National Leadership Grant guidelines

2007
National Leadership
Grants for Libraries
and Museums
Grant Program Guidelines
CFDA No. 45.312

Application Deadline: March 1, 2007
Online application available through Grants.gov
(see www.imls.gov/grantsgov for more information)

For more information, call or write:

National Leadership Grants Program Staff
Libraries:
Martha Crawley, Senior Program Officer
(Building Digital Resources, Research and
Demonstration)
Phone: 202/653-4667
E-mail: [email protected]
Susan Malbin, Senior Program Officer
(Library and Museum Community Collaboration Grants, Collaborative Planning Grants)
Phone: 202/653-4768
E-mail: [email protected]
Janet Ciciarelli, Program Specialist
Phone: 202/653-4798
E-mail: [email protected]

Museums:
Dan Lukash, Senior Program Officer
(All Grant Categories)
Phone: 202/653-4644
E-mail: [email protected]
Mark Feitl, Program Specialist
Phone: 202/653-4635
E-mail: [email protected]
Jennifer Headley, Program Specialist
Phone: 202/653-4702
E-mail: [email protected]
Office of Museum Services
General phone number: 202/653-4789

Office of Library Services
General phone number: 202/653-4700

Institute of Museum and Library Services
1800 M Street, NW, 9th Floor
Washington, DC 20036-5802
General phone number:
202/653-IMLS (4657)
General e-mail: [email protected]
Web site: www.imls.gov

Office of Management and Budget
Clearance Numbers
Guidelines: OMB No. 3137‑0060
Expiration Date 11/30/2008
SF‑424s: OMB No. 4040‑0003,
Expiration Date 01/31/2007

IMLS programs do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, or age.
For further information, write to the Civil Rights Officer, Institute of Museum and Library Services,
1800 M Street, NW, 9th Floor, Washington, DC 20036-5802.
Burden Estimate and Request for Public Comments
Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 40 hours per response,
including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining
the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding
this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for
reducing this burden, to the Institute of Museum and Library Services at the address above; and to the
Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (3137-0060), Washington, DC 20503.

DEAR COLLEAGUEs

The Institute of Museum and Library Services builds the capacity of libraries and museums
to connect people to information and ideas. The agency has identified three strategic goals:
sustaining cultural heritage, information, and ideas; enhancing learning and innovation; and
encouraging the professional development of library and museum staff.
In 2007, IMLS National Leadership Grants provide an opportunity to explore important research
questions, develop and test new models of library and museum service, and help build digital
resources. Those familiar with National Leadership Grants will note the return of the museumlibrary partnership focus. And, because the Institute has found that sound planning enhances
the success of leadership activities, we are now offering collaborative planning grants of up to
$30,000.
Since 1998 National Leadership Grants have supported the innovative thinking that is needed
to help libraries and museums meet the changing needs of the American public. They are an
important investment in the future of library and museum service.
Sincerely,

Anne-Imelda M. Radice, PhD
Director



Table of contents

Section 1: General Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
About the Institute of Museum and Library Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
About National Leadership Grants. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Institutional Eligibility. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Categories of Funding. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Building Digital Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Library and Museum Community Collaboration Grants. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Research and Demonstration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Collaborative Planning Grants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Partnerships. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS), Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN),
and Employer Identification Number (EIN) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Conditions of a Grant. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Duration of a Grant. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Project Start Date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Amount of Grant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Cost Sharing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Use of Funds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Project Evaluation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Copyright/Work Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Announcement of Award. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Payment, Accounting, Management, and Reporting Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Application Review Process. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Guidance for Projects That Develop Digital Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Section 2: The Application Package. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Application Components. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Grants.gov . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
SF-424s. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Program Information Sheet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Narrative. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Application Evaluation Criteria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Evaluation Criteria for Building Digital Resources, Library and Museum
Community Collaboration, and Research and Demonstration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Evaluation Criteria for Collaborative Planning Grants. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Budget. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Specifications for Projects That Develop Digital Products. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Partnership Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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28
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Table of contents

Section 2: The Application Package (continued)
Text Responses Document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Schedule of Completion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Budget Justification. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Organizational Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
List of Key Project Staff and Consultants and Resumes for Key Project Personnel. . . . . . . . .
Other Attachments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Supporting Documentation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Proof of Nonprofit Status. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Points to Remember. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Submitting Grants.gov Applications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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43
43
44
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Section 3: Application Resources and Assurances. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Application Checklist. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sample Schedule of Completion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
IMLS Assurances and Certification. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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iv

General Information

About the Institute of Museum and Library Services

The Institute of Museum and Library Services 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.
The Institute supports the full range of museums, including art, history, science and technology,
children’s, natural history, historic houses, nature centers, botanical gardens, and zoos; and all
types of libraries, including public, school, academic, research, and archival. Our robust capacity
for research, evaluation, policy analysis, grantmaking, and partnerships help make it possible for
libraries and museums to be leaders in their communities.
Museums and libraries are America’s leading public institutions, making knowledge available to
millions at little or no cost. As public institutions they must meet a very high threshold of mission
accountability and use resources wisely for public good.
Through grants and information resources, we annually reach thousands of museums and
libraries in myriad ways—from providing much needed technical assistance for small institutions
to establishing national and replicable models, strengthening state networks, and supporting
professional development. To aid institutions in program design, we also provide tools for
strategic planning and evaluation. Funding from the Institute helps museums and libraries
operate effectively and give value to their communities. It also leverages additional public and
private support.
Collecting and disseminating results from funded projects, engaging in research, and publishing
reports enables the Institute of Museum and Library Services to make a significant contribution
to library, museum, and information policy and practice in the United States.



About National Leadership Grants

National Leadership Grants enable libraries and museums to help people gain the knowledge,
skills, attitudes, behaviors, and resources that enhance their engagement in community, work,
family, and society. Projects should enable libraries and museums to address current problems
in creative ways, develop and test innovative solutions, and expand the boundaries within which
cultural heritage institutions operate. The results of these projects will help equip tomorrow’s
libraries and museums to better meet the needs of a Nation of Learners. Successful proposals
will show evidence that they will have national impact and generate results—new tools, research,
models, services, practices, or alliances—that can be widely adapted or replicated to extend the
benefit of federal support. Proposals will reflect an understanding of current issues and needs,
showing the potential for far-reaching impact throughout the museum and/or library community.
Projects will provide creative solutions to issues of national importance and provide leadership
for other organizations.
Collaborative planning grants are available to enable project teams from more than one
institution to work together to plan a collaborative project in any of the National Leadership Grant
categories: Building Digital Resources, Library and Museum Community Collaboration Grants,
and Research and Demonstration



Institutional Eligibility

Eligibility for Libraries
An applicant must:
• be either a unit of state or local government
or a private nonprofit organization that
has tax-exempt status under the Internal
Revenue Code;
• be located in one of the 50 states of the
United States, the District of Columbia,
the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam,
American Samoa, the Virgin Islands,
the Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands, the Republic of the
Marshall Islands, the Federated States of
Micronesia, or the Republic of Palau; and
• qualify as one of the six types of
organizations listed below:
1. A library or a parent organization, such
as a school district, a municipality,
a state agency, or an academic
institution, that is responsible for the
administration of a library. Eligible
libraries include public libraries,
elementary and secondary school
libraries, college and university libraries,
research libraries and archives that are
not an integral part of an institution
of higher education and that make
publicly available library services and
materials that are suitable for scholarly
research and not otherwise available,1
and private or special libraries that have
been deemed eligible to participate in
this program by the state in which the
library is located.
Research libraries must either be generally recognized as possessing unique scholarly research
materials and services that are made available to
the public, or able to demonstrate that such is the
case when they submit an application to IMLS.
1



2. An academic or administrative unit,
such as a graduate school of library and
information science, that is part of an
institution of higher education through
which it would make an application.
3. A digital library, if it makes library
materials publicly available and
provides library services, including
selection, organization, description,
reference, and preservation, under the
supervision of at least one permanent
professional staff librarian.
4. A library agency that is an official
agency of a state or other unit of
government and is charged by the law
governing it with the extension and
development of public library services
within its jurisdiction.
5. A library consortium that is a local,
statewide, regional, interstate, or
international cooperative association
of library entities that provides for the
systematic and effective coordination
of the resources of eligible libraries, as
defined above, and information centers
that work to improve the services
delivered to the clientele of these
libraries.
6. A library association that exists on a
permanent basis, serves libraries or
library professionals on a national,
regional, state, or local level, and
engages in activities designed to
advance the well-being of libraries and
the library profession.

Eligibility for Museums
An applicant must
• be either a unit of state or local government or a private nonprofit organization
that has tax-exempt status under the Internal Revenue Code;
• be located in one of the 50 states of the
United States of America, the District of
Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto
Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin
Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of the
Marshall Islands, the Federated States of
Micronesia, or the Republic of Palau; and
• qualify as a museum2 that, using a
professional staff,3
1. is organized on a permanent basis for
essentially educational or aesthetic
purposes;
2. owns or uses tangible objects, either
animate or inanimate;
3. cares for these objects; and
4. exhibits these objects to the general
public on a regular basis through
facilities that it owns or operates.4

Museums include, but are not limited to, aquariums,
arboretums, art museums, botanical gardens,
children/youth museums, general museums (those
having two or more significant disciplines), historic
houses/sites, history museums, natural history/
anthropology museums, nature centers, planetariums, science/technology centers, specialized
museums (limited to a single distinct subject), and
zoological parks.
2

An institution uses a professional staff if it employs
at least one professional staff member, or the fulltime equivalent, whether paid or unpaid, primarily
engaged in the acquisition, care, or exhibition to the
public of objects owned or used by the institution.
3

Please note that a museum located within
a parent organization that is a state or local
government or multipurpose nonprofit entity,
such as a municipality, university, historical
society, foundation, or cultural center, may
apply on its own behalf if the museum
1. is able to independently fulfill all the
eligibility requirements listed above;
2. functions as a discrete unit within the
parent organization;
3. has its own fully segregated and itemized
operating budget; and
4. has the authority to make the application
on its own.
When any of the last three conditions cannot
be met, a museum may apply through its
parent organization, and the parent organization may submit a single application for one or
more of its museums.
An institution exhibits objects to the general public
if such exhibition is a primary purpose of the institution. An institution that exhibits objects to the general
public for at least 120 days a year is deemed to
exhibit objects to the general public on a regular
basis.
4

An institution that exhibits objects by appointment
may meet the requirement to exhibit objects to the
general public on a regular basis if it can establish, in
light of the facts under all the relevant circumstances,
that this method of exhibition does not unreasonably
restrict the accessibility of the institution’s exhibits to
the general public.
An institution that does not have as a primary
purpose the exhibition of objects to the general public
but can demonstrate that it exhibits objects to the
general public on a regular basis as a significant,
separate, distinct, and continuing portion of its activities, and that it otherwise meets the museum eligibility requirements, may be determined to be eligible
as a museum under these guidelines. For more information please see 45 C.F.R. Chapter XI, Subchapter E
(Institute of Museum and Library Services).



Categories of Funding

Building Digital Resources
Amount of grant:
$25,000–$1,000,000 (museums),
$50,000–$1,000,000 (libraries).
Grant period: Up to three years.

• increase community access to museum
and/or library resources through innovative
approaches and/or improved practice.

Library and Museum Community
Collaboration Grants
Amount of grant: $25,000–$1,000,000.

