Cool Projects! IMLS Awards 21 2013 Sparks! Ignition Grants

From the Institute of Museum and Library Services:

The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) today announced 21 awards totaling $496,978 matched with $408,150 of non-federal funds for Sparks! Ignition Grants. IMLS received 99 applications requesting just over $2.3 million.
Sparks! Ignition Grants for Libraries and Museums are small grants that encourage libraries and museums to test and evaluate innovations in the ways they operate and the services they provide. Sparks! grantees demonstrate innovation and broad potential impact, often turning turn small investments of funds into nationally significant projects.
“Museums and libraries use Sparks! Ignition Grants for projects that test creative, new solutions to challenging problems,” said Susan Hildreth, IMLS Director. “The projects of the 21 libraries and museums receiving grants exhibit a wonderful variety of fresh ideas. They include a pop-up science education program delivered by fire engine to a community in California; an investigation into how 3D printing can be used to engage audiences at a Chicago art museum; and a program of technology assistance, training, and mentoring by an academic library to help veterans transition into college life.”

You can view the complete list of 2013 recipients here.

Quick List

Here are the libraries along with an ALA division receiving (only) awards along with what the name of the project. Interesting!

• Claremont Colleges Library – Claremont, CA
  “Visual Curriculum Mapping”

• Holy Names University, Paul J. Cushing Library – Oakland, CA
  “Flipped Info Lit: Extending Experiential Information Literacy Instruction with Digital Learning Objects”

• California Academy of Sciences, Academy Library – San Francisco, CA
  “One Truth, Many Lies: A New View of Art & Natural History Collections” 

• District of Columbia Public Library – Washington, DC
  “The Adult Literacy Resource Center ” 

• George Washington University Libraries – Washington, DC
  Collection of Twitter Data for Academic Use
  

• American Library Association, Reference and User Services Association (RUSA)
  “National Guidelines and Best Practices for Financial Literacy Education (FLE)”
  

• College of DuPage Library – Glen Ellyn, IL
  “VISA: Veterans Information Services Assistance”
  

• Purdue University Libraries – West Lafayette, IN
  “CrowdAsk – A Crowdsource Library Help System” 

• Calcasieu Parish Public Library – Lake Charles, LA
  ” Innovation Studio”
  

• Cornell University Library – Ithaca, NY
  Addresses incorrect and missing data in scholarly records using WorldCat 

• Austin Public Library – Austin, TX
  “The Sprouting Green Weeding Practices in Libraries: Web-Based Training Project” 

Filed under: Academic Libraries, Associations and Organizations, Awards, Data Files, Funding, Libraries, News, Public Libraries