Welcome to the Library & Archives Grants page!
Goal
To provide public libraries and historical institutions funding opportunities for materials and services to serve their communities. The Library & Archives is happy to have the below grants available to eligible entities at this time.
Questions?
If you have questions about the grants process or grants in general, please contact Jennifer Cowan-Henderson@tnsos.gov
To apply
- You will need to create a free Submittable account or sign in with Google credentials to submit these forms.
- You can save a draft of your work if you would like to finish filling out the form at a later date.
- Submittable works best on Google Chrome, Firefox, and Safari. Internet Explorer is not supported. Please make sure you are using a supported browser.
- We will follow-up with you about your submission by email. Please be sure to check the email you used to sign up for your Submittable Account regularly.
- If anything changes with the information you submitted, please request to edit the submission. If you need to make changes to your form, please withdraw your submission and resubmit.
The Tennessee Historical Records Advisory Board (THRAB) is pleased to provide a grant opportunity for improving the preservation of and access to Tennessee’s historical records, educate and train records custodians, and support archival program development and enhancement.
The 2025-2026 grants will be available up to $5,000 per institution and are available to any government entity or not-for-profit organization that holds permanent, historically valuable archival collections. There is no match requirement.
These funds are made available by the National Historical Publications & Records Commission.
Grant funds are available for the following:
- Technology
- This category provides funding for hardware, software, peripherals, and other technology items used to create online digital collections.
- Items requested may not exceed $5,000.
- Training
- This category provides funding for registration costs for webinars or workshops related to conservation, digitization, and digital project planning for archivists and museum personnel.
- Contracted Services
- This category provides funding to hire a vendor or independent contractor for the purpose of digitization or conservation services.
- You must include a quote for these services from a specific vendor as part of your application.
- Contract/Part-Time Archivist
- This category provides funding to hire a contract or part-time archivist for the duration of the grant period to scan documents and create corresponding metadata.
- This person cannot already be employed by or paid by your organization. This cannot be supplemental to an existing salary or hourly employee.
- Supplies
- This category provides funding for archival shelving units, acid-free, lignin-free folders and boxes, and other necessary archival supplies or environmental monitoring devices.
*Please be aware that everyone is required to create a fee-free, web-based, digital product.*
THRAB will review and evaluate all eligible applications. THRAB may award all or none of the funds requested, offer partial or conditional funding, and encourage revision and/or resubmission. In determining whether an applicant shall receive a grant, THRAB will consider the following factors:
- Statement of Need: In archival records projects, explain the significance of the records in question, why they need to be preserved, processed, and digitized, and how those scans will be made accessible. For education and training, explain how the project increases the archival knowledge and/or skills of archivists and other historical records custodians.
- Plan of Work: How will the project result in increased public access to archival collections through digitization? The result of a fee-free online collection is required. The soundness of the work plan is critical, focused, clearly defined, and achievable.
- Participants: The qualifications and/or plans for training project personnel, including resumes.
- Budget: Is the budget realistic, cost-effective, and accurate?
The deadline for applications is Friday, August 15, 2025.
The Tennessee State Library and Archives is pleased to provide a grant opportunity to local archives across Tennessee for their archival needs. This grant is solely provided by the Tennessee Secretary of State.
The 2025-2026 Archives Development Grant is available for the official county or municipal archives or a not-for-profit organization that has an official, legal authorization to maintain the records generated by a county or municipality to replace or purchase archival supplies to improve the storage conditions of archival collections, operations, or public accessibility. Applicants must show the archives/preservation of records as a line item in the county budget and have an active Public Records Commission that has met at least twice during the county’s fiscal year.
Grant funds are available for the following:
- archival shelving units
- acid-free, lignin-free folders and boxes
- other necessary archival supplies or environmental monitoring devices
- contracted conservation treatments
- hiring part-time worker
- improving online access to collections through digitization
- registration fees for webinars from approved organizations
The deadline for applications is Monday, August 15, 2025.