>> Laurie Allen: Hello,
and good afternoon.
This Friday afternoon.
Thank you so much for
spending this time with us.
This is the Connecting
Communities Digital Initiative
Grant for Higher
Education Institutions
Informational Webinar.
This webinar is being recorded,
and to help us make sure
that we get the questions
answered as they come in,
we'll ask that you please
post questions via the Q
and A feature in Zoom,
rather than the chat.
It's just a lot easier
for us to keep track.
I am Laurie Allen.
I'm one of the hosts today.
I'm here with my colleague
Eileen Jakeway Manchester.
We may be joined by another
colleague, Hope O'Keefe,
as the webinar goes on.
Thank you so much
for being with us.
I'm going to -- okay, so
let's talk about what's going
to happen in this hour,
and there's a great chance
that it will take
less than an hour.
It really depends on how
many questions you all have,
and just to make sure
that we get through those.
We're going to start
with an overview of the
Of the People Program.
And then into the Connecting
Communities Digital Initiative
which is part of the
Of the People Program.
And then we're going
to spend the majority
of the time really digging
into the details of the Grant
for Higher Education
Institutions.
We'll talk about how to apply.
We have a couple
examples for inspiration,
and really making sure to
try to get your questions
about the process answered.
There is a link here to
the Of the People Blog post
about this opportunity.
That post that's linked here,
is the place that you can go
for much more information.
I'm going to refer to it a lot
over the course of the webinar.
The one piece of information
that you can't get there yet
but that's true and exciting,
and I'm happy to share with you
and I will post it to that
blog as soon as I'm done,
it's true as of so recently
that I haven't been able
to update the blog,
is that the timeline
for this particular grant
has been extended one month.
So, you have one more
month to get ready
with your applications.
And I'm sorry that that's
not up on the blog yet.
I really just found out.
But it's been posted to
Grants.gov, and so we have --
we have been allowed to
give folks an extension.
So, the due date for
this grant is incorrect
in these slides,
and also online.
And I apologize for that.
It really, the change
just happened.
So, I hope that's
good news for you.
We absolutely heard
from feedback from folks
that this was just not enough
time, and so we're happy
that you're hear and
happy to tell you
that you have another month.
Okay, so let's get into it.
Beginning with what is, "Of
the People: Widening the Path"?
This is a multi-year initiative
that creates new opportunities
for Americans to engage
with the Library of Congress
to add their perspectives
to the collections,
and to allow the
National Library
to share a more inclusive story.
That's really what the
program overall is about.
It exists, thanks to a grant
from the Andrew W.
Mellon Foundation.
This was a 15 million
dollar, four-year grant
from the Mellon Foundation
to the Library of Congress.
And we're still in the
first year of this grant.
So, there's a lot more to
come from Of the People.
This is the very beginning.
We're just getting the
wheels of the library turning
to make this program a reality
and it's really exciting.
I hope you'll continue to keep
an eye on what's happening
in the program as
it goes forward.
The three parts of
Of the People,
are sort of the three
programmatic arms.
One is housed in the Internships
and Fellowships Program.
They offer a lot
of opportunities.
I'll talk about just
one in a moment.
One is through the
American Folklife Center.
They have a great opportunity
and I'll talk about briefly.
And then the Connecting
Communities Digital Initiative,
which is housed within the
Digital Strategy Directory,
is where I work.
And there's the program --
the initiative that Eileen
and I are here shepherding
through as we hire staff
to actually lead this
program into the future.
So, let's get into
first the junior --
the Internships and
Fellowships Program.
So, they have a number
of opportunities.
And I'm highlighting the Junior
Fellows Program in particular
because it is open to graduate
and undergraduate students
and recent graduates.
And the junior fellows
opportunities are available now,
and the application period is
opening soon and closing soon.
So, please, please, keep
an eye on that program,
and the opportunities
that it offers.
There's so much there.
I hope that you'll take a look
and see what they have to offer.
