The Grants to States program is the largest source of federal funding support for library services in the U.S. Using a population based formula, more than $180 million is distributed among the State Library Administrative Agencies (SLAAs) every year. SLAAs are official agencies charged by law with the extension and development of library services, and they are located in:
- Each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia;
- The Territories (Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands); and
- The Freely Associated States (Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of Palau, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands).
Grants to States projects support the purposes and priorities (https://www.imls.gov/grants/grants-state/purposes-and-priorities-lsta) outlined in the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). SLAAs may use the funds to support statewide initiatives and services, and they may also distribute the funds through competitive subawards to, or cooperative agreements with, public, academic, research, school, or special libraries or consortia.
States and subrecipients have partnered with community organizations to provide a variety of services and programs, including access to electronic databases, computer instruction, homework centers, summer reading programs, digitization of special collections, access to e-books and adaptive technology, bookmobile service, and development of outreach programs to the underserved.
Grants to States funds have been used to meet the needs of children, parents, teenagers, adult learners, senior citizens, the unemployed, and the business community. One of the program's statutory priorities is to address underserved communities and persons having difficulty using a library, and approximately ten percent of grant funds in recent years have supported library services for the blind and physically handicapped. The program also meets the needs of the current and future library workforce.
The Library Services and Technology Act requires each SLAA to submit a plan that details library services goals for a five-year period. SLAAs must also conduct a five-year evaluation of library services based on that plan. These plans and evaluations are the foundation for improving practice and informing policy.