PCPL awarded grant for materials addressing racial justice

Tuesday, September 1, 2020

The Putnam County Public Library was one of 150 different Indiana libraries and school systems to receive grant funding to purchase books and films related to racial equity.

The library was given a $981 grant from Indiana Humanities’ Advancing Racial Equity Collection Development Grant program, on the higher end of awards ranging from $290 to $1,000.

The project was made possible by a grant from the Lilly Endowment.

Schools, community organizations and libraries across the state were invited to apply for funds for adding digital or physical resources to their circulations which address systemic racism, policing and protest. Indiana Humanities worked with the Indianapolis Public Library’s (IndyPL) collection management team to develop the list of eligible resources. Also consulted were the Central Indiana Community Foundation’s Tools for Accountability list and resource lists provided by Booklist.

The list was also reviewed by IndyPL’s diversity and inclusion and Center for Black Literature & Culture staff, Indiana Humanities staff and humanities scholars.

“We’re grateful to Lilly Endowment for recognizing this need and providing us with funds to help our state’s libraries address this demand, and equip Indiana residents with additional resources that can catalyze and contextualize our conversations,” said Keira Amstutz, president and CEO of Indiana Humanities.

The Lilly Endowment grant was provided to Indiana Humanities to distribute $134,264 to libraries, and to also add books to its statewide Novel Conversations free lending library.

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