LSTA Direct Grants to Libraries

Massachusetts uses LSTA funding to provide libraries with direct grants to meet the needs of their community. There were four LSTA direct grants awarded to libraries in the Eighth Congressional District in 2022 totaling $47,805.

Below are examples of direct grant funded projects in the Eighth Congressional District:

  • Archives Arrangement and Description – Howe Library, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Boston $8,305

    The Howe Library of Massachusetts Eye and Ear (MEE) has recently obtained a collection of diaries from the family of Dr. David Cogan (1908-1993), a world-renowned ophthalmologist, educator, and pathologist. This project allows the library to hire an Archivist to survey, arrange, and describe the collection as well as have the diaries digitized and placed within Harvard Library's CURIOSity platform. Improving access allows the entire MEE community, outside researchers, and the public to experience and appreciate one of the library’s most important archival collections

  • Dig In – Scituate Town Library $9,500

    The library is adding to its outdoor space and offering robust programming, materials, and activities to educate community members about utilizing native plants and creating more eco-friendly "grassless” yards that provide homes for pollinators. Working with the Scituate Garden Club, the library will educate community members about sustainability and biodiversity by purchasing relevant materials, and by bringing in a host of educators, specialists, and other professionals who will deliver lectures and hands-on programs about developing and maintaining spaces filled with native pollinator-friendly plants. 

ARPA Funding

Grants were given to communities that were hardest hit by COVID in the state to be used to improve access for residents at the library. Two grants totaling $100,000 were given to libraries in the Eighth Congressional District.

  • Boston Public Library will use funds to outfit several neighborhood branch locations with technology and related hardware to enable high-quality remote and hybrid programming.
  • Brockton Public Library will use funds to purchase a portable inflatable planetarium, projector and associated software, and to fund a part-time contractor to deliver the program for the first year.