We want to support the development of innovative public library services with and for their communities. The program will have three phases. Ten grants of up to $30,000 USD will be awarded in Round 1 to support one-year innovation projects. In Round 2, 10 grants of up to $15,000 USD will be awarded for replication of successful grant projects in Round 1. In Round 3, 15 Innovation Awards of $1,000 USD will be presented to recognize outstanding achivement. All the outcomes will be widely disseminated in key publications and conferences throughout the world.

The call for proposals for Round 1 of the Public Library Innovation Program closed on February 28, 2010. The Selection Committee is reviewing applications and 10 projects - each receiving a grant of up to $30,000 USD - will be announced early April, 2010 on this website. Please visit this site to keep up to date with project implementations.

Innovative can mean that the service the project develops:
* Is completely new;
* Has never been done in this place before;
* Never focused on this target group before;
* Was never done in this partnership before;
* Was never done properly before [say why]; or
* Never used technology (or a particular kind of technology) before.

We are open to ideas that deploy computers, access to the Internet, mobile phones and other mobile devices, web 2.0 tools, and any software applications that enable the development of these new services and outreach to the community.

Potential partners could be other organizations that provide knowledge resources that you currently do not have or local delivery partners who reach different groups that you currently do not reach and would like to. Some suggestions: Local /regional governments, Nonprofit organizations, Schools and colleges, Libraries of all types, Businesses, Government agencies etc.

Consider the following in selecting your partners:
* What is the partner’s mission and does it complement the library’s mission?
* Does the partner honestly recognize your limitations, capacity, strength and weaknesses?
* What is the partner’s position in the community?
* Who are the groups or segments of the community served by the partner?
* What sort of resources – assets and strengths – might this partnership bring to the relationship and project goals?
* What are the partner’s strategic directions?
* What is the partner’s corporate culture and can you work together?
* Is the partner’s planning and budget cycle one you can work with?
* Will the partnership bring two way benefit?
* Is the financial relationship between grantees and the partner(s) clear and transparent?

Some examples of possible partnerships and services, but there are many many more:
1. Service for children: partners of the public library can be school, parents' organization, local learning center or telecenter, organizations taking care of children with special needs, teacher training colleges, technology provider…
2. Health service: partners of the public library can be various health organizations, nonprofit organizations dealing with health matters, technology provider, doctors/nurses association, government e-health programs and services, sport club...
3. Agricultural service: partners of the public library can be local farmers' association, technology provider, consumer organization, telecenters, not for profit organsiations dealing with these matters...
4. Service for unemployed: partners of the public library can be local/regional employment office, trade union, adult education organization, business information centers, chamber of commerce…
5. (Information) literacy: partners can be publishers, schools, other types of libraries, technology provider, univeristies or colleges, other not for profit organisations dealing with these matters...

A call for proposals for Round 2 - 10 grants of up to $15,000 USD to replicate Round 1 ideas - will be posted here in April, 2011, with a submission deadline of May 31, 2011.