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Washington, D.C. - In 2002, the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) will award approximately $2,521,000 in grants to Native American Libraries. With three types of grants for Native American Libraries, IMLS helps improve services for an important part of the nation's community of library users:

1) Basic grants support core library operations;
2) Professional Assistance grants heighten the professional proficiency of the library staff; and,
3) Enhancement grants support existing, or new, library projects and services. (Basic and Professional Assistance grants are noncompetitive, Enhancement grants are competitive.)

Currently, IMLS is accepting applications for Enhancement grants. Indian tribes and Alaska Native villages (as recognized by the Department of Interior) must have already applied for Basic grants this fiscal year to be eligible to apply for Enhancement grants. Applicants may apply for up to $150,000. Priority will be given to applications supporting projects and services that:

Establish or enhance electronic links among or between libraries; link libraries electronically with educational, social or information services; help libraries access information through electronic networks; encourage libraries in various communities and of different types to establish consortia and share resources; pay costs for libraries to acquire or share computer systems and telecommunications technologies, and target library and information services to persons having difficulty using a library and to underserved urban and rural communities.

The following are just a few of the ways Enhancement grants are being used:

Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians - Cherokee, NC - $148,596 This two-year project will expand the services in a newly renovated library by automating access to the collection; purchasing furniture, equipment and materials for the general library and archives; and upgrading technology resources.

Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa - Hayward, WI - $145,140 This two-year project will couple lifelong learning with education and cultural awareness by offering reading enrichment for preschool children and youth; expanding outreach programs for elderly, disabled, preschool, school-aged, and home schooled populations; implementing a community history/genealogy resource center; sponsoring oral history and genealogy workshops; and promoting the usage of the Ojibwe language in the library and the larger community.

Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan - Mt. Pleasant, MI - $121,208 This two-year project will target services to children and youth by incorporating Ojibwe culture in library programming, creating a dedicated space for children and youth, expanding technology resources, offering literacy programming and increasing the collection.

Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California - Gardnerville, NV - $147,825 This two-year project will bring together the environmental resource department, the tribal language immersion school, the tribal education department, the tribal senior center and the tribal library to help preserve the cultural heritage of the tribe by producing cultural information packets to be disseminated throughout the tribal communities.

Enhancement grant applications can be accessed online: IMLS Native American Library Services. The postmark application deadline is May 1, 2002.

About the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) - IMLS is an independent Federal agency that fosters leadership, innovation, and a lifetime of learning by supporting the nation's museums and libraries. Created by the Museum and Library Services Act of 1996, P.L. 104-208, IMLS administers the Library Services and Technology Act and the Museum Services Act.

For more information contact IMLS; 1100 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, D.C., phone: 202-606-8536, or by visiting IMLS on the web.