Opportunity Information: Apply for LB21 FY21
The Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program (LB21 FY21) is a discretionary grant opportunity offered by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to strengthen the library and archives workforce in the United States. The program focuses on helping the profession keep pace with changing learning patterns, evolving information needs, and new service expectations from the public. At its core, the opportunity is designed to build a strong pipeline of skilled professionals while also improving the training systems that support them throughout their careers, from early entry into the field through leadership development.
A central goal of LB21 is workforce diversity and long-term capacity building. Funding supports efforts to recruit, educate, and retain the next generation of library and archives professionals, with an emphasis on expanding who enters and thrives in the profession. The program also supports professional development for current practitioners, including initiatives that enhance continuing education, strengthen specialized competencies, and broaden the ability of staff to serve communities in more responsive and inclusive ways. Another major emphasis is developing the people who train others: projects may focus on faculty development in library and information science education and on cultivating future library leaders who can guide institutions through change.
The opportunity is categorized under arts and humanities-related federal funding activity areas (as reflected in CFDA 45.313), aligning with the cultural, educational, and civic role that libraries and archives play. Awards are made as grants, and the published maximum award amount (ceiling) is $1,000,000. IMLS anticipated making around 25 awards under this cycle, which suggests a competitive national program intended to support substantial projects with meaningful scale, whether they involve multi-institution training models, leadership institutes, cohort-based education, or other structured approaches to workforce development.
LB21 uses a two-phase application process that begins with a short screening step and then moves to full proposals by invitation only. In Phase I, every applicant must submit a preliminary proposal limited to two pages, which functions as an initial concept review. For this funding cycle, Grants.gov accepted Phase I preliminary proposal submissions until 11:59 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time on October 2, 2020. Applicants whose preliminary proposals were selected advanced to Phase II and were invited to submit full applications. For Phase II, Grants.gov accepted invited full proposals until 11:59 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time on March 26, 2021. This structure is meant to reduce the burden of preparing full applications for projects that are not a strong fit and to help IMLS focus full review efforts on proposals most aligned with program priorities.
Eligibility is listed broadly as "Others," with clarification expected in the official eligibility section of the full notice. In practice, that label typically signals that eligibility may extend beyond a single type of organization and may include certain educational institutions, nonprofit entities, or other qualifying organizations, depending on the specific rules in the notice. The opportunity record indicates the posting timeline, with a creation date of July 1, 2020, and an original closing date tied to the Phase I deadline.
Overall, this grant opportunity is best understood as a national investment in the people and systems that make libraries and archives effective: improving how professionals are trained, supported, and advanced; strengthening leadership and instruction capacity; and building a workforce that better reflects and serves the public. The two-stage submission process, the relatively high award ceiling, and the expected number of awards indicate that IMLS intended to fund a set of well-developed projects with clear workforce outcomes, practical training or education components, and a strong connection to meeting contemporary community information and learning needs.Apply for LB21 FY21
- The Institute of Museum and Library Services in the arts (see cultural affairs in cfda), humanities (see cultural affairs in cfda) sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Laura Bush 21st Century Library Program (2021)" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 45.313.
- This funding opportunity was created on Jul 01, 2020.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Oct 02, 2020. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,000,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 25 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).
