Cohort applications now open for Scaling Community Through Archives project

Scaling Community Through Archives is an Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS)-funded project (LG-256575-OLS-24) at the University of Washington that is systematically investigating how public library needs and best practices related to the development of community archives vary across urban and rural library systems. From September 2025-August 2026 the project will support a diverse cohort of eight public librarians, split between differently sized urban and rural library systems, to develop community archives across the nation. The cohort will participate in a series of in-person training workshops, have access to mentors from the project team, engage in peer mentorship activities, and be provided seed funding to support their community archives project.

Librarian cohort participants will also be expected to participate in the research project, through interviews and focus group sessions to enhance understanding of challenges and resources needed for successful community archives in different public library settings.

Project outcomes will include the expansion of an existing Community Archives Toolkit; curricular resources to support the training of library staff to implement community archives; the development of multiple community archives across the nation; and scholarly and practitioner-oriented publications and presentations sharing research results.

Benefits to cohort participants

A stipend of $7,000 will be provided to each organization selected to participate in the cohort. This can be used to any costs related to the implementation of the community archiving project (eg. staff time; equipment; event costs; honoraria; etc.). Participants will also receive $2,000 in funding to support travel costs to the in-person training which will occur from September 9-11, 2025 in Seattle, WA.

To receive this payment, an organization must complete a registration process with the University of Washington. Payment of the stipends will be made in a single transaction with the payment expected in summer 2025. Additional information about the payment process will be provided to the selected participants upon their acceptance of the cohort spot.

Additionally, cohort participants will receive support and guidance from the project team as they implement their project through monthly check-in meetings and additional opportunities for mentoring and learning with the other cohort participants.

Eligibility and Proposed Community Archives Projects

Individuals selected to participate will undertake a community archiving project during the course of the program. Proposed community archives projects can be at any stage of development and/or implementation. The project can be the continuation of an in-process project, beginning stages of a longer term project, or a project that will take place entirely within the span of the program. The funds can be used to advance an existing effort, or to develop a new community archives project. All proposed projects should have clear deliverables which can be accomplished during the program timeline.

Some examples of the types of projects you may consider include:

• Hosting a “Story Fest” or similar community event

• Setting up a mobile preservation station and hosting digitization/oral history recording events in your community

• Launching a community-centered oral history project

• Developing a community-focused web archiving program

 For additional examples of community archives projects, please see Appendix C. in the Community Archives Toolkit and the summary of projects from the Accelerating Promising Practices Community Memory Cohorts.

Your project proposal should include the following:

1. A description of your project

2. A description of the communities who will be impacted by your project and how they will be engaged in the development, implementation, and evaluation of the project

3. A description of internal and external stakeholders who will be involved in the project

4. A list of deliverables you will produce during the project as well as how these would support longer term goals of your organization 

5. A description of how you intend to use program funds to support this project

6. A description of organizational support that will facilitate the continuation of the project on an ongoing basis

Through the cohort we are seeking to advance community archives work in diverse public library contexts, with a particular focus on rural or small libraries and large, urban public library systems. We are also interested in supporting projects that serve a diverse range of audiences, communities, and regions across the U.S.

All public library staff are eligible to apply including librarians, archivists, paraprofessionals, and others. No prior community archives experience or training is required.

Application Process

Applications are to be submitted by completing the following form – https://forms.gle/tH1utor736a13ogB8