To: Board Presidents and Library Directors

To: Board Presidents and Library Directors

From:Dawn Vincent, State Services Coordinator

Date: May 15, 2017

Re:NY State Construction Grants

The State Legislature has increased funding for public library construction to $24 million.The deadline to submit a grant to NCLS is August 11, 2017. The deadline allows us time to get the answers we need from the libraries, the Division of Library Development, and the Dormitory Authority to ensure a successful submission of your application.

Project activities eligible for grants include the purchase of vacant land or buildings to be used for library purposes, construction of new library buildings, construction of additions to existing buildings, and the renovation or rehabilitation of existing space. The matching funds requirement could be as low as 25%, depending on the availability of grant funds. Since all of our libraries are eligible for the lower local match, the North Country Library System’s goal will always be to award grants at the 25% (Local) and 75% (State) match level. The approximate allocation of $697,500 allows us to fund up to $930,000 worth of projects at the 75% / 25% match level. If the project cost of all eligible applications totals more than $932,000 collectively, a higher match than 25% will be required.

For example: $930,000 = $697,500 (75% State Match) + $232,500 (25% Local Match)

The attached sheet, “Guidelines for 2017-2019 NYS Construction Grant Program,” explains the requirements and priorities for the grants. Section I outlines the NYS Guidelines. Please note parts C&D in Section I: (C) states a project must have a total cost of at least $5,000 and (D) states that the library must have proof that they have sufficient funds for the local match.

Although your library may qualify for the lower 25% local match (Section III), we are encouraging all libraries to submit proof for matching funds as close as possible to 50%. What sense does this make? Well, let me explain.The lower local match is not guaranteed. As mentioned above, if we receive eligible grants that total over $930,000 we will either have to reject some grants in order to fund the remaining grants at the full 75% / 25% level, or we could adjust the match to fund more grants. For example, if the eligible grants total $1,125,000, the NCLS Board may decide to fund all grants at a 62% ($697,500 State) / 38% ($427,500) match level.

That being said, we do not want to discourage libraries with a lower local match from submitting applications. There is the chance that NCLS may be able to fund all grants at the 75% / 25% match but that depends on the number of grants submitted and the total cost of those grants.

Section II of the attached guidelines gives the construction grant requirements and priorities as stated in the NCLS Plan of Service. We use these each year to prioritize the applications.

Section III of the attached guidelines “State and Local Match Amounts” has two parts. Part A states that a library must meet two of the economic indicators in order to qualify as serving an economically depressed area, and therefore qualify for the 75% State match. All NCLS member libraries meet at least two of the indicators, so all qualify.

Part B is included to help NCLS staff further prioritize the applications when the total eligible award amounts exceed the available grant funds. This section was designed so there would be little or no monetary outlay to comply. In this way all libraries, regardless of size, can meet these guidelines. If you have any questions about this section, or if you need assistance updating your long range plan, please contact your Consultant. Again, this section only comes into play if the total amount of project costs exceeds the grant funds we have available.

Libraries that plan to submit a grant application must provide a construction project narrative and contact Dawn Vincent for a site visit to discuss your project. Libraries that do not provide a narrative and schedule a site visit by June 23, 2017, will not be eligible to apply for a construction grant during this grant cycle.

Thank you for your patience with the length of this explanation. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions:

Dawn Vincent, State Services 315-755-0645

PLEASE NOTE: If your library has benefited from a construction grant, or if you think it may need a construction grant in the future, please take a moment to contact your State Senator and Assembly member to tell them about the impact and importance of the program. The need and benefits of this grant program have been clearly demonstrated. Please let your State representatives know about this.

Contact information for State Legislators can be found by visiting and finding the Legislators link under the Advocacy menu, or go directly by typing this into your browser: