Grants
Round 2
Round 2 offered a further £500,000 for public libraries in England to improve their online presence and discoverability.
Information for Round 2 grantees
Overview
Our second-round grants programme closed at the beginning of November 2023. We had up to £500,000 available and applicants could apply for projects under the following headings:
- Library apps
- Online registration
- Virtual tours
- Upgrades or improvements to Library Management Systems (LMS)
Grants were available for between £10,000 and £30,000, with activity required to take place between November 2023 and March 2024. We recognised the delivery time was short and had hoped to attract projects that were already somewhat scoped out.
We received 25 applications and following a robust decision-making process awarded funding to 21 projects.
Awards breakdown
Of the 21 awards, six were for library apps, eleven virtual tours and four LMS upgrades.
Geographically, the split was:
- Eight awards in the North
- Two awards in the Midlands
- Five awards in London
- Three awards in the South East
- Three awards in the South West
Included in the London awards was a consortium application on behalf of London Libraries.
Below you can explore the projects in detail as described by each applicant.
Awarded projects
Suffolk Libraries IPS
Suffolk Libraries will create a series of virtual video tours which will support the public to engage with our libraries across the county. The videos will be a mix of a tour of the spaces, how to get there, as well as introducing the offer at each location. Through work with clinical partners, Suffolk Libraries understands the barriers many people face in engaging with their local library - specifically anxiety about what to expect. Suffolk Libraries will use these videos to support customers to try something new, build confidence and visit their local library.
Timeline
- 4 October 2023Applications open
- 1 November 2023Applications close
- 15 November 2023Funding decisions confirmed
- 17 November 2023First payments released
- 18 March 2024Project delivery period ends
- 29 March 2024Project monitoring due