The State Library of North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources is awarding $1.4 million in federally funded grants for 71 local and statewide library projects to improve book collections, community outreach, and technological resources including digitized materials.

Raleigh, NC -- (SBWire) -- 06/12/2012 --N.C. Department of Cultural Resources Secretary Linda A. Carlisle announced June 12 that the State Library Division of the Department of Cultural Resources is awarding $1.4 million in federally funded grants for 71 local and statewide library projects for community outreach, library book collections, technology improvements and digitization of materials.

“As North Carolinians turn to their libraries for help doing job searches, summertime reading, and programs for families, this federal investment will help libraries maintain their collections and provide the service and technology so important today,” said Carlisle.

The grant funding is made possible by a Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), a federal grant-making agency.

North Carolina disseminates federal library funds through competitive grants to local libraries. The remaining funding from the IMLS is directed to statewide programs and resources that benefit all libraries, such as the popular online encyclopedia, NCpedia.

“Federal grants awarded by the State Library to public, academic, school and community college libraries are critical during this time when libraries across the state are pinched for dollars, facing shrinking budgets but increased demand,” State Librarian Cal Shepard said at the announcement in Henderson.

The LSTA grants are awarded in response to specific needs of public, academic, school and community college libraries.

Examples of grants include:

- H. Leslie Perry Memorial Library in Henderson has been awarded a $20,000 collections grant. These funds will enable the library to purchase newer print resources, aligned with the Vance County school system’s curriculum, for children in grades K-5 and to purchase materials that will be used in outreach programming for senior citizens.

- The New Hanover Public Library in Wilmington has been awarded $32,000 for a digitization project. The Cape Fearians Collection Digital Project will preserve and make accessible 3,000 images of residents of the Lower Cape Fear region throughout history. Images from the library’s vast photo collection will be digitized and community members will be invited to bring in images for scanning and data collection.

- Pettigrew Regional Library, which serves Chowan, Perquimans, Tyrell, and Washington counties received a technology grant award of $14,523. The grant will improve access to the internet for the public by upgrading 22 public access computers, and will replace aged computer chairs. The new computers will also have the latest Windows operating system and Microsoft office products which will make them the same as that learned by many patrons who have been recently trained and will prepare them for work in the current marketplace.

- Bennett College in Greensboro received a $24,878 technology grant to enhance and expand the Thomas F. Holgate Library's technological resources to implement a wireless access point and 28 Windows 7 laptops for circulation and instructional use in the library. This project is designed to resolve current and evolving challenges related to limited wireless network access in the library facility, aging or obsolete laptops, and increasing constraints on the availability of workstations for information literacy instruction and self-directed research and study during peak usage times.

- Fontana Regional Library, which serves Swain, Macon, and Jackson counties, received a $20,000 collections grant to add 1,667 eBooks to the e-iNC Consortium collection. This increase in the collection will provide users with more choices, add copies of items with multiple holds, and reduce the long wait-times users currently experience. The addition will include children’s books, which have been a specific request from the library’s patrons.

The complete list of awards can be found online at http://statelibrary.ncdcr.gov/lsta/AwardsList12-13.htmhttp://statelibrary.ncdcr.gov/lsta/AwardsList12-13.htm.

Administered by the State Library, the Library Services and Technology Act state-based grant program funds projects across the state that enrich the lives of North Carolinians through enhanced and targeted programs and services in libraries, information for lifelong learning, and improving equal access to 21st-century library service.

LSTA is managed by IMLS, which is the primary source of federal support for the nation's 122,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. The Institute's mission is to create strong libraries and museums that connect people to information and ideas. The Institute works at the national level and in coordination with state and local organizations to sustain heritage, culture, and knowledge; enhance learning and innovation; and support professional development.

For more information about the State Library of North Carolina’s LSTA program, contact Raye Oldham at (919) 807-7423. The State Library’s LSTA Web site is at http://statelibrary.ncdcr.gov/lsta/lsta.htmhttp://statelibrary.ncdcr.gov/lsta/lsta.htm.

About the State Library of North Carolina
The State Library of North Carolina, which celebrates its 200th birthday in 2012, builds the capacity of all libraries across the state, develops and supports access to genealogy and other specialized collections, and provides resources for the blind and physically handicapped.

About the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources
The N.C. Department of Cultural Resources annually serves more than 19 million people through its 27 historic sites, seven history museums, two art museums, the nation’s first state-supported Symphony Orchestra, the State Library, the N.C. Arts Council, and the State Archives. Cultural Resources champions North Carolina’s creative industry, which employs nearly 300,000 North Carolinians and contributes more than $41 billion to the state’s economy. To learn more, visit www.ncdcr.govwww.ncdcr.gov and www.ncculture.comwww.ncculture.com.