The American Folk Life
Center has -- is also --
has been undertaking
ethnographic work, field work,
in communities across
the country for decades.
The program that's funded it
through Of the People
has really focused
on documenting communities
from their own perspectives.
So, it's a public
participation in the creation
of archival collections,
seeking to support contemporary,
cultural documentation, focusing
on the culture and traditions
of diverse and often
underrepresented communities
in the United States.
So, these collections --
these documentation projects
that will be supported
through grants
from the American Folk Life
Center, will become part
of the library's
expanded LOC collections,
and it will be housed in the
American Folk Like Center,
in their digital forums.
Part of that grant
opportunity involves training
for cultural documentation
methods, interviews
and photography, and preparation
and management of digital files.
It's a really wonderful program.
The application period
for 2021 is now closed.
So, they're not currently
accepting applications,
but I talk about it because
it's a really wonderful program,
and it will open again.
So, they offered -- they opened
their application period.
They received a lot of great
applications, and they're going
to make ten awards
in that program.
And then they'll open it again.
So, just to know that that's
something to keep an eye
out as you pay attention to the
Of the People Program overall.
And then there's the
Digital Strategy Directorate,
Connecting Communities
Digital Initiative.
And like the American Folk Life
Center's Program is inspired
by the work that
they've been doing,
the Connecting Communities
Digital Initiatives is inspired
by the work of LC Labs.
LC Labs incubates exciting
projects, digital projects,
for the library as well as
piloting and experimenting
with new ways of
engaging digital Library
of Congress materials, including
through a really amazing
innovator and residents program
that I encourage you
all to check out.
And a number of different
experimentations
around things like, "How
does machine learning work
in the library?"
There's a lot there, and I
encourage you to take a look.
And seeing what LC Labs
has produced is part
of what inspired this program,
the Connecting Communities
Digital Initiative.
But another part of what
inspired it is work happening
outside of the library,
across the country.
Across the country,
in Black communities,
indigenous communities,
Hispanic and Latino communities,
Asian Americans and
Pacific Islanders,
have been gathering together
to tell their stories,
to share the ways in which their
histories are part of the wider
and deeper and richer
and truer understanding
of American history.
In many cases, communities whose
stories may not have been told
in the mainstream
historical record.
And it's inspiring
to see and we know
that there are just incredible
work happening in communities
around the country, and at the
same time here at the Library
of Congress, the library
has been investing
in digitizing materials from
across our huge collections.
Our collections are the
largest in the world,
and we have the largest
digital library in the world,
which means that we have
digitized music and movies,
images, maps, books,
letters and diaries
and manuscripts,
and other materials.
It is made available online, but
isn't always reused or remixed
or reimagined in all the
ways that it could be.
And so, the Connecting
Communities Digital Initiative
is born from a desire for the
Library of Congress's materials
that are available online
to be reused, reimagined,
and remixed by the
communities around the countries
in libraries, archives, museums,
in higher education
institutions,
and individual artists
and scholars
who can reimagine the ways
that these materials can live
and tell a rich American
history.
So, part of the Connecting
Communities Digital Initiative
is an Artist or Scholar
in Residence Program.
And I mention that, and here's
the link to that program.
It's -- there are webinars
about that program,
and I will say again,
that program also was
recently extended.
So again, you won't find
the new deadline yet,
but it will be coming soon.
So, please sign up for
one of those webinars
if you're interested
in that program,
or check out the website.
It's a really -- it's
an exciting opportunity.
It's $150,000, two-year
residency for a single artist
or scholar whose work
sits at the center --
at the intersection
of race, technology,
and cultural heritage.
So, that's a program
that we offer
through the Connecting
Communities Digital Initiative.
And another is the Grant for
Libraries, Archives, Museums.
This is a grant up to $60,000
to support local cultural
heritage organizations
by enabling storytelling
across a range of platforms.
And very similar to the
Higher Education one,
but with a different
target audience in mind.
This is for Libraries,
Archives, and Museums.
