Grants for Public Libraries

Final reports for all grants are due 30 days after their closing date which for most grants is July 30. The final report for each grant may be completed on the MSLA Grants Portal.

Things to keep in mind for the final reports: 

• Photographs of programs or events are encouraged! There is a place to attach photos in the grant application in the Files section.
• If you created a video or a website for this project please include a link.
• If you created any marketing or promotional materials for this grant project please include a digital copy in pdf form.
• If your library system held a public program or staff training that was funded in part or full by LSTA funds, you need to conduct a survey. You can find sample surveys here. While it is acceptable to write your own survey, the essential questions from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) surveys must also be included. (These align with the State Program Reports (SPR) that we need to complete every year for our federal grants partner, IMLS.)
• If your library system created a Marketing Plan, Strategic Plan, Feasibility Study, Master Plan, or any tangible product, you need to include the IMLS logo, the MSL logo, and an acknowledgment of the grant award as well as the grant number.
• Outputs/Outcomes - Outputs are more the positive statistics from the completed LSTA program (such as the number of computers purchased, or the number of attendees). Outcomes are more evidence-based such as "after the program customers found it easier to connect to the internet" or "staff reported a higher confidence level in using the techniques learned at the training today."
• DEADLINE: Most grants end June 30, and most final reports are due July 30.

Activities Summary – What to Collect 

There are three types of activities – instruction, content, planning & evaluation. In addition to surveys, specific quantitative data for each activity should be tracked throughout the grant period. Please see the reporting structure below to indicate the information that will need to be reported for each type of activity. 

Output Quantity Information: 

If “Activity – Mode” combination = “Instruction – Program”:

Session length (minutes):

Number of sessions in program:

Average number in attendance per session:

Number of times program administered:

If “Activity – Mode” combination = “Instruction – Presentation/performance”:

Presentation/performance length (minutes):

Number of presentations/performances administered:

Average number in attendance per session:

If “Activity – Mode” combination = “Instruction – Consultation/drop-in/referral”:

Total number of consultation/reference transactions:

Average number of consultation/reference transactions per month:

If “Activity – Mode” combination = “Content – Acquisition”:

Number of hardware acquired:

Number of software acquired:

Number of licensed databases acquired:

Number of print materials (books & government documents) acquired:

Number of electronic materials acquired:

Number of audio/visual units (audio discs, talking books, other recordings) acquired:

If “Activity – Mode” combination = “Content – Creation”:

Number of items digitized:

Number of items digitized and available to the public:

Number of physical items:

Number of open-source applications/software/systems:

Number of proprietary applications/software/systems:

Number of learning resources (e.g. toolkits, guides):

Number of plans/frameworks:

If “Activity – Mode” combination = “Content – Preservation”:

Number of items conserved, relocated to protective storage, rehoused, or for which other preservation-appropriate physical action was taken:

Number of items reformatted, migrated, or for which other digital preservation-appropriate action was taken:

Number of preservation plans/frameworks produced/updated (i.e. preservation readiness plans, data management plans):

If “Activity – Mode” combination = “Content – Description”:

Number of items made discoverable to the public:

Number of collections made discoverable to the public:

Number of metadata plans/frameworks produced/updated:

If “Activity – Mode” combination = “Content – Lending”:

Total number of items circulated:

Average number of items circulated / month:

Total number of ILL transactions:

Average number of ILL transactions / month:

If “Activity” = “Planning & Evaluation”:

Number of evaluations and/or plans funded:

Number of funded evaluation/plans completed: