities for small and rural libraries for FY 2022.

Eligibility: See the Notice of Funding Opportunity for eligibility criteria for this program.

FAQ: Accelerating Promising Practices for Small Libraries:
Looking for some guidance about the Accelerating Promising Practices for Small Libraries initiative? Here are some answers to a few of our most frequently asked questions.

Program Contacts:
If you have questions, we encourage you to contact the staff member listed under the category that best fits your project:

If you have general questions, please contact imls-librarygrants@imls.gov.

Grant Program Webinar: We invite you to watch a pre-application webinar to learn more about the program.

Learn more about accessing IMLS webinars at the bottom of the Events and Webinars page of the IMLS website.

*All grant programs are subject to the availability of funds and IMLS discretion.