The goal here is to design and
implement digital projects,
and that can mean anything from
digital exhibits, interfaces,
multimedia productions
or publications,
that use digital materials
from the Library of Congress
to engage Black, indigenous,
or members of other
communities of color.
So, that opportunity
is available
on that website as well.
Okay, and now let's talk about
the Higher Education one,
and again, it's open now
and will close actually
on December 14th, 2021,
rather than November.
So, you've got more
time on that.
And the biggest piece of advice
about this program
is -- oh, yes.
The biggest piece of advice that
we have about how to apply is
to read the Notice of
Funding Opportunity,
which we call the NOFO.
So, all the answers you'll
need are in the Notice
of Funding Opportunity,
and depending on what kinds
of questions come in through
this webinar, we may --
we may -- I may go
to the NOFO itself
and look to see what's there.
Okay, so how to get to the NOFO.
Well, you start with the
Of the People website.
Starting with the Of
the People website,
you can see that there's
a link to the Grant
for Minorities Serving Higher
Education Institutions.
When you go there, and access
that website, you'll see a lot
of information about the grant.
We try to distill some of
the things you would need
to know most on that site.
But you also see throughout
the site, this link.
Visit the Notice on Grants.gov,
click on Related Documents,
and download the forms.
So, this information that
this page is for information
about it, to read the full
Notice of Funding Opportunity,
the document itself,
you'd follow that link,
and you'll see this page
here on Related Documents.
You'll be able to
download the Notice
of Funding Opportunity itself,
as well as the budget
plan template.
The budget information
that you need.
So, that's here, and this is --
this document which looks like
this, it's organized by section.
We see here Section A,
B, C, D, D 1-point --
you know, all these subsections,
but there's all the information
that you need to understand
a program is available
through the Notice of
Funding Opportunity.
And I'm going to go through
it a little bit in order
to give you a sense
of what's there.
Section A, so just to begin,
we talk about the
background and the purpose.
So, the Library award in
this case, one grant for up
to $60,000 to a higher
education institution,
to support the development of a
digital interface, publication,
exhibit, or experimental
approach
to bringing digital Library
of Congress materials together
with a course, program,
or interest group
that will make use of the
product for educational purposes
at the two or four-year
higher education institution.
Acceptable proposals may
include the development
of new technologies,
or the adoption
of existing technologies.
They may also include the
integration of new materials
into existing projects.
They may reuse, remix, or
re-curate library materials
in new ways as long
as they're in keeping
with copyright and other laws.
We also in Section A have a
description of the program.
So, the idea is, you have to
present a project proposal
for a digital project.
We go through what that means.
It has to use digital materials
from the Library of Congress,
and it has to engage students
and/or community members.
And the funded project
will not be part
of the library's
collections or hosted
on a library infrastructure.
So, it's a project that exists
at the Higher Education
Institution, so the goal is --
you bring us a proposal
to develop, design,
and implement a digital project.
Okay, so Section
B is pretty short.
You can check it out.
It's just sort of
important numbers.
Section C is eligibility
information.
Who's eligible for
this opportunity?
In order to be eligible,
you have to be a two-year
or four-year higher
education institution,
such as Alaska Native
and Native Hawaiian,
and it goes through
all of the kinds
of minorities serving higher
education institutions there.
And you have to be a nonprofit,
tax-exempt organization.
So, that's what Section
C is about.
There's more in Section C,
but those are the kind of --
the biggest pieces
to call attention to.
Section D is a big section.
Section D is where you'll
spend the majority of time
if you're preparing a proposal.
Preparing an application.
We know that the federal
government makes things.
There's a lot of requirements.
And so, we try to make it as
straightforward as possible.
There's a chart here describing,
"What are the necessary parts?"
So, Section D is all about,
"What is the application
and submission information?
What information do you need in
order to submit an application?"
So, there's a table here, and
I'll just describe what's in it.
You need a DUNS Number,
and there's a link there
and there's a link all
over the place for that.
It's free to register
for, but you need to go
to something called SAM.gov
and register your organization
if you're not already
registered,
to get a DUNS Number.
