The american craft council library in minneapolis will increase its ability to support patrons both in person and online

The American Craft Council Library in Minneapolis, Minnesota received a $100,000 Project Grant award from the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the National Leadership Grants program (CFDA 45.312). The grant will support increasing the library's ability to serve patrons both in-person and online through the hiring of a part-time assistant librarian. The assistant librarian will aid patron reference requests and further the library's digitization efforts. The library's collection is the most comprehensive in the nation on contemporary American craft from World War II to present, though many materials are not currently available digitally. The grant funding will allow the library to better meet increased demand for reference services experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic when the physical location was closed and fully digitizing its collection.

The library's collection is the most comprehensive in the nation on contemporary american craft from world war II to the present. Although the library closed and had to cancel its events during the height of the covid-19 pandemic, IT saw a dramatic increase in requests for reference services during that time. While some resources are freely available on the library's website, many materials are not available digitally. Patron requests for those materials still require a librarian to search within the physical archives. The library will hire a part-time assistant librarian to support patron requests and aid with the library's further digitization efforts.