WESTSIDE -- The Arkansas State Library has been awarded $2,660,000 in American Rescue Plan (ARPA) funding by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). $2.4 million of the funds were set aside for direct aid to public libraries. Gentry, Decatur, Gravette and Sulphur Springs were among the libraries which were awarded grants to support pandemic recovery efforts.
This round of IMLS funding gives the country's libraries an opportunity to improve technology access and connectivity to support the education, health and workforce development needs in their communities. The funding is also meant to help libraries update spaces and equipment for safe operation and expand programming possibilities, with the overall goal of improving and increasing services.
Funds were granted to city, county and regional libraries for approved projects in accordance with a formula that included a per capita base, along with additional credits for indicators of need: unemployment, poverty, rurality and low levels of home internet connectivity.
The Gentry Public Library was awarded a grant in the amount of $8,085 which will go toward the purchase of new public and staff computers, security software for computers, new adult and children's materials and personal protective equipment. The Gravette Public Library plans to use its $7,556 grant to purchase books, computers, circulating STEM kits and personal protective equipment. The Iva Jane Peek Library in Decatur was awarded $6,378 which will go toward new computers, science centers, an air filtration unit, updated graphic novels and books. A grant in the amount of $5,150 went to the Sulphur Springs Public Library which plans to use the funds for public and staff computers, electronics and internet along with personal protective equipment for the safety of everyone who accesses the library.
"These funds are an unprecedented shot in the arm for Arkansas' libraries," said Jennifer Chilcoat, Arkansas State Librarian. "The decision to push this money out to the public libraries in our state was an easy one. Our libraries know what is needed in their own communities, and the pandemic has affected these communities in different ways. The libraries themselves are the best ones to make the decisions about how to use these funds."