Cost sharing: One-to-one from nonfederal
sources for requests greater than
$250,000. Cost sharing of at least onethird is encouraged for requests at or below
$250,000. For research projects, see the
Research and Demonstration category.
Purpose: Building Digital Resources grants
support the creation, use, preservation, and
presentation of significant digital resources as
well as the development of tools to manage
digital assets. Projects should enhance
learning and innovation by ensuring that
the digital assets promote individual and
community access to excellent, responsive,
and pertinent museum and library resources.
IMLS encourages digitization projects with
item-level metadata that is harvestable with
the Open Archives Initiative (OAI) Protocol for
Metadata Harvesting.
Grant funds support projects that are
designed to
• digitize, preserve, and aggregate digital
content from libraries, museums, and/or
archives on a large-scale, statewide, or
thematic basis;
• develop and disseminate new tools
to enable libraries and museums to
effectively manage, preserve, present,
and/or use digital resources; or



Grant period: Up to three years.
Cost sharing: One-to-one from nonfederal
sources for requests greater than
$250,000. Cost sharing of at least onethird is encouraged for requests at or below
$250,000. For research projects, see the
Research and Demonstration category.
Purpose: Community Collaboration Grants
are designed to create new opportunities
for libraries and museums to engage with
each other, and with other organizations
as appropriate, to support the educational,
economic, and social needs of their
communities. In addition to libraries, archives,
and museums, partners may include
community organizations, public media, and
other institutions and agencies that may
help libraries and museums to better serve
their communities. A partnership of at least
one eligible library entity AND one eligible
museum entity is required. Additional partners
are encouraged where appropriate. The
lead applicant must be an eligible library or
museum entity and will serve as the financial
agent if a grant is awarded. All partners must
complete the Partnership Statement form.

Grant funds support innovative collaborative
projects—whether new or building on an
existing collaboration—that
• address community civic and educational
needs;
• increase the organizations’ capacity to
serve as effective venues and resources
for learning; or
• use technology in innovative ways to serve
audiences more effectively.

Research and Demonstration
Amount of grant:
$25,000–$1,000,000 (museums),
$50,000–$1,000,000 (libraries).
Grant period: Up to three years.
Cost sharing: Because research benefits the
museum, library, and information sciences
communities more than any one institution,
IMLS does not require a one-to-one cost
sharing for research proposals. However,
applicants for research grants are encouraged
to provide at least one-third of the total cost of
the project from nonfederal sources. Research
projects will remain subject to evaluation on
contributions. Demonstration projects remain
subject to cost-sharing requirements for
requests greater than $250,000.

Purpose: Research and Demonstration grants
support projects that have the potential
to improve museum and library practice,
resource use, programs, and services.
Grant funds support projects that are
designed to
• evaluate the impact of library or museum
services;
• investigate how learning takes place in
museums and libraries and how use
of library and/or museum resources
enhances learning;
• conduct research or demonstration
projects to improve the quality,
effectiveness, or efficiency of library
or museum management, programs,
or services, through new or enhanced
technology, new or substantially revised
“promising practices,” or collaborative
initiatives; or
• investigate ways to enhance the archiving,
preservation, management, discovery, and
use of digital assets and resources.



Categories of Funding

Collaborative Planning Grants
Amount of grant: Up to $30,000.
Grant period: Up to one year.
Cost sharing: Cost sharing of at least onethird is encouraged.
Description: Collaborative Planning
Grants are designed to enable project
teams from libraries, museums, and other
partner organizations to work together on a
collaborative project in any of the National
Leadership Grant categories. At least one
of the partners must be an eligible library
entity or an eligible museum entity. The lead
applicant must be an eligible entity and will
serve as the fiscal agent if a grant is awarded.
All partners must complete the Partnership
Statement form.



Funds may support the full range of planning
activities, including salaries, consultant
fees, travel, services, and equipment under
$5,000. Applicants must follow the National
Leadership Grant application instructions.
Evaluators will pay special attention to project
goals, assessment of need, personnel, and
the planning process.
The receipt of a Collaborative Planning Grant
does not guarantee or imply continued
support beyond the completion of the grant.
However, recipients are encouraged to submit
proposals based on planning activities to
the appropriate National Leadership Grant
category. Planning grants should result
in deliverable products such as plans,
prototypes, or proofs of concept, which can be
disseminated to and evaluated by appropriate
audiences.

Partnerships

Partnerships are encouraged for all National
Leadership Grant categories, but they are
specifically required for two categories: the
Library and Museum Community Collaboration
Grants and the Collaborative Planning Grants.
Where appropriate, partnerships stimulate a
broader community perspective and extend
the impact of libraries and museums by
leveraging the resources of all partners. The
lead applicant serves as the fiscal agent for
the project and must be an eligible entity.
All partners must complete a Partnership
Statement.
The members of the partnership shall either
designate one member of the partnership
to apply for the grant, or establish a
separate, eligible legal entity consisting of
the partnership members to apply for the
grant. Any group application must contain
a Partnership Statement that details the
activities that each member of the partnership
plans to perform and binds each member
of the partnership to every statement and
all assurances made by the applicant in the
application. The applicant shall submit the
Partnership Statement with its application.

By submitting the Partnership Statement with
the application, the applicant affirms that (1)
the partner(s) is available and has agreed to
participate, and (2) the Partnership Statement
is true, complete, and accurate to the best of
the applicant’s authorized representative’s
knowledge. The applicant will ensure that
the partner(s) also provides a signed original
version of the Partnership Statement to the
applicant, which will be available to IMLS if
requested by IMLS.
If IMLS makes a grant to a partnership, the
lead applicant for the partnership is the
grantee and is legally responsible for the use
of all grant funds and for ensuring that the
project is carried out by the partnership in
accordance with the terms of the grant and
applicable federal laws, regulations, and
requirements. The lead applicant must be the
fiscal agent but may subcontract with partners
for other specific activities or services.
Each member of the partnership is legally
responsible for carrying out the activities
it agrees to perform and using the funds it
receives in accordance with the terms of the
grant and applicable federal laws, regulations,
and requirements.



Partnerships

Library and Museum Community
Collaboration Grants
The partnership must include both an eligible
library entity AND an eligible museum entity.
Additional partners may include community
organizations, public broadcasters, private
sector organizations, and other institutions
and agencies whose efforts may help to
enhance library or museum services. A
library and museum under the control of one
parent multipurpose organization may apply
in partnership, so long as each applicant has
independent administrative authority and a
separately developed operating budget within
the larger budget of the parent organization.
For example, a library and a museum both
owned and operated by a city government, but
having separate facilities, separate staffs, and
autonomous operations, are eligible to apply
as a partnership. However, neither a library
that has an exhibition function nor a museum
with a library function constitutes an eligible
partnership.

10

Collaborative Planning Grants
The required partnership must include at
least two institutions, one of which must
be an eligible library entity OR an eligible
museum entity.

Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS),
Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and
Employer Identification Number (EIN)

To improve the statistical reporting of federal
grants and cooperative agreements, the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has
directed all federal agencies to require all
applicants for federal grants to provide a Dun
and Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering
System (DUNS) number when applying for
federal grants or cooperative agreements on
or after October 1, 2003. The DUNS number
is required whether an applicant is submitting
a paper application or using the governmentwide electronic portal (Grants.gov).
Organizations should verify that they have a
DUNS number or take steps to obtain one.
Organizations can receive a DUNS number
at no cost by calling the dedicated toll-free
DUNS number request line at 1-866-705-5711
or by visiting www.dnb.com/us. Individuals
who would personally receive a grant or
cooperative agreement award from the federal
government apart from any business or
nonprofit organization they may operate are
exempt from this requirement.

The Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) is
an identification number used by the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS) in the administration
of tax laws. It is issued either by the Social
Security Administration (SSA) or by the IRS.
A Social Security number is issued by the SSA,
whereas all other TINs are issued by the IRS.
An Employer Identification Number (EIN), also
known as a federal tax identification number,
is a nine-digit number that the IRS assigns to
business entities. The IRS uses this number
to identify taxpayers that are required to file
various business tax returns.
If an organization does not have DUNS and
TIN numbers, its application will be rejected.

11

Conditions of a Grant

Duration of a Grant

Cost Sharing

Project activities may be carried out for a
period of up to 36 months.

Applicants are expected to share project
expenses through the applicants’ and
partner institutions’ cost share. Applicants
to this program—other than those requesting
research funds and those applying under the
Collaborative Planning Grants category—are
REQUIRED to provide cost sharing of at
least one-half of the total cost of the project
if the request for IMLS funds is more than
$250,000. Applicants who request $250,000
or less are encouraged to provide at least onethird of the total project cost from nonfederal
sources. All listed expenses, including all
cost sharing, must be incurred during the
grant period. Government-wide uniform
administrative rules and requirements apply.
Federal funds may not be used to meet costsharing requirements.

Project Start Date
Projects may begin no earlier than October 1
and no later than December 1. Projects must
begin on the first day of the month and end on
the last day of the month.

Amount of Grant
Grant award amounts are as follows for each
category of funding:
• Building Digital Resources:
$25,000–$1,000,000 (museums),
$50,000–$1,000,000 (libraries).
• Library and Museum Community
Collaboration Grants:
$25,000–$1,000,000.
• Research and Demonstration:
$25,000–$1,000,000 (museums),
$50,000–$1,000,000 (libraries).
• Collaborative Planning Grants:
Up to $30,000.
IMLS will review and negotiate budgets as
necessary. IMLS may award an amount less
than that requested by an applicant.

12

Because research benefits the museum,
library, and information sciences communities
more than any one institution, IMLS does
not require a match for research proposals.
However, applicants for research grants are
encouraged to provide at least one-third of
the total cost of the project from nonfederal
sources. IMLS will consider cost-sharing
contributions as a competitive factor when
evaluating research proposals (see Application
Evaluation Criteria, pp. 30–33). Proposals
that demonstrate strong institutional
support through cost sharing are generally
rated more favorably by reviewers.
Demonstration projects remain subject to
match requirements for requests greater than
$250,000.

IMLS encourages applicants to contribute as
cost sharing the salaries of any permanent
staff to be employed on a project in proportion
to the amount of time they will spend on
the project. If IMLS funding is requested for
salaries of permanent staff, the proposal
should explain how their regular duties will be
performed during the grant period.
IMLS prefers that applicants provide at least
50 percent of the cost of any equipment to be
purchased for the project.
IMLS strongly encourages applicants to seek
third-party donations of cash, equipment, and
services. If any funds are to be contributed as
cost share by sources other than the applicant
or its official partners, the applicant must
identify whether the commitment of funds is
assured or pending. If the funds are assured,
the applicant should have on file a letter from
the source affirming its commitment, and
the applicant will make this letter available
if requested by IMLS. If the funds are not
assured, the applicant should describe its
plan for meeting the promised cost share from
other sources in the event that the pending
funds are not received.

Use of Funds
Grant funds may not be used for construction,
acquisition of collections, contributions to
endowments, social activities, ceremonies,
entertainment, or pre-grant costs. For
library grants and for library and museum
collaborations, the purchase of limited
amounts of library materials are allowable if
the purchase is justified as part of a larger
project. However, IMLS prefers that applicants
contribute such purchases as cost sharing. All
revenues generated with project funds during
the grant period must be reported as program
income and should be applied to the grant
recipient’s cost sharing. All listed expenses
must be incurred during the grant period.
Government-wide cost principles apply.

Project Evaluation
IMLS expects that most National Leadership
Grant project activities will have measurable
results, and IMLS expects grantees to evaluate
and report on these results. IMLS supports
and encourages the use of an evaluation tool
called outcomes-based evaluation (OBE) when
it is appropriate for the type of project to be
conducted. Additional information about OBE
is available on the IMLS Web site at www.
imls.gov/applicants/obe.htm or on request
from IMLS. IMLS provides a two-day course
on OBE for recipients of National Leadership
Grants. Applicants are required to request
travel funds to attend this training and
other IMLS-designated meetings. Applicants
should budget $2,000 per year for this IMLSdesignated travel, or $4,000 per year for
partnership projects.

13

Conditions of a Grant

Copyright/Work Products
IMLS requires acknowledgment of IMLS
assistance in all publications and other
products resulting from the project. Products
should be distributed free or at cost unless
the recipient has received written approval
for another arrangement. The recipient
may copyright, with written permission, any
work that is subject to copyright and was
developed, or for which ownership was
purchased, under an award. IMLS reserves,
for federal government purposes, a royaltyfree, worldwide, nonexclusive, and irrevocable
license to reproduce, publish, or otherwise use
the work and authorize others to reproduce,
publish, or otherwise use the work. IMLS
requires that awardees provide three copies
of any products produced with IMLS funds to
IMLS with the final reports. Generally, a beta
version of software developed on an IMLSfunded project must be provided to IMLS as
a product of the grant. Consult with IMLS
regarding software development projects.

Announcement of Award
No information about the status of an
application will be released until all
applications have been reviewed and all
deliberations are concluded. IMLS will
notify applicants of final decisions by midSeptember 2007.

14

Payment, Accounting, Management,
and Reporting Procedures
A federal accounting office handles the
payment of grants. Grant recipients may
request cash advances or reimbursements
as needed during the project period.
Payments are made electronically. IMLS
requires each grant recipient to maintain a
restricted account for funds received during
the project period. A recipient does not need
to maintain a separate bank account for IMLS
grant funds; however, it must establish and
maintain a separate accounting category
within an internal accounting system to
show that the funds have been used for
project costs only. This restricted accounting
record must be adequate to satisfy normal
auditing procedures. Grants are subject to
the provisions of Office of Management and
Budget audit requirements.
Grant recipients are required to submit
semiannual interim performance reports
every six months during the grant period as
well as annual financial reports. They are also
required to submit a final performance report
and a final financial report at the end of the
grant period.

Application Review Process

IMLS staff determines whether an applicant
is eligible and whether an application is
complete. IMLS staff may contact applicants
for information needed to make an eligibility
determination. If an applicant is determined
to be ineligible as an official applicant,
the application will be rejected without
evaluation (see “Institutional Eligibility,” pp. 45). Incomplete applications are subject to
rejection without evaluation. If an application
is rejected, the applicant will be notified by
IMLS. All eligible and complete applications
will be competitively reviewed.
Institutions may submit multiple proposals,
but the same proposal may not be submitted
in more than one category. An institution may
apply as a lead applicant in one category
and serve as a partner on other applications
without jeopardizing its chances of funding.

All eligible applications for National
Leadership Grants will be evaluated through
panel review. Panelists are professionals in
their field who have expertise in the various
types of activities and projects. The IMLS
director will make funding decisions on the
basis of the evaluations by reviewers, the
types of projects encouraged by IMLS, and
the overall goals of the grant program and
of IMLS.
Reviewers provide their evaluation applying
the review criteria identified with the narrative
questions on pp. 30-33. For examples of
funded projects, search the Awarded Grants
database at www.imls.gov/search.asp.

15

Guidance for Projects That Develop Digital Products

Information to Include in Proposal

Resources for Digitization Projects

In the proposal narrative, include a description
of the subject matter and its significance,
including relationships to related digital
content. Explain how the material to be
included in the project was or will be selected.
Describe the additional value that any digital
conversion or repurposing will bring to the
materials, such as enabling innovative new
uses or attracting new audiences. Describe
how potential users will discover any new
digital material. The application also includes
a form, Specifications for Projects That
Develop Digital Products (see pp. 37-39), that
must be completed and submitted with the
application.

IMLS has published “A Framework of
Guidance for Building Good Digital
Collections” as a resource for applicants
planning digital projects. This document is
now maintained by the National Information
Standards Organization (NISO) and is
available at www.niso.org/framework/
Framework2.html. The second edition of this
document contains links to many Web sites
with useful information for planning and
implementing digital projects. IMLS offers
a wealth of information, including lists of
funded digital projects, at the Digital Corner
on the IMLS Web site at www.imls.gov/about/
digitalCorner.shtm.

Interoperability

The list of resources below, provided to help
you learn more about digital projects, is
neither exhaustive nor an endorsement by
IMLS of any particular resource.

Project design should demonstrate the use
of existing standards and best practices for
digital material where applicable, and products
should be interoperable with other digital
content. Grantees creating digital collections
are expected to participate in the IMLS Digital
Collection Registry currently operated by the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
The Grainger Library has created a registry
and a metadata repository of collections
digitized with IMLS funding. (See the project
site at http://imlsdcc.grainger.uiuc.edu/.)

Digitization Plans
Projects that include digital conversion are
strongly encouraged to develop a digitization
plan before writing the grant application.

16

Training
Many universities, organizations, and
businesses provide training in digitization and
related topics. The following are examples
only—check the general resource lists for
leads to more training opportunities and
the topic lists below for training resources in
specific subject areas.
• www.library.cornell.edu/preservation/
tutorial/contents.html—Moving Theory into
Practice: Digital Imaging Tutorial, by Cornell
University Department of Preservation and
Collections Maintenance.
• www.solinet.net—The Southeastern Library
Network offers training in digital imaging,
copyright, digital preservation, and other
related topics.

• www.oclc.org/education/workshops/
default.htm—OCLC (Online Computer
Library Center) provides seminars,
workshops, and online training in digital
projects, preservation, copyright, and other
topics related to digitization.
General
• www.cdpheritage.org/index.cfm—
The Collaborative Digitization Program’s
Web site (born as the Colorado Digitization
Project) offers many digitization resources
that include information about copyright,
metadata, digitization standards, and
administrative concerns.
• http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/about/
techIn.html—Building Digital Collections:
Technical Information and Background
Papers, Library of Congress American
Memory Project.
• www.archives.gov/preservation/technical/
guidelines.html—Technical Guidelines for
Digitizing Archival Materials for Electronic
Access: Creation of Production Master
Files–Raster Images, by Steven Puglia,
Jeffrey Reed, and Erin Rhodes, U.S.
National Archives.
• http://library.amnh.org/diglib/index.html—
The American Museum of Natural History’s
Digital Library Project Web site has
information on and links to resources on
many topics, such as planning, standards,
and digital resources management.
• http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/imaging—
Digitizing Images and Text, the Berkeley
Digital Library portal, links to resources on
digitization projects, resources, and tools.

• www.mainememory.net/cp_resources
.shtml—The Maine Memory Network
provides guidance and resources for its
contributing cultural institutions such as
libraries, museums, archives, and historical
societies.
• http://images.library.uiuc.edu/resources/
links.htm—The University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign Digital Imaging Media
Technology Initiative provides resources
about many digitization topics, including
a listing of current imaging programs,
organizations, and committees.
• www.chin.gc.ca/English/index.html—
The Canadian Heritage Information
Network has information on creating and
managing digital content.
• www.nedcc.org/digital/tofc.htm—
The Handbook for Digital Projects:
A Management Tool for Preservation
and Access, a Northeast Document
Conservation Center site, offers nine
chapters of a handbook on project
management, scanning, copyright issues,
technical topics, best practices, vendor
relations, and longevity. Includes many
links to related sites.
• www.diglib.org/publications.htm—
The Digital Library Federation has
publications on a range of topics
including digital image management and
preservation.
• www.rlg.org/en/page.php?Page_
ID=12081—The OCLC Research Library
Group’s DigiNews, a bimonthly Web-based
newsletter.

17

Guidance for Projects That Develop Digital Products

• www.asis.org/Bulletin/index.html—
The Bulletin of the American Society for
Information Science and Technology,
vol. 30, no. 5, June/July 2004, contains
a special section about online museum
information.
• http://lists.mdch.org/bin/listinfo/
digistates—DigiStates online discussion
list for people working on collaborative
statewide projects for the digitization of
cultural heritage resources.
Metadata
• www.niso.org/standards/resources/
Metadata_Demystified.pdf—Metadata
Demystified, by Amy Brand, Frank Daly, and
Barbara Meyers (Sheridan Press and NISO
Press, 2003).
• www.getty.edu/research/conducting_
research/standards/intrometadata/index.
html—Introduction to Metadata: Pathways
to Digital Information, edited by Murtha
Baca (Getty Research Institute, 2000).
• www.rlg.org/en/page.php?Page_ID=214—
Descriptive Metadata Guidelines for RLG
Cultural Materials, by the OCLC Research
Library Group.
• http://oai-best.comm.nsdl.org/cgi-bin/
wiki.pl?TableOfContents—Best Practices
for OAI Data Provider Implementations
and Shareable Metadata, by the Digital
Library Federation/National Science Digital
Library.
• www.utah.edu/cpbmetadata/PBCore/—
PBCore: Public Broadcasting Metadata
Dictionary, for public broadcasters’
television, radio, and Web activities.

18

Preservation of Digital Material
• www.library.cornell.edu/iris/tutorial/
dpm—Digital Preservation Management:
Implementing Short-term Strategies
for Long-term Problems, a tutorial by
the Cornell University Department of
Preservation and Collections Maintenance.
• www.dlib.org—D-Lib Magazine has many
articles on preservation of digital materials.
Intellectual Property
• www.umuc.edu/distance/odell/cip—
Center for Intellectual Property and
Copyright in the Digital Environment, by the
Office of Distance Education and Lifelong
Learning at the University of Maryland
University College.
• www.copyright.iupui.edu/—Copyright
Management Center (CMC), Indiana
University–Purdue University Indianapolis.
Universal Access
• www.w3.org/WAI/—The World Wide Web
Consortium’s guidance and resources
on Web accessibility for people with
disabilities.
• http://trace.wisc.edu/world/web—
Designing More Usable Web Sites. The
Trace Center presents resources on
universally accessible Web guidelines,
compliance with Section 508, and forums
for discussing accessibility issues.
• http://webaim.org/—WebAIM is a nonprofit
organization within the Center for Persons
with Disabilities at Utah State University.

The Application
Package

Application Components

An application requesting funding from the National Leadership Grants program should include
the following materials:
1. Face Sheet: the Application for Federal Domestic Assistance/Short Organizational Form
(SF‑424s) on Grants.gov
2. Program Information Sheet: the three-page form available as a fill-in PDF form or Word
document in the Grants.gov Zip file or on the IMLS Web site
3. Narrative: not to exceed 10 pages
4. Detailed Budget: a three-page form available as a fill-in PDF form or Word document in the
Grants.gov Zip file or on the IMLS Web site, replicated for each year of the project
5. Summary Budget: a one-page form available as a fill-in PDF form or Word document in the
Grants.gov Zip file or on the IMLS Web site
6. Specifications for Projects That Develop Digital Products form, if applicable: a two-page form
available as a fill-in PDF form or Word document in the Grants.gov Zip file or on the IMLS Web
site
7. Partnership Statement form, if applicable: a one-page form available as a fill-in PDF form
or Word document in the Grants.gov Zip file or on the IMLS Web site, replicated for each
individual partner
8. Text Responses documents, which will include the following:
a. Abstract
b. Schedule of Completion
c. Budget Justification
d. Organizational Profile
e. List of key project staff and consultants
f. Resumes for key project personnel
9. Other attachments:
a. Proof of nonprofit status, if applicable
b. Current, federally negotiated rate for indirect costs, if applicable
c. Planning documents, such as needs assessments or digitization plans, if applicable

20

Grants.gov

Organizations that are applying under the
March 1, 2007, deadline for the National
Leadership Grants program must submit their
applications through Grants.gov, the federal
government’s online application system. The
Grants.gov system will accept applications
through 11:59 P.M. eastern time on March 1.
The application instructions contained
within these guidelines are designed to
accommodate the online application process.
Applicants should feel free to contact program
staff at any time with questions about an
application component.
While the deadline is March 1, IMLS
recommends strongly that applicants
REGISTER EARLY (see “Grants.gov
Registration” section below) and COMPLETE
AND SUBMIT THEIR APPLICATION EARLY.
Applicants are urged to not wait until the last
day to submit their applications. Grants.gov
can slow down during periods of high usage,
which most often occur between 12:00 noon
and 5:00 P.M. eastern time, particularly on
days near a deadline. Applicants will have
a better experience if they submit their
application outside of these hours and in
advance of the deadline.

Grants.gov Registration
All applicants who are using Grants.gov must
register with Grants.gov before submitting
their application. The multistep registration
process generally cannot be completed in a
single day. Applicants who are not already
registered should allow at least two weeks
to complete this one-time process. DO NOT
WAIT UNTIL THE DAY OF THE APPLICATION
DEADLINE TO REGISTER.
Step-by-step instructions for registering are
available at www.grants.gov/GetStarted. In
addition, IMLS has created an easy-to-follow
checklist for registering at www.imls.gov/
applicants/grantsgov/checklist.shtm.
Applicants who have problems registering
should call the Grants.gov help desk at
1-800-518-4726; e-mail support@grants.
gov; or consult the information posted on the
Grants.gov Web site at www.grants.gov/
CustomerSupport. The Grants.gov customer
service hours are 7:00 A.M. to 9:00 P.M.
eastern time, Monday through Friday.
Applicants do not need to complete the
registration process to download the
application package and begin to prepare their
material (see below). However, they will need
their Grants.gov UserID and password, which
are obtained during the registration process,
to submit their completed application.

21

Grants.gov

Obtaining Application Packages

budget, program information, and any
others related to this specific program.

Electronic application packages are obtained
directly from www.Grants.gov. Organizations
applying through Grants.gov will need to locate
the National Leadership Grants program
package on the site. To locate the package:
1. Go to www.Grants.gov to obtain the
electronic application package for the
National Leadership Grants program.
2. In the left-hand column, click on “Apply for
Grants,” then click on “Download a Grant
Application Package and Instructions.”
Under “Find,” click “Download Grant
Application Packages.”
3. This will take applicants to the “Download
Application Package” screen. On this
screen, enter one of the numbers found
in the box below to locate the National
Leadership Grants program application
package, then click on “Download
Package.”

(2) Download Application Package—This
package has the face sheet (SF-424s,
“Application for Federal Domestic
Assistance/Short Organizational Form”)
and the Attachments form.
Applicants need to download both of these
packages to have all of the materials and
forms necessary to complete the application.
5. To access, complete, and submit the
application package, applicants need
to have PureEdge Viewer, a small,
free software program, installed on
their computer. Applicants who do not
already have this software can follow the
instructions on Grants.gov for installing
this program.

Please note that the PureEdge viewer is
compatible with computers running the
Windows operating system. Non-Windows
users will be able to download and
complete the PureEdge forms by taking
advantage of the free Citrix server. See
www.grants.gov/MacSupport for more
information.

The application package will download in
a Zipped file (.zip). Applicants need to have
software that un-Zips files to open them.
Numerous freeware packages are available
on the Internet. The .zip contents are also
available on the IMLS Web site at www.
imls.gov/grantsgov.

Applicants will need to know one of the
following to locate the package:
CFDA No: 45.312
Funding Opportunity Number: NLG-FY07
4. When an applicant starts to download
an application, two items need to be
downloaded:
(1) Download Application Instructions—
This package contains the grant
application guidelines (which include
instructions for completing the
application) and the IMLS forms for

22

Working on an Application Package
1. When opening the application package that
is saved on the applicant’s computer, the
Grants.gov “Grant Application Package”
screen will appear. In the “Application Filing
Name” field, applicants should enter their
organization’s legal name.
2. The forms needed to complete the National
Leadership Grants program application
appear in the “Mandatory Documents”
box. To open an item, click on it to select
it, and then click on the “Open Form”
button that is beneath the “Mandatory
Documents” box. Forms cannot be opened
by double-clicking. When a form is more
than one page, navigate between pages by
using the “Next” or “Previous” buttons at
the top of the screen.
3. After working on a form, click the “Close
Form” button at the top of the screen to
capture entered information and return to
the “Grant Application Package” screen.
Before closing the “Grant Application
Package” screen, click on the “Save”
button. Until all of the required fields in all
of the mandatory forms are completed,
clicking on the “Save” button will generate
an invalid values message. Click “Yes” to
proceed. Grants.gov will also ask: “File
Already Exists. OVERWRITE?” Clicking “Yes”
will save the most recent changes to the
existing file.

4. When a form is completed, click on the
form name in the “Mandatory Documents”
box to select it, and then click the “=>”
button. This will move the form to the
“Mandatory Completed Documents for
Submission” box. All forms must be in the
“Mandatory Completed Documents for
Submission” box before an applicant will be
able to submit the application. Forms can
be worked on from either the “Mandatory
Documents” or “Mandatory Completed
Documents for Submission” box.
There are two forms in the “Mandatory
Documents” box that every applicant must fill
out before submitting the application:
1. Application for Federal Domestic
Assistance/Short Organizational Form
(SF‑424s): This form asks for basic
information on the applicant’s organization
and project. It is equivalent to the IMLS
Face Sheet in the application package of
previous years.
2. Attachments Form: This is not a form
in the conventional sense, but rather
a place to attach the other forms and
additional items that must be included for
a Grants.gov application package to be
considered complete.
Note: The Program Information Sheet, the
Detailed Budget form, and the Summary
Budget form are also mandatory components
of the application. The Specifications for
Projects That Develop Digital Products form
and the Partnership Statement are optional
forms, depending on the nature of the project

23

Grants.gov

being proposed, that may also be components
of the application. All of these mandatory and
optional forms are included in the downloaded
Zip file in both Adobe PDF and Microsoft Word
formats, and are also available on the IMLS
Web site. They can be saved in either PDF or
Word format, then attached to the application
using the Attachments Form.
Before completing the required forms,
applicants may want to activate the Help tool
by clicking on the help button (looks like a
question mark) in the tool bar. Applicants can
then find instructions by positioning the cursor
over each item or, where relevant, over the
radio button for an item. Detailed instructions
for certain items are provided in the next
section.

Application Attachments
The Attachments Form is not a form in the
conventional sense. Rather, it is a place to
attach documents/files that are completed
and saved elsewhere on the applicant’s
computer. The forms and documents that
must be attached to the Attachments Form
are listed in their correct sequence below:
1. Program Information Sheet
2. Narrative
3. Detailed Budget form
4. Summary Budget form
5. Specifications for Projects That Develop
Digital Products form
6. Partnership Statement
7. Text Responses documents
8. Any remaining attachments

24

Several important points about the forms and
documents to attach:
1. On the Attachments Form, there are 15
attachment buttons, labeled “Attachment
1” through “Attachment 15.” By clicking
on a button, applicants will be able to
choose the file from their computer that
they wish to attach. Applicants should
attach only one copy of each item.
Applicants are encouraged to create
multipaged documents that consolidate
multiple attachments into one document, if
possible.
2. Applicants must submit all attachments
in one of the following formats: Microsoft
Word (.doc), Adobe Portable Document
Format (.pdf), Microsoft Excel (.xls), JPEG
(.jpg), rich text (.rtf), or plain text (.txt).

To save the PDF versions of the Program
Information Sheet, Budget forms,
Specifications for Projects That Develop
Digital Products form, or Partnership
Statement as PDFs, applicants must use
Adobe Acrobat Approval or the full Acrobat
Standard or Professional Programs.
(Acrobat Approval is no longer available for
purchase, but existing versions will work.)
Caution: Applicants using the free version
of the Reader software cannot save the
filled-out forms.

Nonform documents, such as the narrative
and Text Responses document(s), can be
created with any software, but must be
saved and submitted in one of the formats
listed above. Applicants who do not have
the software needed to convert files to PDF
can use one of the many low-cost or free
software packages available. To learn more,
go to www.imls.gov/pdf/PDFConversion.pdf.
Documents not available in an electronic
format should be scanned and submitted
as a PDF or JPEG file.

3. For documents that are not forms,
applicants should make sure that pages
are clearly labeled with the organization’s
legal name and the name of the item
(e.g., application narrative) and numbered
sequentially.
4. Forms and document files should be
labeled clearly and attached in the proper
order so that IMLS can correctly identify
attachments.

6. If unable to view an attachment by clicking
the “View Attachment” button on the
Attachments Form, applicants should
check the bottom of the screen for the
message “Pop-ups were blocked on this
page.” If this message is present, pressing
“Ctrl” and “View Attachment” will enable
the applicant to see the attachment.

Grants.gov Help
For help on how to use Grants.gov, please
see the help material on the Grants.gov Web
site at www.grants.gov/CustomerSupport.
Applicants can also e-mail the Grants.gov help
desk at [email protected] or call them at
1-800-518-4726 from 7:00 A.M. to 9:00 P.M.
eastern time, Monday through Friday.
The Grants.gov help desk will assign a case
number to each inquiry. This number only
documents the inquiry to the help desk, and is
in no way related to the tracking number that
Grants.gov will assign an application once it
has been successfully submitted.

5. Applicants do not have to fill in all 15
Attachments Form buttons.

25

SF-424s

Note: Questions 1 through 4 will auto-fill in
Grants.gov.

applicants are not eligible to receive National
Leadership Grants:

5. Applicant Information

•
•
•
•
•

a. Legal Name: Enter the legal name of the
organization that is making the application.
Please see page 4 (Institutional Eligibility) for
eligibility details. If the eligible entity does not
have the authority to apply directly to IMLS
for funding, enter the name of the parent
organization that is submitting the application
on behalf of the eligible entity. Enter the name
of the eligible entity in the space provided
for “Organizational Unit” on the Program
Information Form, Item 1b.
b. Address: Use Street1 for the organization’s
street address or post office box number,
whichever is used for its U.S. Postal Service
mailing address. Street2 is not a required field
and should be used only when a suite or room
number or other similar information is part of
the address.
In the Zip+4/Postal Code box, enter the full
nine-digit Zip code assigned by the U.S. Postal
Service. An organization’s full Zip code can be
retrieved at www.usps.com/zip4.
c. Web Address: Enter the Web address of the
legal applicant.
d. Type of Applicant: Select the one code that
best characterizes the applicant organization
from the menu in the first drop-down box. Leave
the other boxes blank. The following types of

26

Public/Indian Housing Authority
Individual
For-profit organization
Small business
Nondomestic (non-U.S.) entity

e. EIN/TIN: Enter the nine-digit number
assigned by the IRS; do not use a Social
Security number.
f. Organizational DUNS: All organizational
applicants for federal funds must have a
DUNS number. Ensure that the number
entered here agrees with the number (either
9 or 13 digits) that was used with the Central
Contractor Registry (CCR) as part of the
Grants.gov registration.
g. Congressional District: Enter the number
of the congressional district in which the
applicant organization is located. Use the
following format: two-letter state abbreviation,
followed by a hyphen, followed by the
three-digit district number. For example,
if the organization is located in the 5th
Congressional District of California, enter
“CA‑005.” For the 12th district of North
Carolina, enter “NC-012.” If an applicant
does not have a congressional district (e.g.,
it is located in a U.S. territory that does not
have districts), enter 00-000. To determine
an institution’s district, visit the House of
Representatives Web site at www.house.gov
and use the “Find Your Representative” tool.

