[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 168 (Thursday, September 2, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49356-49357]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-19017]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NATIONAL FOUNDATION ON THE ARTS AND THE HUMANITIES

Institute of Museum and Library Services


Notice To Announce Request for Information for the Modification 
of the Eligibility Requirements for the Native American Library 
Services Enhancement Grants Program

AGENCY: Institute of Museum and Library Services, National Foundation 
on the Arts and the Humanities .

ACTION: Request for information.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This Request for Information (RFI) is intended to gather broad 
input to assist the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) in 
making a determination whether or not to modify the eligibility 
requirements for the Native American Library Services Enhancement 
Grants program (Enhancement Grant). Currently, to be eligible for 
Enhancement Grant funding, an applicant is required to first submit a 
Native American Library Services Basic Grant (Basic Grant) application 
in the same year. IMLS is considering the elimination of this specific 
eligibility requirement to reduce application and administrative 
burdens for applicants and awardees and to allow applicants to choose 
the grant program(s) best suited to their needs.

DATES: Submit comments on or before Friday, October 29, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Comments must be submitted to [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Both the Enhancement Grants program and the 
Basic Grants program are designed to assist federally recognized Indian 
tribes in improving core library services for their communities. See 
https://www.imls.gov/grants/available/native-american-library-services-enhancement-grants and https://www.imls.gov/grants/available/native-american-library-services-basic-grants for details. IMLS is committed 
to the continuous improvement of all its grant programs and to 
minimizing grant-related application and administrative burdens for its 
applicants and awardees. The current structure requires every applicant 
for an Enhancement Grant program to also apply for a Basic Grant in the 
same year.
    The Basic Grant program is designed to support library operations 
and core services, including library workforce training. The 
Enhancement Grant program is designed to support larger and more 
complex library projects, including preservation. For the Basic Grant 
program in Fiscal Year 2021, IMLS expects to award a total of 
$1,900,000, consisting of 192 individual awards ranging from $6,000 to 
$10,000. For the Enhancement Grant program, IMLS expects to award a 
total of $1,200,000, consisting of 20 individual awards ranging from 
$10,000 to $150,000.
    The Basic Grant program is less competitive than the Enhancement 
Grant program because essentially every eligible Basic Grant applicant 
receives a grant; whereas Enhancement Grant applications compete 
against each other and not all applications receive an award. The two 
programs are also financially interdependent: Funding that is not 
awarded from the Basic Program pool is then added to the funding 
available for the Enhancement Program pool. For example, if not all of 
the FY21 $1,900,000 funding is awarded because IMLS receives fewer 
Basic Grant applications than anticipated, the balance of unawarded 
Basic Grant funds will then be made available to the Enhancement Grant 
funding pool (i.e., whatever is not awarded from the $1,900,000 Basic 
Grants pool is added to the $1,200,000 Enhancement Grant pool).
    The original reason to have a Basic Grant before applying for an 
Enhancement Grant was to help ensure that all Tribes received at least 
a basic level of funding before larger, more complex projects were 
supported.

[[Page 49357]]

However, this may place unnecessary application and grant 
administration burdens on applicants who wish to apply for, and carry 
out, only an Enhancement Grant. For example, such applicants may not 
want to apply for and administer a Basic Grant but are simply looking 
for a grant to support a larger project.
    Eliminating the requirement to first apply for a Basic Grant would 
make it possible for Tribes to apply for an Enhancement Grant only and 
still allow them to apply for both an Enhancement Grant and a Basic 
Grant if they wish. This change is intended to give applicants the 
flexibility to apply for the grant(s) that best suit their needs.

Information Requested

    IMLS invites input from all Tribal communities, including but not 
limited to individuals, Tribal governments, libraries, archives, 
museums, institutions of higher education, and cultural heritage 
centers.
    Organizations are strongly encouraged to submit a single response 
that reflects the views of their organization and membership as a 
whole.
    IMLS asks you to consider the following when reflecting on the 
proposed elimination of the requirement that Indian tribes wishing to 
apply for an Enhancement Grant apply first for a Basic Grant in the 
same year:
     How might the elimination of this requirement benefit the 
Tribe(s) with which you have close relationships?
     How might the elimination of this requirement harm or 
result in an unexpected negative consequence for the Tribe(s) with 
which you have close relationships?
     Taking the potential benefits and negative consequences 
into account, do you recommend we eliminate or keep the requirement as 
is?
     What other suggestions do you have for improving these two 
grant programs?
     What else would you like to see IMLS do to minimize the 
grant-related administrative burden for its applicants and awardees?

Responses

    Responses to this RFI are voluntary. Please do not include any 
personally identifiable information or any information that you do not 
wish to make public. Proprietary, classified, confidential, or 
sensitive information should not be included in your response. The 
Government will use the information submitted in response to this RFI 
at its discretion. The Government reserves the right to use any 
submitted information on public websites, in reports, in any possible 
resultant solicitation(s), grant(s), or cooperative agreement(s), or in 
the development of future funding opportunity announcements.
    This request is for information and planning purposes only and 
should not be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation on the 
part of the United States Government. IMLS will not make any awards 
based on responses to this RFI or pay for the preparation of any 
information submitted or for the Government's use of such information.

    Dated: August 30, 2021.
Kim Miller,
Senior Grants Management Specialist, Institute of Museum and Library 
Services.
[FR Doc. 2021-19017 Filed 9-1-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7036-01-P