First Congressional District

LSTA Direct Grants to Libraries

Massachusetts uses LSTA funding to provide libraries with direct grants to meet the needs of their community. There were five LSTA direct grants awarded to libraries in the First Congressional District in 2023 totaling $47,200.

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

• Granville Public Library $10,000

  Granville is a small rural community located in Hampden County. Extracurricular activities and enrichment programs aimed at youth require traveling a significant distance outside of town. STEM Takes ROOT at the Granville Library will offer an out of school learning program focused on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) to provide a local free option for the community. The project will increase access to learn about STEM as well as offer more opportunities for connection and interaction in Granville.

• Belding Memorial Library (Ashfield) - $9,700

  Rural libraries, Rural jails: Outreach to Incarcerated Community Members aims to improve the accessibility of library services to community members impacted by incarceration in Franklin County, Massachusetts. This project will expand on the public library programming initiatives from Belding Memorial Library (Ashfield) and Griswold Memorial Library (Colrain). The grant will support the creation of curated and updated mini libraries within units of the jail, facilitated monthly book group discussions with residents, and provide a program for incarcerated caregivers to record videos of themselves reading picture books to share with the children in their lives.