And this is because we can't
award federal money to anyone
who doesn't have
that DUNS Number.
So, if you're here
and you're interested,
I would encourage you to go
through the SAM registration
now, so that you get that done,
because it takes a little bit
of time just the processing.
And it's done by another
federal agency, so please do.
If you're interested at all,
please go register with SAM.gov
and get that DUNS Identifier.
So, that's one of the
things that's necessary.
There's a proposal narrative,
and I'm going to talk
through what that means, but the
proposal narrative is sort of,
"What are you planning to do?
What is your proposal?"
And then there's the Budget Plan
Worksheet, and Budget Narrative.
And I'll talk about
what those are.
And then there's a very
short form, which you have
to fill out, which is
pretty straightforward
if you have the other things.
And then you -- once you have
all that, which is the you know,
you have -- you've registered
with SAM.gov, you've filled
out all the pieces of
the proposal narrative,
you've done your budget plan
and your budget narrative,
and then you filled
out this short form.
Once you have all that together,
you submit it as an email
to this email address at
the bottom, which I'll get
to in a moment, but which
is also all over the Notice
of Funding Opportunity.
So, of all those pieces,
the part that you'll end
up spending the most time on
is the Proposal Narrative,
because the proposal
narrative is really
where you tell us what
you plan to do, and why.
So, it has some pieces
and they're really,
clearly laid out, what
pieces are needed.
You need to give us a cover page
and we say what needs
to be on it.
A description of
the institution.
What is the -- what is
your institution like?
Key project staff.
Who is going to work on this.
And then a detailed
description of the project,
and we saw what we mean by that,
and I'll go through
that on the next slide.
A description of past activity.
So, that's where you can include
links and letters and that sort
of thing, the kinds of work
that you've done in the past.
And then, other information.
And that is where it
says "conditional" there,
it just basically means
there's a whole bunch of kinds
of information that
depending on the status
of your organization,
we might need.
So, I know one of
them for example is --
sorry, that was the sound
of my mail being delivered.
I know one of the
pieces of information
that we would need is
for example, if you're --
the organization applying gets
more than 10 million dollars
or something like
that, in federal money,
you have to give us a whole
bunch of more information.
If your organization
doesn't get that,
we don't need that information.
So, that's what the Other
Information part is.
Okay. So, the bulk
of it is, cover page,
description of institution,
key project staff,
detailed description
of the project.
So, let's get into that,
detailed description
of the project.
We're going to ask you
to give us your context.
Who? Who are the
user communities
or who will be served
by this project?
Then, what are the activities?
How will they impact
those communities?
So, what do you plan to
do, and how will the people
that you're working with
benefit from those activities?
Which Library of Congress
collections will be used?
And will you be mixing
Library of Congress collections
with other collections?
What do you think the
educational impact
of the planned activities
will be?
Which technologies will you use?
And will they be developed,
or will you use ones
that already exist?
And why are those technological
choices the right ones
for the goals that you
have in the communities
that you're working with?
And then once you've
done the thing,
how will people know
what happened?
And then we need that work plan.
That's just a timeline.
What are you doing, when so that
we can see if it's realistic
to see if this is a sustainable
project in terms of what happens
and then what, and then what?
So, that's the piece that's
the detailed proposal part
of the narrative.
After that, we need
to get a budget.
So, that's a budget
plan worksheet.
The budget basically,
we need it in two forms.
They need to match the numbers
and to match in both forms,
but the idea is one
is a spreadsheet
where you just tell us all the
numbers, just all the numbers,
and the numbers will
fit into the categories
on the template spreadsheet.
Salaries, wages, and benefits,
travel, equipment, supplies,
contractual and other costs.
And then, so that all
goes into the spreadsheet.
And then there's a narrative.
And that's basically where you
just describe what is the money
going for and how is it
connected to the things
that you said you're doing
in your project proposal.
So, if you say you need money
for something, why do you need
that amount of money and what
are you going to do with it
as it connects to the project
that you described
in the proposal?
