“Of the People: Widening the Path” continues Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden’s efforts to expand the range of partners and embrace their perspectives. The program is supported by a four-year, $15 million grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, a record-setting investment from a private foundation.

Working with Black, Indigenous, Hispanic and other underserved communities, “Of the People” will offer fellowships, residencies and training programs to individuals — including artists, filmmakers, librarians, researchers and community activists — who want to explore the federal library’s vast collection and add their own work to its holdings.

The program will fund community documentarians, research and archive interns from historically Black colleges and universities and other minority-serving institutions, and innovators and artists who will use new technologies to explore and expand the collection.

“The major goal of the grant is to expand the ways we are welcoming people to the library,” said Kate Zwaard, head of digital strategy. “Part of the grant is shoring up the technology we use to collect American stories through digital means, and to think about how we can use technology for new ways of research and to tell new stories.”