Although the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) contains no direct funding for public libraries there are opportunities for libraries to benefit.
Some of the funds are coming directly to Connecticut through a variety of programs. They are all being coordinated through the Governor’s Office. To find information on how the State is spending ARRA funds or to find out about grant opportunities go to www.recovery.ct.gov.
Prior to the enactment of the ARRA, the Governor had requested a list of potential “shovel ready” projects for municipalities and state agencies. Much of this was premised on early ideas that a stimulus package would include money for public building projects. Now that the Act has been passed and states get a better understanding of the funding opportunities in the Act, it appears that there will not be money for library construction. According to the minutes of the March 9 meeting of the CT Recovery Working group, the state only has funding for energy, clean water and transportation projects. The State Library is continuing to watch for funding opportunities for libraries as grants under the ARRA are announced.
Other funds will be administered by federal agencies. Libraries will be able to apply directly for some of these funds. The ALA Washington Office has launched a site www.ala.org/knowyourstimulus to help libraries of all types understand some of the opportunities for ARRA funding.
You may also want to visit the national ARRA website to get additional information.
There are significant dollars in the ARRA to improve the nation’s Broadband infrastructure. You may have seen information about this from ALA. In Connecticut the CT Department of Information Technology will be applying for funds to improve the Connecticut Education Network including connections to libraries in the state.
We will continue to update you as we learn more.
