The Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA), the only federal program exclusively created for libraries, is administered by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).
 

Federal Purposes for the Use of LSTA Grant Funds*

The LSTA program represents a modernization and reconfiguration of the LSCA (Library Services and Construction Act), building on the strengths of that program but sharpening the focus on technology, resource sharing, and targeted services. The LSTA purposes as reissued by IMLS (20 U.S.C. § 9121) are to:

1. Enhance coordination among Federal programs that relate to library, education, and information services;

2. Promote continuous improvement in library services in all types of libraries in order to better serve the people of the United States;

3. Facilitate access to resources in all types of libraries for the purpose of cultivating an educated and informed citizenry;

4. Encourage resource sharing among all types of libraries for the purpose of achieving economical and efficient delivery of library services to the public;

5. Promote literacy, education, and lifelong learning, including by building learning partnerships with school libraries in our Nation’s schools, including tribal schools, and developing resources, capabilities, and programs in support of State, tribal, and local efforts to offer a well-rounded educational experience to all students;

6. Enable libraries to develop services that meet the needs of communities throughout the Nation, including people of diverse geographic, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds, individuals with disabilities, residents of rural and urban areas, Native Americans, military families, veterans, and caregivers;

7. Enable libraries to serve as anchor institutions to support community revitalization through enhancing and expanding the services and resources provided by libraries, including those services and resources relating to workforce development, economic and business development, critical thinking skills, health information, digital literacy skills, financial literacy and other types of literacy skills, and new and emerging technology;

8. Enhance the skills of the current library workforce and recruit future professionals, including those from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds, to the field of library and information services;

9. Ensure the preservation of knowledge and library collections in all formats and enable libraries to serve their communities during disasters;

10. Enhance the role of libraries within the information infrastructure of the United States in order to support research, education, and innovation;

11. Promote library services that provide users with access to information through national, State, local, regional, and international collaborations and networks; and

12. Encourage, support, and disseminate model programs of library and museum collaboration.

Federal Priorities for the Use of LSTA Grant Funds (20 U.S.C. § 9141)

1. Expand services for learning and access to information and educational resources in a variety of formats (including new and emerging technology), in all types of libraries, for individuals of all ages in order to support such individuals' needs for education, lifelong learning, workforce development, economic and business development, health information, critical thinking skills, digital literacy skills, and financial literacy and other types of literacy skills;
2. Establish or enhance electronic and other linkages and improved coordination among and between libraries and entities, as described in 20 U.S.C. § 9134(b)(6), for the purpose of improving the quality of and access to library and information services;
3. (A) Provide training and professional development, including continuing education, to enhance the skills of the current library workforce and leadership, and advance the delivery of library and information services; and (B) Enhance efforts to recruit future professionals, including those from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds, to the field of library and information services;
4. Develop public and private partnerships with other agencies, tribes, and community-based organizations;
5. Target library services to individuals of diverse geographic, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds, to individuals with disabilities, and to individuals with limited functional literacy or information skills;
6. Target library and information services to persons having difficulty using a library and to underserved urban and rural communities, including children (from birth through age 17)from families with incomes below the poverty line (as defined by the Office of Management and Budget and revised annually in accordance with section 9902(2) of title 42) applicable to a family of the size involved;
7. Develop library services that provide all users access to information through local, State, regional, national, and international collaborations and networks; and
8. Carry out other activities consistent with the purposes set forth in 20 U.S.C. § 9121, as described in the State library administrative agency's plan.

Purposes and Priorities from https://www.imls.gov/grants/grants-state/purposes-and-priorities-lsta

LSTA Legislative Overview

On September 30, 1996, the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) was signed into law. The Museum and Library Services Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-208) created the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). It moved the federal library programs from the Department of Education and the museum programs of the former Institute of Museum Services to the new agency. On December 31, 2018, the Museum and Library Services Act of 2018 (PL 115-410) was signed into law. The new law reauthorizes the existing programs and functions of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and provides new authority, including to develop and support new museum, library, and information professionals. LSTA allocates federal funds to State Library Administrative Agencies (SLAAs), like the South Carolina State Library, through the Grants to States program. The Grants to States program is the largest source of federal funding support for library services in the U.S. and SLAAs may use the funds to support statewide initiatives and services, and for subgrants supporting the LSTA Purposes and Priorities outlined above.

* All LSTA supported programs and/or projects must meet at least one of the Federal purposes/priorities as specifically outlined in the LSTA legislation (20 U.S.C. 9141) and at least one of the State goals as identified in South Carolina's LSTA Five Year State Plan 2023-2027.

For additional information on LSTA grants in South Carolina, contact the LSTA Coordinator, Alexandra Sanders, (803) 734-8917.

To submit a comment or complaint about the administration of LSTA grants, please contact the SCSL Director, Leesa Aiken, (803) 734-8668.