Manage Your Grant

Acknowledgement Guidance

2020-2021 LSTA Awards (excluding SLNC CARES)

Grantees are required to credit IMLS/LSTA in all related publications and activities in conjunction with use of the grant funds.  Grantees should publicize grant-supported activities in available and appropriate media. 

The following acknowledgement statement must be used when meeting these requirements: “This publication/activity/program was supported by grant funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) as administered by the State Library of North Carolina, a division of the NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (IMLS grant number LS-246155-OLS-20) .”  Copies of any publications or materials produced under the grant must be submitted to the State Library in your Final Report.

For media releases, please use this sample.  

IMLS logos are available through the IMLS Grantee Communications Toolkit.

Acknowledgement Images for awards staring during 2020-2021 fiscal (excluding SLNC CARES)

The images below can be saved and used in your project's publications. 

2020-2021 .jpg 

2020-2021 .png  

2020-2021 .png (white)

SLNC CARES Awards

Grantees are required to credit IMLS/LSTA in all related publications and activities in conjunction with use of the grant funds.  Grantees should publicize grant-supported activities in available and appropriate media. 

The following acknowledgement statement must be used when meeting these requirements: “This publication/activity/program was supported by grant funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) as administered by the State Library of North Carolina, a division of the NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (IMLS grant number LS-246551-OLS-20) .”  Copies of any publications or materials produced under the grant must be submitted to the State Library in your Final Report.

For media releases, please use this sample.  

IMLS logos are available through the IMLS Grantee Communications Toolkit.

Acknowledgement Images for SLNC CARES awards

The images below can be saved and used in your project's publications. 

SLNC CARES .jpg 

SLNC CARES .png 

SLNC CARES .png (white)

Budget Documents

Reimbursement Request Form

Grant payments are made on a reimbursement basis. Itemized invoices must be submitted with the required Reimbursement Request Form to document all grant and matching expenditures.

Shipping/handling charges are eligible for reimbursement; taxes are only eligible if your institution is NOT tax exempt.

Unless otherwise indicated in the grant agreement, Reimbursement Request Forms are expected quarterly or more frequently if there are significant expenditures (over 10% of the award amount). Submit requests on or before:

• October 15
• January 15 
• April 15 (a minimum of 75% of grant funds should be expended by this date)
• July 15 is the final deadline to submit reimbursement requests; all grant and matching expenditures must be completed and invoiced by June 30. 

For 2020-2021 LSTA Grants including SLNC CARES Grants, first download the 2020-2021 Reimbursement Request Form (xlsx).  Complete the form per the instructions.  To upload and submit the reimbursement request form, complete the online submission form.

LSTA Equipment Approval Request

Equipment with a per unit price above $5,000 requires prior written approval from the State Library and will be inventoried annually for the remainder of its useful life. If fair market value at the time of surplus or disposal exceeds $5,000, disposal must be cleared with the State Library.  

Prior to purchasing equipment, complete the LSTA Equipment Approval Request Form and await approval from the State Library before purchasing the equipment.

Budget Revision

Grant awards are based on the information provided in the grant application; changes in the use of project funds require prior approval from the State Library. Budget Revision Requests must include proposed expenditure changes and a justification for the requested change(s).  Approved requests will be saved in the project folder as supporting documentation for when the applicable reimbursement request is received.

How to Prepare a Budget Revision Request

1. Create a Word document with the following information at the top of the page.
    Library Name:
    Grant Category:
    State Project Code:
    Name of Person Submitting:
    Telephone:
    Grant Award Amount:
    Original Match Amount:

2. Insert the Budget Table of the submitted and approved grant application.  Add a column to the table labeled “Changes” and make additions or subtractions, as needed, only in this column so it is clear which items are different. 
    a. If the revised budget totals less than the original award, the match amount may be revised accordingly. 
    b. If the revised budget exceeds the original award, any additional costs are the responsibility of the library and the match amount may be revised accordingly. 

3. Write a narrative description that corresponds to each change to the Budget Table which explains the reason for the change.

4. Submit the Budget Revision Request (revised Budget Table and Budget Narrative) as one attachment via email to lsta@ncdcr.gov.

Project Activities and Required Surveys

Every project will have at least one federally funded activity: Instruction, Planning, or Content.

Each activity type requires selection of a mode (the way it was delivered), a description of 90-160 words, and specified outputs. Use the Activity Worksheet to see all the choices and gather all the needed information before beginning the report.

The following activity/mode combinations require a survey. Activity/mode combinations not listed here do not require a survey. Each survey is unique to the type of activity/mode. Most surveys are for use with library staff; there is only one survey to be used with the general public. The survey results must be tallied and captured on the corresponding Survey Results; the tallied Survey Results are to be uploaded at the end of the Final Report.

The surveys are in alignment with PLA’s Project Outcome and are a requirement by IMLS. More questions may be added by the local library for their own purposes/information, but all the provided questions are required.

To ensure program and project objectives and goals are on track, awardees are required to complete a Project Status Report Form.

For EZ grants between $0-$49,999, this form is due by January 15th (unless otherwise indicated in your award letter).  

For Project grants and Special Project grants $50,000 and up, this form is due quarterly -it is due by the 15th of October, January, and April 15th.  If your project isn't completed by the end beginning of June, this form will be due by June 15th.

Expenditure Spreadsheet

At the end of the project, when the Final Reimbursement Request has been submitted, State Library staff will send an email message to the Project Manager with a link to the Final Report Form and an Expenditure Spreadsheet as an attachment. The Expenditure Spreadsheet is something we create (based on what the library has submitted) that reflects the expenditures for the entire project in the specific budget categories required by IMLS. It is to be used to describe HOW the funds were used but no dollar amounts are to be entered in the report.

Final Report Guide

A Final Report Guide of the online report is available to help you prepare for the official Final Report submission.  

Grants with eligible project partners are required to submit, with their signed agreement, a partner statement from each partner.

IMLS Guidance

Applicants and Awardees are encouraged to reference IMLS Advisories and Guidance, as applicable. 

To help ensure that electronic book readers, and other emerging technologies, are used in library settings in a manner that is permissible under Federal law, awardees should reference the IMLS Advisory on E-Book Reader Lending Programs.

IMLS' Advertising, PR, Promotional Materials Guidance can assist in determining allowable and unallowable costs related to advertising, public relations, and promotional materials for Library Service and Technology Act (LSTA) grant awards and subawards in addition to the applicable Code of Federal Regulation (CFR) Cost Principles for more complete information on allowable and unallowable costs.

The purpose of the Limited English Proficiency (LEP) policy guidance is to clarify the responsibilities of recipients of federal financial assistance from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), and assist them in fulfilling their responsibilities to limited English proficient (LEP) persons pursuant to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the IMLS implementing regulations.