So, that's where the
budget pieces come in,
that Section D 5.2.
Once you've got all that
together, you submit it
to this email address,
LOCgrants@loc.gov,
and I can't state
this clearly enough
because we get this
question all the time,
we do not accept
applications through Grants.gov.
So, when you go to the
Grants.gov website,
you cannot use that
website to apply.
Instead, you just download that
it was a funding opportunity
and budget from there, and then
email the application materials
to LOCgrants@loc.gov.
This webinar, as you
know, is being recorded,
and we'll share --
it takes a few weeks
to process, but we'll share it.
But you can get help by
rewatching this webinar or one
of the other ones, or
come into a later one,
or through the online
support documents,
the website that we've
already mentioned.
And we'll update that
with answers to questions
as they come in and we're
able to answer them.
Or you can send a question
to LOCgrants@loc.gov,
and just make sure that
you include this --
the [inaudible] number, which
is all over the [inaudible]
and also listed on this slide
in the subject so we know
which grant you're asking about,
so we don't put the
answer in the wrong place.
So, we answer questions
publicly.
I will say we can't
give specific advice
about a particular idea.
If you say, "This is
exactly what my idea is.
What do you think?
How great is it?"
We can't answer that kind of
question, but there are a lot
of questions about,
"How does this work?
What kinds of things are there?"
that we would love to answer,
and we really encourage you
to send answers --
I mean, sorry.
Send questions in, so that
we can get those answers
out to you.
Alright, so let me pause here.
I'm going to stop here
for just a moment,
and see if we have questions.
I will encourage you
again to use the Q and A,
if you have questions.
>> Eileen Jakeway
Manchester: Laurie,
I don't believe we've had any
questions come in quite yet.
>> Laurie Allen:
Alright, thank you.
Okay, well I'm going to just
keep going then and talk
through a couple of basically
ideas for inspiration.
What are some projects
that we imagined?
And again, these are
actually listed in the Notice
of Funding Opportunity, but the
idea like, "What are some ideas
for projects that might exist,
that we thought were
a nice idea?"
And so, for example,
maybe a story map
where you're integrating
local newspaper
and photographic coverage
found in library collections
and elsewhere, of important
spaces in an underserved
or minority community's history.
So, that you do that as part
of a history or writing course.
And there's a whole
bunch of them here.
I'll leave them up.
I think there is a Q
and A here, so I'll stop
and see what I can answer.
>> Eileen Jakeway
Manchester: Yes, great.
Thank you so much
for your question.
So, this person wants to know
if the grant would
support a community event,
where the work is shown and
where community and students
from a course or faculty
and staff can be invited?
Or should the grant--
>> Laurie Allen: Absolutely.
>> Eileen Jakeway
Manchester: -just --
sorry, just be focused
on the performing
of the project itself?
It's kind of a two part.
>> Laurie Allen: No, we'd love
to see -- I mean one of the --
one of the pieces is how you
share the outcomes of the grant.
And so, I think you know,
absolutely funding the funding
sharing out the work, you know,
as long as it includes digital
Library of Congress materials
and learning outcomes and
an audience and community,
you know the -- that's
absolutely allowed.
Yes. Thank you for that one.
Okay so, I got this -- oh.
I have this list
of ideas up there.
I'm going to go through
because one
of the questions
we've gotten a lot is,
"How do we know what
materials the library has
that might be valuable for
our-- " you know, if you --
if you know your own students
and faculty, and you know
that you know, that the needs
they have, how do you know
if the library has things that
would work for your institution?
And so, I'll point to
a couple of resources.
One is at Guide.loc.gov there
are guides that have been --
been prepared by
reference librarians
and curators on specific topics.
And so, you know, there's a
really huge range of them,
and they're a great place to
look to get an understanding
of what the library has
on a particular topic.
This is just an example
of a guide
about African American women
authors of the Civil War.
And you know, you can see here,
it goes through the
literature available online.
