Illinois Heartland Library System Has Been Awarded the Illinois State Library Road to Recovery Grant

The On the Road to Recovery: Transforming Library Spaces grant provides funds from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) for emergency relief and support to libraries as library spaces are modified in response to and recovery from the pandemic.

As Illinois Heartland Library System (IHLS) has prepared to come back to the office five days a week, the safety and health of staff at all three hubs is paramount. The goal of this grant is to enhance the environment and assure staff of the organization’s commitment to their health. Areas for proper hand sanitization, deep cleaning of all IHLS buildings, cleaning products, personal protective equipment, air purifiers, and easily cleaned delivery containers are all items we hope to facilitate. These items we have listed will enable us to support efforts to create a working environment that is clean and safe for IHLS staff.

IHLS will administer the grant using the same policies and procedures currently in place for the organization. IHLS follows all state and federal human resource guidelines. Procedures for procurement and inventory control are in place and follow state and federal guidelines.

Funding for this grant was awarded by the Illinois State Library, a Department of the Office of Secretary of State, using funds provided by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA).