FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, July 29, 2021

CONTACT: Mary Stadick Smith, South Dakota Department of Education, 605-773-7228, mary.stadicksmith@state.sd.us or

Ruth Raveling, South Dakota Department of Education, 605-773-2593, ruth.raveling@state.sd.us

EDITOR'S NOTE: A list of grantees and award amounts is available on the Department of Education website.

State Library announces $1.9M in grants to 78 libraries

PIERRE, S.D. – At today’s State Library Board meeting, it was announced that 78 South Dakota libraries have received $1.9 million in grants funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) through American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds.

“These funds will help libraries across our state to invest in infrastructure, technology, and materials that will serve their patrons through modern, innovative facilities and practices well into the future,” said Brenda Hemmelman, interim state librarian.

Grant-funded items include the following:

• Technology to replace old computers, printers, and iPads
• Podcasting equipment
• Digitization equipment
• Books, audio books, e-books
• 3D printers and other makerspace equipment
• Furniture with embedded technology
• Library automation software
• SMART boards/Promethean boards for classroom teaching and displays

Grants were awarded to 41 public libraries, 22 school libraries, and 15 academic libraries.

The South Dakota State Library has also purchased $76,000 worth of audiobooks and e-books for the South Dakota Titles to Go (SDTTG) consortium with funds from IMLS through ARPA. South Dakota Titles to Go is powered by OverDrive and facilitated by the State Library. It provides participating public library patrons the ability to download audiobooks and e-books.

SDTTG usage grew 18% from 2019 to 2020, when users checked out 412,364 titles. South Dakota public libraries interested in joining the SDTTG consortium should contact the State Library at 1-800-423-6665.

--30--