6. Project Information
a. Project Title: Provide a brief descriptive title.
b. Project Description: Briefly describe the
specific project, not the applicant organization.
Use clear language that can be understood
readily by readers who may not be familiar
with the discipline or subject area.
c. Proposed Project Start Date/End Date:
Enter the beginning and ending dates for the
requested period of support—that is, the span
of time necessary to plan, execute, and close
out the proposed project. Projects must begin
between October 1, 2007, and December 1,
2007. Start dates must be the first day of a
month and end dates must be the last day of
a month.

7. Project Director
Provide the requested information for the
project director, who will be responsible for
carrying out the project and who will serve as
the key contact person with IMLS regarding
the progress achieved under the grant. Leave
the Social Security number blank. Select a
prefix (even though this field is not required on
Grants.gov).

8. Primary Contact/Grants Administrator
Provide the requested information for the
individual who should be contacted on all
matters involving this application and the
administration of any grant that may be
awarded. For colleges and universities,
this person is often a sponsored research,
sponsored programs, or contracts and grants
officer. Leave the Social Security number

blank. Select the appropriate prefix (even
though this field is not required on Grants.gov).
In some organizations, particularly smaller
ones, this individual may be the same as the
project director. If this is the case, check the
“Same as Project Director” box. (If the primary
contact/grants administrator is the same as
the authorizing official, please complete all
items under both 8 and 9 even though there
will be some repetition.)

9. Authorized Representative
Enter the name and contact information
of the person who has the authority to
apply for federal support of the applicant’s
activities and enter into legal agreements in
the name of the applicant. The Authorized
Representative should not be the same
person as the Project Director. By checking
the “I Agree” box at the top of Item 9 and
signing the application, this individual
certifies the applicant’s compliance with
relevant federal requirements (see the “IMLS
Assurances and Certification” section, pp.
50-55). All written correspondence will be
addressed to the Authorized Representative.
The “Signature of Authorized Representative”
and “Date Signed” boxes will be populated
on submission of the application. Submission
of the application by the Authorized
Representative certifies compliance with
relevant federal requirements, and that the
statements in the application (including, but
not limited to, the Partnership Statement) are
true, complete, and accurate to the best of
the applicant’s Authorized Representative’s
knowledge.

27

Program Information Sheet

1. Applicant Information
a. Legal Name: Enter the legal name of the
applicant.
b. and c. Organizational Unit and Address:
If the eligible entity cannot apply for grants
on its own behalf, then enter the name and
address of the entity in these spaces. For
example, if a museum or library that is part
of a parent organization, such as a university,
is applying, the university would be the legal
applicant, and the museum or library would
be entered as the organizational unit. Be
sure to include the four-digit extension on the
Zip code.
d. Web Address: If an organizational unit is
listed, enter its Web address here. If not, enter
the Web site of the entity listed at Legal Name.
e. Type of Institution: Select the one that
most accurately describes the applicant.

2. Grant Program or Grant Program
Category
Select one of the categories listed under
“f. National Leadership Grants.”

3. Request Information
a. IMLS Funds Requested: Enter the amount
sought from IMLS.
b. Cost Share Amount: Enter the amount
here. Applicants must provide cost sharing
of at least one half of the total project cost.
Research proposals are exempt from this
requirement. See “Conditions of a Grant” on
pages 12-13 for further information.

4. Museum Profile (Museum Applicants
only)
Museum applicants must answer all questions
in this section.

5–8.
Applicants for National Leadership Grants
should skip these sections.

28

Narrative

The following section, “Application Evaluation
Criteria,” describes the items to be addressed
in the National Leadership Grant application
narrative. The narrative should explain what
need the project will meet, and it should
provide sufficient information for reviewers
to evaluate all criteria. A thorough, succinct
narrative of no more than 10 single-spaced
pages should address all of the criteria.
These criteria should be addressed in the
order presented and must be labeled with
the criteria section titles to guide reviewers in
their evaluation. Do not exceed the 10-page
limit. Detailed budget discussion should not
be included here, but in a separate budget
justification. Planning documents that
informed the project design, such as needs
assessments or digitization plans, should be
included as “other attachments.”

The application narrative must
• include the applicant organization’s name
at the top of each page,
• not exceed the space limits,
• be printable on 8.5- by 11-inch paper,
• have a margin of at least 0.5 inch on all
sides,
• use a typeface that contains no more than
six lines per vertical inch,
• use a typeface with standard spacing
between letters (i.e., do not use a
condensed typeface), and
• have each page numbered.
Grants.gov applicants should use the
Attachments Form to attach the narrative to
the application. Attachments will be accepted
in one of the following formats only: Microsoft
Word (.doc), Adobe Portable Document Format
(.pdf), Microsoft Excel (.xls), JPEG (.jpg), rich
text (.rtf), or plain text (.txt).

29

Application Evaluation Criteria

National Leadership Grants are intended for
projects that are innovative and even risktaking. They are not intended to support basic
operational needs.

Evaluation Criteria for Building Digital
Resources, Library and Museum
Community Collaboration, and Research
and Demonstration

The most successful National Leadership
Grant proposals result from careful
planning, including identification of a
problem, assessment of potential solutions,
development of a proposed approach,
gathering of key people and resources to test
or demonstrate proposed solutions, and a
plan to evaluate results. Partnerships among
institutions to achieve a broader vision and
leverage resources are encouraged in all
categories to maximize the impact of federal
funding.

1. Assessment of Need
Describe the project’s intended audience
and the audience needs that the project
serves. Discuss how the project will benefit
this audience either through direct service or
through increased knowledge. Explain who
will be able to use the model created by this
project.

Successful proposals demonstrate a clear
sense of how projects benefit their communities
and contribute to the advancement of the
library or museum fields. The most competitive
projects provide creative solutions to
significant problems and develop models for
other organizations to adapt or emulate to
extend the benefit of federal support.
An idea need not be entirely new to
demonstrate leadership potential and have
innovative impact. The best proposals may
improve on or extend previous work in a
significant way. Successful proposals will
explain how a proposed project builds on an
existing base of knowledge, including previous
projects and/or published literature, and how
results will benefit the professional community
as well as the public. Institutions of all
sizes and types are encouraged to develop
projects that meet the specific needs of their
counterparts across the country.

30

Evaluation criteria: Evidence that the
applicant has identified an audience,
performed a formal or informal assessment
of its needs, is aware of similar projects
completed by other institutions, and has
developed the project and its goals as the best
solution to answer those needs.
Research proposals should frame the project
in the context of current research and explain
what this project will contribute to the library
and/or museum fields.

2. National Impact and Intended Results
Describe how the project innovatively
addresses current issues that concern the
library and/or museum fields and will have a
lasting impact on the field(s). Describe how
the significance of results will be determined.
Evaluation criteria: Degree to which the
project reflects an understanding of current
issues related to library or museum services,
creatively addresses issues facing museums
or libraries of similar size or discipline, and
envisions change in the field that could
result from the project. Degree to which
the project is likely to have a far-reaching
impact through results or products that serve
multiple institutions and constituencies, or
evidence that the project is of sufficient scope
to effect systemic change within and across
organizations. Evidence that the project will
create, implement, and document workable
models that have the potential for successful,
widespread adaptation where appropriate,
or will produce far-reaching results. Degree
to which project processes or outcomes have
potential applications in other settings and
are made available so that others may adapt
them for their own use. Leadership proposals
may carry a risk of failure, but should
demonstrate how potential benefits outweigh
risks. For projects involving digital collections,
in addition to the above, evidence that the
project demonstrates interoperability in its
broadest context and potential for integration
into larger scale initiatives.
For research projects, evidence that the
results will be generalizable and useful to the
library and/or museum communities.

3. Project Design and Evaluation Plan
Describe the scope of the project, including
project goals, the project planning process,
the specific activities to implement the
project, and the expected results. Describe
relationship of the project to any similar
projects completed by other institutions in
the library or museum fields. Describe the
design, integration, and implementation of
an assessment method that will measure
project outcomes, findings, or products, and
show how this project will advance the state
of the art of library, information, and museum
science.
Evaluation criteria: Evidence that the project
proposes efficient, effective, and reasonable
approaches to accomplish its clear goals and
objectives. Evidence that the methodology
and design are appropriate to the scope of the
project. Evidence that the project uses existing
or emerging standards or best practices in the
technical area to which the project relates.
Evidence that the evaluation plan ties directly
to project goals through measurable project
outcomes, findings, or products. Evidence that
evaluation will provide reliable information on
which to judge impact or base actions.
For research projects, proposals should pose
the research questions clearly, explain through
the plan of work how the questions will be
investigated, how data will be gathered and
analyzed, and how results will be evaluated.
The proposal should provide evidence that
results are likely to be valid, reliable, and
generalizable.

31

Application Evaluation Criteria

4. Project Resources: Budget, Personnel,
and Management
Describe institutional responsibilities for the
project’s implementation and management.
Describe personnel who will complete project
activities, and discuss their qualifications
and commitment to the project activities,
particularly if they have other ongoing duties.
Discuss the budget allocated to accomplish
project activities, including cost sharing. If
the project includes a partnership, discuss
contributions to and benefits from the
project for both the applicant and partner
organizations, and explain how information
will be shared and decisions will be made.
Evaluation criteria: Evidence that the
applicant will effectively complete the
project activities through the deployment
and management of resources including
money, facilities, equipment, and supplies.
A cost-efficient budget that uses appropriate
resources to fulfill the cost-sharing
requirement. Evidence that project personnel
demonstrate appropriate experience and
expertise and will commit adequate time to
accomplish project goals and activities. If the
project includes a partnership, evidence that
all partners are active contributors to and
beneficiaries of the partnership activities.

32

5. Dissemination
Describe how the library and/or museum
fields will be able to learn about the project.
Discuss how this communication will use
a variety of appropriate media and will
reach appropriate audiences. Describe how
new products and services will reach the
audiences described in the first criterion,
Assessment of Need.
Evaluation criteria: Extent to which the
results, products, models, findings, processes,
and benefits of this project will be made
transparent and accessible through effective
communication channels in the museum
and/or library fields, and, where appropriate,
in other professional organizations and
communities. Examples include, but are
not limited to, conference presentations,
publications, Web sites, and community
outlets. Multiple dissemination methods are
desirable.

6. Sustainability
Describe how the applicant will continue to
support the project or its results and/or the
new model beyond the grant period.
Evaluation criteria: Extent to which the
project’s benefits will continue beyond
the grant period, either through ongoing
institutional support of project activities or
products, Web sites, and development of
institutional expertise and capacity, or through
broad long-term access to project products.
Extent to which the project will lead to
systemic change within the institution as well
as within the museum and/or library fields.
For projects involving digitization, in addition
to the above, the effectiveness of project plans
to preserve and sustain digital materials.
For research projects, the extent to which
project findings are made broadly accessible
and enter into the knowledge base of the
library and/or museum fields.

Evaluation Criteria for Collaborative
Planning Grants
1. Assessment of Need
Degree to which the project to be planned will
benefit the intended audience.
2. National Impact and Intended Results
Degree to which the planning will result in a
project likely to have a significant impact on
current issues in the field.
3. Project Design and Evaluation Plan
Degree to which the planning tasks are
likely to result in clearly articulated goals
and objectives for the planned project.
Evidence of an effective planning process that
appropriately involves all partners.
4. Project Resources: Budget, Personnel,
and Management
Degree to which the budget, personnel, and
management are sufficient to accomplish the
specified planning tasks.
Dissemination and Sustainability Criteria do
not need to be answered by Collaborative
Planning Grant applicants.

33

Budget

The application requires three elements to
describe the costs of a proposed project.
The Detailed Budget for each year of the
project and the Summary Budget that
describes costs for the entire project are
both available as fill-in PDF forms or Word
documents in the Grants.gov Zip file or on
the IMLS Web site. The third element is the
Budget Justification, which is referenced below
and further explained in the “Text Responses
Document” section (p. 42).
Applicants for funding from the National
Leadership Grant program must provide cost
sharing of at least one half of the total project
cost. Research proposals are exempt from this
requirement.

Section A: Detailed Budget
Applicants need to fill out a copy of the
Detailed Budget Form for each year of the
project. The first copy of the Budget Form
should begin on the project start date and
end 12 months later. Applicants using the
PDF or Word fill-in forms can fill out the form
for one year, save it, then fill it out again for
the remaining years. Applicants using the PDF
fill-in forms will notice that the columns total
automatically, whereas applicants using the
Word forms will have to total their columns
manually.
The budget should include the project
costs that will be charged to grant funds as
well as those that will be supported by the
applicant or third-party in-kind contributions
(cost sharing). In-kind contributions include
the value of services or equipment that is
donated to the project free of charge. All of

34

the items listed, whether supported by grant
funds or cost-sharing contributions, must be
reasonably necessary to accomplish project
objectives, allowable in terms of the applicable
federal cost principles, auditable, and incurred
during the grant period. Charges to the project
for items such as salaries, fringe benefits,
travel, and contractual services must conform
to the written policies and established
practices of the applicant organization. When
indirect costs are charged to the project, care
should be taken to ensure that expenses
included in the organization’s indirect cost
pool (see “Indirect Costs” below) are not
charged to the project as direct costs.
“Method of Cost Computation” can refer to a
percentage of a person’s time devoted to the
project, a number of days, a quantity of items,
and so on. This column should clarify how the
applicant arrived at the costs indicated.
1. Salaries and Wages: Indicate both
temporary and permanent staff by noting
“temp” or “perm” in parentheses after each
staff member listed.
2. Fringe Benefits: Fringe benefits may
include contributions for Social Security,
employee insurance, pension plans, and so
on. Only those benefits not included in an
organization’s indirect cost pool may be shown
as direct costs.
3. Consultant Fees: List any consultants
hired for this project. Identify the costs for
each consultant’s services by the daily fees
charged.

4. Travel: Applicants must include $2,000
per year for travel to attend IMLS-designated
meetings. For partnership projects, include
$4,000 per year for such travel. The lowest
available commercial fares for coach or
equivalent accommodations must be used,
and foreign travel must be undertaken on U.S.
flag carriers when such services are available.
5. Supplies and Materials: In general, list the
costs of material purchased specifically for the
proposed project. Permanent equipment is
defined as nonexpendable personal property
having a useful life of more than one year and
an acquisition cost of $5,000 or more.
6. Services: List the costs of project activities
to be undertaken by a third-party contractor,
including a partner, under this budget category
as a single line item that shows the amount
that will be charged to IMLS grant funds and
the cost sharing that will be contributed by the
third party. Attach a complete itemization of
these costs to the IMLS Budget Form. If there
is more than one contractor, list the cost of
each contract separately on the IMLS Budget
Form and include an attached itemization.
7. Student Support: Applicants for National
Leadership Grants should skip this section.

8. Other Costs: Please do not use the “Other
Costs” section to list items that did not fit
in the number of lines allotted for another
section. If more lines are needed, the
information should be summarized in the
Detailed Budget Form and further explained in
the Budget Justification.
10. Indirect Costs: Indirect costs are project
costs that an organization incurs that
cannot be easily assigned to an individual
project. They are also called “overhead” or
“administrative costs.” Examples of indirectcost type items are charges for utilities,
insurance, use of office space and equipment
owned by the applicant, local telephone
service, and the salaries of the management
and administrative personnel of the
organization.
Organizations that do not have a federally
negotiated indirect cost rate and do not wish
to negotiate one may charge an administrative
fee to the project of up to 15 percent. IMLS
will pay this administrative fee only on
that portion of direct project costs that are
supported by IMLS funds. This fee may also be
applied to the direct project costs that will be
supported by the applicant and may therefore
be counted as part of the applicant’s cost
sharing. If an applicant chooses this option,
it must be careful to exclude all indirect-cost
type items from the budget and the fee may
not be applied to more than the first $5,000 of
distorting costs such as equipment purchases
or subcontracts.

35

BUDGET

If an organization has a federally negotiated
indirect cost rate that will be current on
the date of award, as cited on the award
notification, this rate may be used to determine
total project costs, as long as the rate is
applied in accordance with the negotiated
agreement and a copy of the negotiation
is forwarded to IMLS with the application.
However, IMLS will pay indirect costs only
on the portion of the direct costs that are
supported by IMLS funds. Indirect costs that
are related to the direct project costs that
will be supported by the applicant may be
included in the budget only as a part of the
applicant’s cost sharing. IMLS will not accept
an indirect cost rate that is scheduled to expire
before the award is issued. Institutions must
use a federally negotiated indirect cost rate
appropriate to the type of project proposed. For
example, a rate for research may be used only
for research projects.
An organization that is in the process of
negotiating an indirect cost rate with a
federal agency may apply the proposed rate
to estimate total project costs as long as
it follows the instructions in the previous
paragraph in applying the rate and includes
the indirect cost proposal in the application
material. IMLS will not pay any indirect costs
until a rate is negotiated and a copy of the
final agreement is submitted to the IMLS
Office of Grants Administration. It is possible
that the amount of the award will be reduced
if the final negotiated rate is less than the
rate that was used in the application budget.
However, the amount of the award will not
be increased if the negotiated indirect cost
rate is higher than the rate proposed in the
application.

36

Once an indirect cost rate is accepted by
IMLS, the rate shall be considered fixed for
the duration of the award even if, during the
course of the award, the grantee negotiates a
new indirect cost rate.
If a grantee has one or more predetermined
rates negotiated at the time of the award,
e.g., 30 percent the first year and 32 percent
the second year, these rates may be used in
the project budget. However, in the example
given above, if the grant period ran more than
two years, the last predetermined rate would
apply not only to the second year of the grant
but also to any subsequent years.
The cost of student scholarships, fellowships,
other stipends, and/or tuition may not be
included in the amount on which indirect
costs are requested.
These instructions also apply to an
organization that will function as a partner in
undertaking grant activities.

Section B: Summary Budget
The Summary Budget should clearly identify
the amount requested from IMLS and the
amount provided as in-kind contributions by
the applicant, by any partners, and from any
other sources.

Specifications for Projects That
Develop Digital Products

For a list of resources on digitization projects
that may help applicants complete this
form, see pages 16-18. This list is intended
to assist applicants in learning more about
digitization projects and is neither exhaustive
nor an endorsement by IMLS of any particular
resource.
If there is not enough space on the form to
provide complete answers to the questions,
please copy the questions to a separate
document, answer them fully, and incorporate
the document (clearly named so as to be
identifiable) into the Text Responses portion of
the application.

Part I
Complete the appropriate sections. Select
box A, B, C, or any combination of these
boxes, depending on the original material the
applicant will be working with and the digital
products that will be developed.
Box A. Converting Non-Digital Material to
Digital Format
A1. Explain the types of original non-digital
materials to be selected for digitization,
such as text, photographs, threedimensional art objects, archaeological
artifacts, maps, motion pictures, and
video, and give the quantity of each type.
For audio, video, and motion picture
materials, give the total number of
minutes or hours to be digitized. Describe
the original format of each type of
material to be digitized.

A2. Identify all use or access restrictions
covering the original material to be
digitized. Check the intellectual property
condition and give the corresponding
percentage of the original material to be
digitized that is subject to restrictions.
A3. Describe the terms of access and use
that will apply to the newly digitized
material being created by the project.
Identify and explain any restrictions that
will apply to the digitized material, and
specify what percentage if any of the total
material will be subject to restrictions.
Examples are copyright, no downloading,
and registration.
A4. Explain what equipment and software will
be used and include specifications that
are relevant to the work of the project
(e.g., cameras with zoom capability,
scanners, servers, motorized object
rigs). Equipment and software must be
described, whether the digitization will be
completed in-house or outsourced to a
contractor or partner.
Box B. Repurposing Existing Digital Content
B1. Explain the original materials whose
digital form will be repurposed, such as
digital text (e.g., oral history transcripts),
photographs, video, audio, and Web
files, and give the number of each type.
Describe the digital format and the
amount of material to be repurposed.
B2. Identify copyright and other potential
restrictions with regard to the original
digital material. Check the intellectual
property condition and give the
corresponding percentage of the digital
material to be repurposed.

37

Specifications for Projects That
Develop Digital Products

B3. Describe the terms of access and use of
the repurposed digital material. Identify
and explain any restrictions that will apply
to the repurposed digital material, and
specify what percentage if any of the total
material will be subject to restrictions.
Examples are copyright, no downloading,
and registration.
B4. Explain what equipment and software will
be used and include specifications that
are relevant to the work of the project.
Equipment must be described whether
the repurposing will be completed inhouse or outsourced to a contractor or
partner.
Box C. Creating New Digital Content
C1. Explain the types of digital content to
be created, such as digital text (e.g.,
oral history transcripts), photographs,
video, audio, and Web files, and give the
quantity of each type.
C2. Describe the plan to obtain releases/
permissions from project content creators
(e.g., filmmakers) and subjects (e.g., oral
history interviewees).
C3. Describe the disposition of ownership of
the new product. Describe how the new
product will be made available to the
public. Explain the terms of access and
conditions of use. Identify and explain
any restrictions that will apply to the new
product, and specify what percentage if
any of the total material will be subject to
restrictions.

38

C4. Explain what equipment and software will
be used and include specifications that
are relevant to the work of the project
(e.g., camera, audio recording equipment,
video recording equipment, encoding
software, server). Equipment must be
described whether the content will be
created in-house or outsourced to a
contractor or partner.

Part II
Answer all questions.
  5. Specify the file formats to be produced
and the anticipated quality of each format
(e.g., minimum resolution, depth, tone,
pixel dimensions, file size, sampling rate,
compression ratio, frames per second). If
watermarks or other features will be used,
explain. Provide information for Master,
Access, and Thumbnail versions.
  6. Describe the medium that will be used to
deliver the digital material (e.g., Internet
streaming or download, broadcast, DVD).
  7. Describe the underlying software to
manage and/or present the content (e.g.,
DSpace, Fedora, ContentDM).
  8. Describe the plan for ensuring the
technical quality of the digital product.

  9. Explain how descriptive and
administrative metadata will be produced
and used to describe and manage the
content. Include the standards that
will be used for data structure, content
(e.g., thesauri), protocols, preservation
and administrative information, and
communication of the content (e.g.,
MARC, EAD, Dublin Core, PBCore, VRA
Core Categories, or Categories for the
Description of Works of Art).
10. Describe plans for preserving and
maintaining the digital material during
and after the grant period. The plan
should cover storage systems and media
to be used, migration plans, maintenance
responsibilities, and commitment of
institutional funding support.

11. If content will be provided on the Internet,
indicate agreement to submit collection
level records for digital products to the
IMLS Digital Collection and Content
Registry. State reasons for selecting
alternative approaches.
12. Provide URL(s) for applicant’s previously
digitized collections, if applicable. If the
proposed digital collection will differ
substantially in look and feel from
collections previously digitized, explain
what the differences will be.

39

Partnership Statement

Complete a Partnership Statement for each
formal partner involved in the proposed
project.

6. Governing Control of Partner

Applicants should save each Partnership
Statement with a distinct file name that
includes the word “Partner” and a short form
of the partner’s name—e.g., Partner Cornell or
Partner NOMA. Then add each document to
the Attachments form, following the sequence
in the Application Checklist.

7–9

At the top of the Partnership Statement, enter
the legal name of the applicant organization.
This information should match that provided
on the SF-424s and the Program Information
Form.

1–5
Provide all of the informatioin requested
for the partner organization. If the partner
organization does not have a DUNS number,
refer the partner to page 11 within these
guidelines for information and instructions
on how to secure one. To obtain a full Zip+4
postal code, visit www.usps.com/zip4.

40

Check one box to indicate the partner’s
governing control.

Provide the information requested for each of
these items. The limits on the amount of text
allowed are given in the item statement on the
form.
The applicant must ensure that each partner
also provides a signed original version of the
Partnership Statement to the applicant, and
that the applicant will make this form available
to IMLS if requested by IMLS.

Text Responses Document

For the following application items, create a
single document that includes all of the items
below, in the order listed. When it is finished,
please run spell check (if available) and make
corrections. Text Responses documents must:
• supply information in the order requested.
• include the title (e.g., Abstract) for each
item.
• have the applicant organization’s name at
the top of each page.
• have a margin of at least 0.5 inch on all
sides.
• have each page numbered.
• use no smaller than a 12-point typeface
with no more than six lines per vertical
inch and standard spacing between letters.
Condensed fonts are not acceptable.
Handwritten text responses are not
acceptable.
Applicants should save the document with the
file name “TextResponses.” Applicants will use
the Attachments Form to add this document
to their applications. Attachments will be
accepted in one of the following formats
only: Microsoft Word (.doc), Adobe Portable
Document Format (.pdf), Microsoft Excel (.xls),
JPEG (.jpg), rich text (.rtf), or plain text (.txt).

Abstract
A project abstract not exceeding one singlespaced page (660-word maximum) must be
provided. Information in the abstract should
cover the following areas as related to the
proposed project:
• Who is the lead applicant and who are the
formal partners, if applicable?
• What is the time frame for the project?
• What community need(s) will the project
address?
• Who is the intended audience for the
activities?
• What will be the project’s activities,
outcomes, and tangible products?
• What are the intended outcomes
for audience members, in terms of
measurable changes in knowledge,
attitudes, or behavior?
This abstract may be used by IMLS for
public information purposes, so it should be
informative to other persons working in the
same or related fields and insofar as possible
understandable to a technically literate lay
reader. The abstract must not include any
proprietary or confidential information.

41

Text Responses Document

Schedule of Completion
The applicant must provide a Schedule of
Completion that shows when each major
project task will be undertaken, marks
the milestones for each grant activity, and
designates how grant funds are to be spent
throughout the project. The Schedule of
Completion must also correspond to the
activities described in the narrative and the
project dates on the SF-424s and budget
pages. One way to plot this information is in
a graph or chart that lists project activities
and the corresponding months when these
activities will take place during the project.
This document may be created as a narrative
or spreadsheet, and should be no longer
than one page per year. See page 49 for an
example.

Budget Justification
The Budget Justification should explain all
elements of the Detailed Budget. For example,
the Budget Justification should explain the
role that each person listed in the project
budget will play. It should also provide
justification for all proposed equipment,
supplies, travel, services, and other expenses.
The application should provide specifications
for all hardware and software for which IMLS
funding is requested.

42

IMLS encourages applicants to contribute as
cost share the salaries of permanent staff to
be employed on a project in proportion to the
amount of time they will spend on the project.
If IMLS funding is requested for salaries of
permanent staff, the proposal should explain
why funds are requested for this purpose and
how the regular duties of these individuals
will be performed during the grant period. The
Budget Justification should explain the role
of any outside consultants and third-party
vendors to be employed on the project and
how each was identified and selected. Costs
for third-party service providers should be
documented by bids or otherwise justified.
The cost of project activities to be undertaken
by a third-party contractor, or a partner,
should be listed under “Services” on the
Detailed Budget as a single line item that
shows the amount that will be charged to
IMLS grant funds and the cost sharing that
will be provided by the third party. A complete
itemization of these costs should be included
as part of the Budget Justification. If there is
more than one contractor, the cost of each
contract must be listed separately on the
IMLS Budget Form and an itemization must be
included as part of the Budget Justification.

Organizational Profile
Provide an organizational profile of no
more than one page. Include the following
information: (1) the organization’s mission
and (2) the organization’s service area
(audience served, including size, demographic
characteristics, and geographic area).
This information will give the reviewers an
understanding of the applicant organization.

List of Key Project Staff and Consultants
and Resumes for Key Project Personnel
1. Provide a list of the key project staff
and the consultants who will be directly
involved in the program.
2. Add resumes or curriculum vitae of no
more than two pages each for all key
personnel (both staff and consultants).
Add a page break at the end of the list of
personnel, then add page breaks at the
end of each of the resumes/curriculum
vitae.
3. If the key project personnel have not been
selected by the application deadline date,
then submit position descriptions instead
of resumes. Because application reviewers
rely on resumes to determine the project’s
potential for success, if the personnel have
not been chosen, the application may be at
a competitive disadvantage.

43

Other Attachments

Supporting Documentation

Points to Remember

Applicants may include documents that
specifically relate to the justification for
the project. Web links within the proposal
narrative to relevant online materials are
preferred to attachments.

• The number of attachments that may
be included is not limited. However, all
attachments must relate specifically to the
applicant’s project. Grants.gov applicants
are provided with two Attachments Forms,
each allowing up to 15 attachments.
Applicants are encouraged to create
multipage documents that include multiple
attachments, when possible.

Proof of Nonprofit Status
If the applicant’s organization is a private,
nonprofit organization (for those who
answered “Private Nonprofit” or “Other” on
question 5d of the SF-424s):
• The applicant must submit a copy of the
IRS letter indicating the organization’s
eligibility for nonprofit status under the
applicable provisions of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1954, as amended.
• IMLS will not accept a letter of state sales
tax exemption as proof of nonprofit status.

44

• Do not overburden the reviewers with
unnecessary materials.
• All attachments should include dates of
creation and authorship.

Submitting Grants.gov Applications

1. In the top left corner of the Grants.gov
menu screen, applicants will see “Submit,”
“Save,” “Print,” “Cancel,” and “Check
Package for Errors” buttons.
2. Once applicants have completed the
application (i.e., all of the Mandatory
Documents have been completed and
moved to the “Completed Documents”
box), they should click the “Check Package
for Errors” button to double-check that they
have provided all required information.
3. Applicants should then click the “Save”
button one last time to make sure that all
of the most current information is saved.
(At this point, the invalid values message
should not pop up.)

5. The authorized official will click the
“Submit” button. The “Submit” button will
not become active until the application is
saved with all required fields completed.
Clicking this button will reconnect the user
to Grants.gov and the Internet. The
authorized official will be prompted to
provide the Grants.gov UserID and
password that were obtained during the
Grants.gov registration process. Applicants
should be certain that they are satisfied
with their application before clicking the
“Submit” button. No changes or revisions
are possible once the application is
submitted.

Grants.gov will put a date/time stamp
on each application after it is fully
uploaded. The time it takes to upload
an application will vary depending on
a  number of factors, including the size
of the application, the speed of the
applicant’s Internet connection, and
the number of other applications (for
grants from a variety of federal
agencies) being sent to Grants.gov at
the same time.

Applications can be submitted until
11:59 P.M. (eastern time) on March 1.
However, applicants are strongly
encouraged to submit applications early, in
case of delays resulting from heavy online
traffic or to deal with any last-minute
problems that may be encountered.

4. Applicants should print out a hard copy of
the completed application for their files.
Clicking the “Print” button will print out all
of the forms in the “Mandatory Completed
Documents for Submission” box.
Applicants who desire a hard copy of the
items attached to the Attachments Form
will have to print those out on their own.

45

Submitting Grants.gov Applications

6. Upon submission of the application to
Grants.gov, the Grants.gov tracking number
assigned to the application will display on
the screen. Applicants should print out a
copy of this notification number for their
records. The tracking number also will be
e-mailed to the authorized organization
representative.
7. After the program deadline, applicants
will receive a notification via e-mail from
Grants.gov when IMLS retrieves their
applications from Grants.gov.

46

8. Within 30 working days after the
application deadline, IMLS will e-mail
applicants an acknowledgment form with
an application log number. Applicants who
do not receive this form in the stated time
should contact IMLS to ensure that their
application was successfully logged.

Application
Resources and
Assurances

application checklist

An application requesting National Leadership Grant funding should include the following
materials:
 Face Sheet: the Application for Federal Domestic Assistance/Short Organizational Form
(SF‑424s) on Grants.gov.
 Program Information Sheet: a three-page form available as a fill-in PDF form or Word
document in the Grants.gov Zip file or on the IMLS Web site.
 Narrative (not to exceed 10 pages).
 Detailed Budget: a three-page form available as a fill-in PDF form or Word document in the
Grants.gov Zip file or on the IMLS Web site, replicated for each year of the project.
 Summary Budget: a one-page form available as a fill-in PDF form or Word document in the
Grants.gov Zip file or on the IMLS Web site.
 Specifications for Projects That Develop Digital Products form, if applicable: a two-page form
available as a fill-in PDF form or Word document in the Grants.gov Zip file or on the IMLS Web
site.
 Partnership Statement, if applicable.
 Text Responses document(s), which will include the following:
 Abstract
 Schedule of Completion
 Budget Justification
 Organizational Profile
 List of key project staff and consultants
 Resumes for key project personnel
 Other attachments:
 Proof of Nonprofit Status, if applicable
 Current, federally negotiated rate for indirect costs, if applicable
 Planning documents, such as needs assessments or digitization plans, if applicable

48

Activity Eleven

Activity Ten

Activity Nine

Activity Eight

Activity Seven

Activity Six

Activity Five

Activity Four

Activity Three

Activity Two

Activity One

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

This is a sample format for a Schedule of Completion (see p. 42). Applicants may prepare theirs in a similar
manner, but this format is not required. Whatever format is selected, be sure to list each major project activity
addressed in the application narrative and the date each activity begins and ends. It is critical that the dates
on the Schedule of Completion correspond to the project dates on the Application for Federal Domestic
Assistance/Short Organizational Form (SF-424s; also known as the Face Sheet). If the proposed activity is
part of a larger project, make sure the IMLS-funded portion is clearly identified.

sample schedule of completion

49

IMLS Assurances and Certification

IMLS is required to obtain from all
applicants certifications regarding federal
debt status, debarment and suspension,
nondiscrimination, and a drug-free workplace.
Applicants requesting more than $100,000
in grant funds must also certify regarding
lobbying activities and may be required to
submit a “Disclosure of Lobbying Activities”
(Standard Form LLL). Some applicants will be
required to certify that they will comply with
other federal statutes that pertain to their
particular situation. These requirements are
incorporated in the Assurances Statement
below. The authorized representative must
review the statement and provide the
certification in item 9 on the Application
for Federal Domestic Assistance/Short
Organizational Form (SF-424s).

50

Assurances Statement
By signing the application form, the authorized
representative, on behalf of the applicant,
assures and certifies that, should a grant be
awarded, the applicant will comply with the
statutes outlined below and all related IMLS
regulations, which are found in 45 C.F.R.
Chapter XI, Subchapter E (Institute of Museum
and Library Services). These assurances are
given in connection with any and all financial
assistance from IMLS after the date this form
is signed, but may include payments after this
date for financial assistance approved prior
to this date. These assurances shall obligate
the applicant for the period during which the
federal financial assistance is extended. The
applicant recognizes and agrees that any such
assistance will be extended in reliance on
the representations and agreements made in
these assurances, and that the United States
government has the right to seek judicial
enforcement of these assurances, which
are binding on the applicant, its successors,
transferees, and assignees, and on the
authorized official whose signature appears
on the application form.

Certifications Required of All Applicants
Financial, Administrative, and Legal
Accountability
The authorized representative, on behalf of
the applicant, certifies that the applicant has
legal authority to apply for federal assistance
and the institutional, managerial, and financial
capability (including funds sufficient to pay
the nonfederal share of project costs) to
ensure proper planning, management, and
completion of the project described in this
application.
The authorized representative, on behalf of
the applicant, certifies that the applicant will
cause to be performed the required financial
and compliance audits in accordance with
the Single Audit Act Amendments of 1996
(31 U.S.C. § 7501 et seq.) and OMB
Circular No. A-133, “Audits of States, Local
Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations.”
The authorized representative, on behalf
of the applicant, certifies that the applicant
will comply with the provisions of applicable
OMB Circulars.

Federal Debt Status
The authorized representative, on behalf of
the applicant, certifies to the best of his or
her knowledge and belief that the applicant
is not delinquent in the repayment of any
federal debt.
Suspension, Debarment, and Other
Responsibility Matters
1. The authorized representative, on behalf
of the applicant, certifies to the best of
his or her knowledge and belief that the
applicant and its principals:
(a) are not presently excluded or
disqualified;
(b) have not been convicted within
the preceding three years of any
of the offenses listed in 45 C.F.R.
1185.800(a) or had a civil judgment
rendered against the applicant or its
principals for one of those offenses
within that time period;
(c) are not presently indicted for or
otherwise criminally or civilly charged
by a governmental entity (federal,
state, or local) with commission of
any of the offenses listed in 45 C.F.R.
1185.800(a); and
(d) have not had one or more public
transactions (federal, state, or local)
terminated within the preceding three
years for cause or default.

51

IMLS Assurances and Certification

2. The authorized representative, on behalf
of the applicant, further certifies that the
applicant and its principals will comply
with 45 C.F.R. Part 1185 Subpart C
(Responsibilities of Participants Regarding
Transactions) and will require similar
compliance with Subpart C by persons
at the next lower tier with whom the
primary tier participant enters into covered
transactions.
Nondiscrimination
The authorized representative, on behalf of
the applicant, certifies that the applicant will
comply with the following nondiscrimination
statutes and their implementing regulations:
(a) Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,
as amended (42 U.S.C. § 2000 et seq.),
which prohibits discrimination on the basis
of race, color, or national origin;
(b) Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of
1973, as amended (29 U.S.C. § 701 et
seq.), which prohibits discrimination on
the basis of disability;
(c) Title IX of the Education Amendments
of 1972, as amended (20 U.S.C. §§
1681–83, 1685–86), which prohibits
discrimination on the basis of sex in
education programs; and
(d) the Age Discrimination in Employment Act
of 1975, as amended (42 U.S.C. § 6101
et seq.), which prohibits discrimination on
the basis of age.

52

Drug-Free Workplace
The authorized representative, on behalf of
the applicant, certifies, as a condition of the
award, that the applicant will or will continue
to provide a drug-free workplace by complying
with the requirements in Subpart B of 45
C.F.R. Part 1186.
This includes: making a good faith effort, on
a continuing basis, to maintain a drug-free
workplace; publishing a drug-free workplace
statement; establishing a drug-free awareness
program for its employees; taking actions
concerning employees who are convicted of
violating drug statutes in the workplace; and
identifying (either with this application or upon
award, or in documents kept on file in the
applicant’s office) all known workplaces under
the award.

Certification Regarding Lobbying Activities
(Applies to Applicants Requesting Funds in
Excess of $100,000)
The authorized representative certifies, to the
best of his or her knowledge and belief, that:
(a) no federal appropriated funds have been
paid or will be paid by or on behalf of the
authorized representative to any person
for influencing or attempting to influence
an officer or employee of any agency,
a Member of Congress, an officer or
employee of Congress, or an employee
of a Member of Congress in connection
with the awarding of a federal contract,
the making of a federal grant, the making
of a federal loan, the entering into of a
cooperative agreement, or the extension,
continuation, renewal, amendment, or
modification of a federal contract, grant,
loan, or cooperative agreement;
(b) if any funds other than appropriated
federal funds have been paid or will be
paid to any person (other than a regularly
employed officer or employee of the
applicant) for influencing or attempting
to influence an officer or employee of
any agency, a Member of Congress, an
officer or employee of Congress, or an
employee of a Member of Congress in
connection with this federal contract,
grant, loan, or cooperative agreement, the
authorized representative shall request,
complete, and submit Standard Form LLL,
“Disclosure of Lobbying Activities,” in
accordance with its instructions; and

(c) the authorized representative shall require
that the language of this certification
be included in the award documents
for all subawards at all tiers (including
subcontracts, and contracts under grants,
loans, and cooperative agreements) and
that all subrecipients shall certify and
disclose accordingly.
General Certification
The authorized representative, on behalf
of the applicant, certifies that the applicant
will comply with all applicable requirements
of all other federal laws, executive orders,
regulations, and policies governing the
program. IMLS grant regulations may be found
at 45 C.F.R. Chapter XI, Subchapter E (Institute
of Museum and Library Services).

53

IMLS Assurances and Certification

Certifications Required of Some
Applicants
The following certifications are required
if applicable to the project for which an
application is being submitted. Applicants
should be aware that additional federal
certifications, not listed below, might apply to
a particular project.
Subcontracts
A grantee may not make a subgrant (for more
details, see 45 C.F.R. Chapter XI, Subchapter
E [Institute of Museum and Library Services]).
Applicants who plan to use awards to fund
contracts and subcontracts should be
aware that they must receive the following
certifications from those who bid on contracts:
1. certification of compliance with the
nondiscrimination statutes from
institutional applicants and contractors,
and
2. certification regarding debarment and
suspension from potential contractors and
subcontractors who will receive $100,000
or more in grant funds. Applicants are also
required to include without modification
the following wording in solicitations for
contracts that are expected to equal or
exceed $100,000:
(a) The prospective lower tier participant
certifies, by submission of this
proposal, that neither it nor its
principals are presently debarred,
suspended, proposed for debarment,
declared ineligible, or voluntarily
excluded from participation in this
transaction by any federal department
or agency.

54

(b) Where the prospective lower tier
participant is unable to certify to any
of the statements in this certification,
such prospective participant shall
attach an explanation to this proposal.
Native American Human Remains and
Associated Funerary Objects
The authorized representative, on behalf
of the applicant, certifies that the applicant
will comply with the provisions of the Native
American Graves Protection and Repatriation
Act of 1990 (25 U.S.C. § 3001 et seq.), which
applies to any organization that controls or
possesses Native American human remains
and associated funerary objects, and which
receives federal funding, even for a purpose
unrelated to the Act.
Historic Properties
The authorized representative, on behalf
of the applicant, certifies that the applicant
will assist the awarding agency in ensuring
compliance with Section 106 of the National
Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as
amended (16 U.S.C. § 470f), Executive Order
(E.O.) 11593, and the Archaeological and
Historic Preservation Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C.
§ 469 et seq.).

Environmental Protections
The authorized representative, on behalf
of the applicant, certifies that the project
will comply with environmental standards,
including the following:
(a) institution of environmental quality
control measures under the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as
amended (42 U.S.C. § 4321 et seq.) and
E.O. 11514;
(b) notification of violating facilities pursuant
to E.O. 11738;
(c) protection of wetlands pursuant to E.O.
11990, as amended by E.O. 12608;
(d) evaluation of flood hazards in floodplains
in accordance with E.O. 11988, as
amended;
(e) assurance of project consistency with the
approved state management program
developed under the Coastal Zone
Management Act of 1972, as amended
(16 U.S.C. § 1451 et seq.);
(f ) conformity of federal actions to State
(Clean Air) Implementation Plans under
section 176(c) of the Clean Air Act of
1955, as amended (42 U.S.C. § 7401
et seq.);
(g) protection of underground sources of
drinking water under the Safe Drinking
Water Act of 1974, as amended (42 U.S.C.
§ 300f et seq.); and
(h) protection of endangered species under
the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as
amended (16 U.S.C. §§ 1531-1543).

The authorized representative, on behalf of
the applicant, certifies that the project will
comply with the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of
1968, as amended (16 U.S.C. § 1271 et seq.),
related to protecting components or potential
components of the national wild and scenic
rivers system.
The authorized representative, on behalf of
the applicant, certifies that the applicant will
comply with the flood insurance requirements
of the Flood Disaster Protection Act of 1973,
as amended (42 U.S.C. § 4001 et seq.),
which requires recipients in a special flood
hazard area to participate in the program and
to purchase flood insurance if the total cost
of insurable construction and acquisition is
$10,000 or more.
Research on Human and Animal Subjects
The authorized representative, on behalf of
the applicant, certifies that the project will
comply with 45 C.F.R. Part 46 regarding the
protection of human subjects involved in
research, development, and related activities
supported by this award of assistance.
The authorized representative, on behalf of
the applicant, certifies that the project will
comply with the Laboratory Animal Welfare
Act of 1966, as amended (7 U.S.C. § 2131
et seq.) pertaining to the care, handling, and
treatment of warm-blooded animals held
for research, teaching, or other activities
supported by this award of assistance.
For further information on these certifications,
contact IMLS, 1800 M Street, NW, 9th Floor,
Washington, DC 20036. Or call 202/653-IMLS
(4657).

55

Application Tips

To Make Your Application More Competitive…
• Start with a good idea! Identify the problem you are trying to solve and a potential solution
that grant funding would support. Remember that competitive programs are often very
competitive. In general, projects that benefit more than one institution and reach a broad
audience will be the most competitive.
• Match your idea with the appropriate funder and program—contact the program officer to find
out if your idea matches the goals of the program.
• Read the program guidelines carefully and note all instructions and deadlines. It takes time to
develop a good proposal and a good project, so give yourself plenty of it.
• Assemble your project team, including external partners—your team will be your most
important asset.
• Meet to discuss all aspects of the project and all of the program evaluation criteria—identify
assets, weaknesses, and potential allies. Ask questions: Who is the target audience? What
are the anticipated outcomes (who will benefit and how)? How can the benefits be measured
(how will you know if you succeed)? Who will know about it? Generally, projects involving two
or more institutions will require time and ongoing discussions to develop a strong relationship,
but projects based on these kinds of collaborative relationships will be more competitive for
funding and more successful in execution. Involve potential allies as partners, members of
advisory boards, or writers of support letters. They will help to disseminate results and extend
the benefit.
• Develop a draft proposal—follow the recommended format and all instructions, and address
all of the evaluation criteria in the order prescribed. Be sure to highlight your assets and try to
resolve potential weaknesses (e.g., arrange to hire a consultant if your team lacks expertise in
a specific area). Write in plain, understandable language.
• Contact your program officer for clarification of questions.
• Ask others who have not been involved in the project to read your draft—they may notice an
important omission or weakness.
• Revise your proposal and submit it on time.
• If your proposal is not successful, do not be discouraged. Read the reviewers’ comments
carefully—they can provide important suggestions for improving your project. Ask your program
officer to help clarify any comments that you do not understand.
IMLS has available for review on its Web site (www.imls.gov) examples of successful application
narratives for the National Leadership Grants program. You may view them on or download them
from the Web site to use as guides in the preparation of your own narrative. Contact the Office
of Library Services at 202/653-4700 or the Office of Museum Services at 202/653-4789 if you
have questions.

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