Cohort applications now open for Scaling Community Through Archives project

Do you want to collect and share important stories in your community, both current and past, but aren’t sure where to start? Do you have a great idea for a community archive project but need funding and support? Apply to the Scaling Community Through Archives cohort! 

January 29th, 2025: The Scaling Community Through Archives team knows that the recent Executive Orders have raised many questions about federal government grant funding and activities. At this time, the current guidance the project team has received is to proceed with our activities until there is more specific guidance provided to us. We know that this creates an uncertainty for potential cohort applicants as to whether to invest the effort in applying. We’ll be flexible whenever possible to provide extra assistance and time once we receive additional guidance. If there are questions that we can answer before our information sessions, please feel free to contact us at any time.

The Scaling Community Through Archives project team is excited to announce that we are now accepting applications for the project learning cohort. Eight public library staff will be selected to participate in the cohort which will provide stipends, mentoring, and resources for developing or expanding a community archives project in the selected participant’s community.

Benefits to cohort participants

A stipend of $7,000 will be provided to each organization selected to participate in the cohort, to support their experience in implementing their project. Participants will also receive an additional $2,000 in funding, which they can use to support travel costs to the in-person training which will occur from September 9-11, 2025 in Seattle, WA.

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.

Application and Decision Timeline

The deadline for applications is April 1, 2025. Applications will be reviewed by the project team with decisions sent to applicants in early May 2025.

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.

Information Sessions

If you are interested in applying and want to learn more, you are invited to register for an optional informational session to be held through the Zoom platform on:

Information Session #1 – February 13, 2025 – Dr. Marika Cifor (University of Washington) and dindria barrow (Tacoma Public Library)

February 13, 2025 12:30 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Registration Link: https://washington.zoom.us/meeting/register/FYfWhim2TUerQYeSOaRU8g

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Information Session #2, February 19, 2025 – Dr. Sandy Littletree (University of Washington) Anna Trammell (Internet Archive), and Chris Jowaisas (University of Washington)

February 19, 2025 09:00 AM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Registration Link:

https://washington.zoom.us/meeting/register/7WArX8K_QcaO0es3DBUA4Q

Application Process

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

If you have any questions about the application form or process, please contact Chris Jowaisas (chrisjow@uw.edu).

The application contains two sections to be completed. Section 1 asks questions about the intended applicant and their library. Section 2 asks questions about the proposed work that would be undertaken as part of the cohort experience.

Section 1 questions include:

Q1. Name 

Q2. Pronouns

Q3. E Mail Address

Q4. Job Title

Q5. How many years have you been in this role?

Q6. Educational background

Q7. Name of Library / Organization

Q8. City and State

Q9. How would you describe your library’s location? (Urban, Suburban, Rural)

Q10. What is legal service area population for your library system? (Small, Mid-sized, large)

Q11.Please describe any relevant services your library provides to specific populations in your community (if any). Please respond N/A if this question is not applicable.

Q12. Please describe any relevant services your library provides to Native American populations in your community (if any).  Please respond N/A if this question is not applicable.

Q13. Please describe any community archives experience or training (if any).  Please respond N/A if this question is not applicable.

Section 2 questions include:

Q1. Please provide a description of your proposed community archives project

Q2. Question 2 – Please provide 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.

Q3. Please provide a description of internal and external stakeholders who will be involved in the project.

Q4. Please provide a list of deliverables you will produce during the project as well as how these would support longer term goals of your organization. 

Question 5 –  Please provide a description of how you intend to use program funds to support this project. NOTE: Participants can utilize the stipend to cover travel costs for the in-person training experience that is planned to be held in Seattle in September 2025.

Q6. Please provide a description of the organizational support that will facilitate the continuation of the project on an ongoing basis.

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:

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.

Project Background and Cohort Expectations

Scaling Community 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.

This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services LG-256575-OLS-24.

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