Where can you see
author portraits?
What are other digital
resources?
So, there's a lot of
these research guides.
This one about jazz
research at the library.
Excuse me.
This is a really beautiful guide
to the Native American
Spaces Cartographic Resources
at the Library of Congress.
So, it provides access to
digitized primary sources,
bibliographies, and related
online resources for the study
of Indian and Alaskan Native
people of the United States,
and its cartographic resources.
This is a really cool resource.
So, these are some of
the kinds of guides.
Here's another one in
Filipino American Materials.
What are the resource
guides for it?
So, there's a lot
in that context,
but if you don't see anything
there, or even if you just want
to you know, move past that
or you think you might
have missed something,
the "Ask a Librarian"
service is available.
You can email a librarian, and
just ask a general question,
or ask a specialist
to get advice
on what are the library's
collections in a particular area
as you think about proposing
something for this opportunity.
So, these are a couple of ways,
and there are more to get --
to get a sense of what we have
that might be relevant
to your needs.
I'll stop there and see if there
are questions that I can answer.
This time really is for you.
I might -- it certainly is a
Friday afternoon, so it might be
that there aren't a lot.
But really happy to
answer questions.
>> Eileen Jakeway Manchester:
Yes, Laurie, we had one come
in about copyright issues and
just some limitations to use
as folks are thinking about
incorporating materials
from the Library of Congress.
>> Laurie Allen: Yes, thank you.
So, certainly it's easier to
use free-to-use materials.
We can't, you know, there's
-- the grant doesn't --
we can't clear copyright for
particular collections for a use
like this, but we certainly can
work with interested grantees
about you know, making
sure to find things
that are available for reuse.
And that are you know, A, if the
copyright is owned by someone,
we can work on helping to be
in touch with that person,
or entity and figure
out how to make sure
that the use is allowed,
and if not,
we can find suitable
other options.
I think it would be fine
if for example there are
licensing costs and you wanted
to build those into the budget.
That's -- that would
be okay, too.
So, certainly, you know,
certainly the requirement
would be
that you use those
collections in keeping
with various copyright that
are laws and other sort
of taking care to use them in
keeping with the law but happy
to work with interested
grantees about how to make sure
that they're able to
get what they need.
Thank you for that question.
I see this one and I'll
just say the person's asking
about you know, if
the student might want
to use a particular example,
and I think -- I honestly --
it's really exciting
and I think you look
at the item level description in
the Library of Congress catalog.
If you find something -- a
resource and you know you want
to use it, you look -- this
option copyright information
at -- in the record itself.
There's a part that says,
"Rights Information"
where you can also find --
where you can often find that.
So, you know, it would be great
to see our collections used
in exactly those kinds of ways,
and I think we would
love to see that.
So, just take a look at
the Rights information
and if you have questions,
feel free to reach out and ask
about Rights information.
>> Eileen Jakeway
Manchester: Alright, Laurie,
I don't see any more
questions coming in.
Folks, please -- we still have
time, but I also don't want
to keep you longer than need
by on a Friday afternoon,
so we'll probably wait a
couple more minutes just to see
if there are late-breaking
questions,
and then I think Laurie we
can probably close it out.
>> Laurie Allen: Thanks
again for joining us.
I hope that -- I hope some of
you learned what you need to,
and that you'll consider
submitting an application.
>> Eileen Jakeway Manchester:
Laurie, do you see the question?
There's a question
in the chat now
about when the grant
recipients will be informed
that they received a grant.
>> Laurie Allen: So, I don't
have a specific date on that.
I think our expectation is
that the awards will be
announced in the spring.
So, given that they're currently
being due in mid-December,
December 14th I believe is
the date in the [inaudible]
at this point, the
announcements will be made
in probably something
like mid-April.
The awardee would probably be
informed slightly before then.
But I don't have
the specific dates.
But it's certainly
in the spring.
>> Eileen Jakeway
Manchester: Thank you.
>> Laurie Allen: Well, thank
you all so much for coming.
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