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Applicants also applied for:
Applicants who have applied for this opportunity (LB21 FY21) also looked into and applied for these:
| Funding Opportunity |
|---|
| National Leadership Grants for Libraries (2021) Apply for NLG LIBRARIES FY21 Funding Number: NLG LIBRARIES FY21 Agency: Institute of Museum and Library Services Category: Arts (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA), Humanities (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA) Funding Amount: $1,000,000 |
| Uncovering the Hidden Costs of Using Untrusted Vendors for 5G Apply for DOS PARIS PD 2020 CA 004 Funding Number: DOS PARIS PD 2020 CA 004 Agency: Department of State, U.S. Mission to France Category: Arts (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA), Humanities (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA) Funding Amount: $300,000 |
| Museums for America (2021) Apply for MFA FY21 Funding Number: MFA FY21 Agency: Institute of Museum and Library Services Category: Arts (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA), Humanities (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA) Funding Amount: $250,000 |
| National Leadership Grants for Museums (2021) Apply for NLG M FY21 Funding Number: NLG M FY21 Agency: Institute of Museum and Library Services Category: Arts (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA), Humanities (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA) Funding Amount: $1,000,000 |
| Museums Empowered (2021) Apply for ME FY21 Funding Number: ME FY21 Agency: Institute of Museum and Library Services Category: Arts (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA), Humanities (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA) Funding Amount: $250,000 |
| Inspire! Grants for Small Museums (2021) Apply for IGSM FY21 Funding Number: IGSM FY21 Agency: Institute of Museum and Library Services Category: Arts (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA), Humanities (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA) Funding Amount: $50,000 |
| Museum Grants for African American History and Culture (2021) Apply for AAHC FY21 Funding Number: AAHC FY21 Agency: Institute of Museum and Library Services Category: Arts (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA), Humanities (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA) Funding Amount: $250,000 |
| Native American/Native Hawaiian Museum Services (2021) Apply for NANH FY21 Funding Number: NANH FY21 Agency: Institute of Museum and Library Services Category: Arts (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA), Humanities (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA) Funding Amount: $100,000 |
| U.S. Embassy Asuncion, Paraguay - PD Annual Program Statement Fiscal Year 2021 Apply for SPA10021GR001WHA11202020 Funding Number: SPA10021GR001WHA11202020 Agency: Department of State, U.S. Mission to Paraguay Category: Arts (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA), Humanities (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA) Funding Amount: $50,000 |
| Laura Bush 21st Century Library Program (2021) Apply for LB21 FY21 P2 Funding Number: LB21 FY21 P2 Agency: Institute of Museum and Library Services Category: Arts (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA), Humanities (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA) Funding Amount: $1,000,000 |
| National Leadership Grants for Libraries (2021) Apply for NLG LIBRARIES FY21 P2 Funding Number: NLG LIBRARIES FY21 P2 Agency: Institute of Museum and Library Services Category: Arts (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA), Humanities (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA) Funding Amount: $1,000,000 |
| Native American Library Services Basic Grant Apply for NAG BASIC FY21 Funding Number: NAG BASIC FY21 Agency: Institute of Museum and Library Services Category: Arts (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA), Humanities (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA) Funding Amount: $10,000 |
| Collections Assessment for Preservation Program Apply for CAP FY21 Funding Number: CAP FY21 Agency: Institute of Museum and Library Services Category: Arts (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA), Humanities (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA) Funding Amount: $3,000,000 |
| Native Hawaiian Library Services Grant (2021) Apply for NAG HAWAIIAN FY21 Funding Number: NAG HAWAIIAN FY21 Agency: Institute of Museum and Library Services Category: Arts (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA), Humanities (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA) Funding Amount: $150,000 |
| Native American Library Services Enhancement Grant (2021) Apply for NAG ENHANCEMENT FY21 Funding Number: NAG ENHANCEMENT FY21 Agency: Institute of Museum and Library Services Category: Arts (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA), Humanities (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA) Funding Amount: $150,000 |
| IMLS American Rescue Plan Apply for ARP FY21 Funding Number: ARP FY21 Agency: Institute of Museum and Library Services Category: Arts (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA), Humanities (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA) Funding Amount: $50,000 |
| National Leadership Grants for Libraries (2022) Apply for NLG LIBRARIES FY22 Funding Number: NLG LIBRARIES FY22 Agency: Institute of Museum and Library Services Category: Arts (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA), Humanities (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA) Funding Amount: $1,000,000 |
| Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program (2022) Apply for LB21 FY22 Funding Number: LB21 FY22 Agency: Institute of Museum and Library Services Category: Arts (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA), Humanities (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA) Funding Amount: $1,000,000 |
| Museums for America (2022) Apply for MFA FY22 Funding Number: MFA FY22 Agency: Institute of Museum and Library Services Category: Arts (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA), Humanities (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA) Funding Amount: $250,000 |
| Inspire! Grants for Small Museums (2022) Apply for IGSM FY22 Funding Number: IGSM FY22 Agency: Institute of Museum and Library Services Category: Arts (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA), Humanities (see Cultural Affairs in CFDA) Funding Amount: $50,000 |
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