Grant and Aid Programs

Innovation Station

The federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS),through its Grants to States Program, provides funding for California’s libraries from the federal Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA), administered in California by the State Librarian. The funds are used to provide financial support for service improvements; to facilitate access to, and sharing of, resources and services between libraries and between libraries and partner institutions; and to achieve economical and effective delivery of services for the purpose of cultivating an educated and informed citizenry.

The purpose of the California Civil Liberties Public Education program is to sponsor public educational activities and development of educational materials to ensure that the events surrounding the exclusion, forced removal, and internment of civilians and permanent resident aliens of Japanese ancestry will be remembered so that the causes and circumstance of this and similar events may be illuminated and understood. This program is administered by the California State Library.

California public libraries engaged in cooperative efforts with neighboring libraries are supported through state funding provided through the California Library Services Act (CLSA), specifically designed to assist and encourage such interlibrary cooperation. The program is administered by the 13-member California Library Services Board. Funding is allocated to California Cooperative Library Systems.

The State of California has funded the California Library Literacy Services Program since the 1980s. This program enables over 20,000 adults learn to read and write through their local public libraries every year.

Other current state funded grants and projects for public libraries include:

• Career Online High School
• High Speed Broadband in California’s Libraries
• Libraries Illuminated
• The Value of California’s Public Libraries
• Zip Books for Rural Libraries