Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack, announced the goal to provide $100 million of USDA’s Community Facilities ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) funds for public libraries. The VT/NH jurisdiction will have at least $2.2 Million in funding to offer to libraries for capital projects such as buildings and equipment. There are many excellent outcomes when we support rural libraries:

• Rural libraries not only play a vital role in educating their patrons, they also enhance the economic vitality of a rural community.
• Rural business owners receive an array of information resources at the public library. The educational opportunities afforded create more productive employees for rural businesses.
• The construction or renovation projects for libraries create and save jobs in the construction and library service fields.
• A new or renovated library facility in a rural community can be a catalyst for renewing that community’s downtown area.
• Public libraries are culturally and technologically critical to the rural communities they serve.  Public libraries offer a host of state of the art communication services to rural residents that are often otherwise unavailable in their community.
• Libraries are often a rural community’s cultural center; offering public programming to adults and children.
• Public libraries are important to bridging the digital divide and improving the quality of life in rural America.

• Community served must be under 20,000 in population
• Contact your local RD office regarding grant eligible service areas. Please visit http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/vt/vtstaff.htm to find an office near you in VT or NH.
• Note: Grants range from 0-75% and require matching funds. Please visit http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/vt/vtnhcfgranteligibilty.htm to see if your community is eligible for grant assistance. Note: Loan and Loan guarantees are available to all communities of 20,000 or less in population.
• Both Public and Non-Profit Libraries who are open to the public may qualify.

Download the complete flyer here. If you tweet about this, please include @nhlibrarians