Library Announces new Grant Opportunity to Enhance Teaching with Primary Sources

This post is by Vivian Awumey of the Library of Congress.

On April 10, the Library of Congress released a notice of funding availability to solicit proposals from organizations for Teaching with Primary Sources (TPS) grants to design and implement educational projects in which the Library’s digitized primary sources and other online materials are central to teaching and learning.

Specifically, the Library’s Professional Learning and Outreach Office, under the Center for Learning, Literacy, and Engagement, will make annual grants of up to $100,000, renewable for a possible two additional years. These awards will support the Library’s mission to use its collections to connect with those representing diverse communities, beliefs, and endeavors to engage, inspire, and inform Congress and the American people with a universal and enduring source of knowledge and creativity.

Granted projects will use the Library’s collections for one or more of the following approaches:

1. Deliver educational programming to various categories of learners;
2. Create and distribute educational materials or tools for teaching specific content;
3. Convene meetings of like organizations to devise strategies for furthering common learning and teaching goals with Library of Congress materials; and/or
4. Conduct research with significant practitioner involvement that investigates the impact of incorporating Library of Congress collections into educational initiatives.

Funded proposals will address demonstrated educational needs of specific recipient populations, including those that are underserved, and provide solutions that standard practice, documented experience, or research suggest would be effective.  The content focus of grants will be wide ranging and include such topics as STEM, literacy (including media literacy), social studies, civics, art, teacher education, public health, journalism, justice and equality, fine arts, and other areas that coincide with applicants’ passions, expertise, and professional experience.

Successful applicants will join the TPS Consortium, a group of more than 250 organizations that assist in the design, development, and dissemination of the TPS national program, which has reached educators and learners in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

The deadline for TPS grant proposals is May 21, at 2:00 PM Eastern Time.

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