Grant Proposal

Alyx Kim-Yohn

Grant Guidelines
• IMLS National Leadership Grant for Libraries: FY 2021 Notice of Funding
Opportunities: https://imls.gov/sites/default/files/fy21-ols-nlgl-nofo.pdf

Enclosed
BECAUSE THE PDF FORMS ARE ONLY AVAILABLE AS READ-ONLY, I PROVIDED THE REQUESTED INFORMATION IN THIS
DOCUMENT. IN THE CASE OF ACTUAL APPLICATION, I WOULD, OF COURSE, INPUT THIS INFORMATION DIRECTLY INTO
THE FORM AND SUBMIT ALL ITEMS THROUGH THE GRANTS.GOV LISTING AS REQUIRED.

• Responses to Application for Federal Domestic Assistance/Short Organizational

Form (SF-424S):
https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/readonly/SF424_Short_1_1-V1.1.pdf
• Responses to IMLS Supplementary Form (including Abstract):
https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/readonly/IMLS_Supplementary-V1.0.pdf

Additional Files Attached Separately

• IMLS Library – Discretionary Program Information Form: programinfo.pdf
o NOTE: SECTION 1 OF THIS FORM IS NOT REQUIRED FOR PHASE I: PRELIMINARY PROPOSALS.

• Preliminary Proposal Narrative: preliminaryproposal.pdf

Application for Federal Domestic Assistance/Short Organizational (SF-
424S)
1. Name of Federal Agency: Institute of Museum and Library Services (auto-populated by
Grants.gov)
2. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: (auto-populated by Grants.gov)
3. Date Received: Completed Upon Submission to Grants.gov (auto-populated by
Grants.gov)
4. Funding Opportunity Number and Title: (auto-populated by Grants.gov)
5. Applicant Information
a. Legal Name: Huntsville-Madison County Public Library
b. Address: 915 Monroe St., Huntsville, AL 35801
c. Web Address: http://www.hmcpl.org
d. Type of Applicant: (This is a dropdown menu to which I no longer have access,
but I would select the code for public library.)
e. Employer/Taxpayer Identification Number (EIN/TIN): 63-6000402
f. Organizational DUNS: (I would obtain this from the branch manager, or else seek
her guidance in obtaining it if she doesn’t have it.)
g. Congressional District of Applicant: AL-005
6. Project Information
a. Project Title: HMCPL Information Communication Technology Access
b. Project Description: The Huntsville-Madison County Public Library system has
opened two upgraded branches over the past two years, with one more on the
way. They were opened with iPads mounted on the walls to serve as the online
patron access catalog (OPAC), but they have proven unwieldly. People with
visual and tactile disabilities struggle to navigate them, as do people who are
significantly taller or shorter (such as in a wheelchair) than where the iPad is
mounted. Starting with the Madison Public Library branch, this project will
mount the iPads on articulated stands and provide additional access
technologies, such as keyboards, to improve access to the OPAC while
maintaining patron privacy and self-sufficiency. The project will also address
other access needs as determined by a community needs assessment.
c. Proposed Project Start and End Date: 08/01/2021 – 08/01/2022
7. Project Director1
a. Name: Alyx Kim-Yohn
b. Title: circulation manager

1
The library system would likely determine for me who would serve as project director, primary contact/grants
administrator, and authorized representative, and I recognize that they very well might not be myself and the
branch manager. For the sake of the draft, however, I’m using myself and the branch manager – and because,
quite frankly, I’d rather manage the project in-house than have someone from another branch try to manage it for
us.
 c. Email: akim-yohn@hmcpl.org
d. Telephone Number: 256-461-0046
e. Address: 142 Plaza Blvd., Madison, AL 35758
8. Primary Contact/Grants Administrator: Same as Project Director
9. Authorized Representative
a. I Agree
b. Name: Sarah Sledge
c. Title: branch manager
d. Email: ssledge@hmcpl.org
e. Telephone Number: 256-461-0046
f. Signature of Authorized Representative: Completed by Grants.gov upon
submission. (auto-populated by Grants.gov)
g. Date Signed: Completed by Grants.gov upon submission. (auto-populated by
Grants.gov)
IMLS Supplementary Information Form & Abstract
• Applicant Information: Yes, the organizational unit performing the activities described
in the application is the same as the legal applicant from the SF-424 Short
Organizational form.
• Funding Request
o IMLS funds requested: $5,000
o Cost share/match amount: $0
o Total costs: $5,000
• Indirect Costs: (I would have to find out from the branch manager what the library
system’s federally negotiated indirect cost rate is. If the system somehow doesn’t have
one, I would select the option not to include indirect costs.)
• Population(s) Served
o General population
o Middle childhood/Primary school (6-12 years)
o Adolescents/High School (13-19 years)
o Adults
o Aging, elderly, senior citizens (65+ years)
o People with mental or physical challenges/disabilities
• Abstract
The Huntsville-Madison County Public Library system has opened two upgraded
branches over the past two years, with one more on the way. These new branches are
intended to be state-of-the-art, but they have instead run up against technological
access challenges that need to be address. For example, the Madison Public Library has
iPads mounted on the walls to serve as the online patron access catalog (OPAC), but
they have proven unwieldly. They are flush with the wall, so users cannot angle them
into an ergonomic position; people with visual and tactile disabilities therefore struggle
to navigate them, as do people who are significantly taller or shorter (such as those in a
wheelchair) than the iPad’s static location. The Madison Public Library also uses multiple
touch-screen interfaces without keyboards or audio/haptic feedback to aid accessibility.
These oversights leave many patrons, particularly aging and/or disabled people,
struggling to use the technologies available to them.
Starting with the Madison Public Library branch, this project will improve overall
access to information communication technologies. The inaccessibility of the iPads has
been a known issue since the branch opened, so a primary objective will be to purchase
articulated wall mounts for the iPads to make them easier to access and use. The branch
will also purchase Bluetooth keyboards with an integrated touchpad and joystick to
provide an alternate means of interfacing with the iPads. The project will also include a
community needs assessment to determine where and how else patrons meet barriers
to technology and information access, then take the necessary steps to break down
these barriers.
The project will take a year to complete, starting with the community needs
assessment concurrent with sourcing the iPad mounts and Bluetooth keyboards. The
equipment will then be installed, and the branch will seek feedback from patrons and
staff about its efficacy. At least one of the self-service kiosks and one of the print-
release stations, both of which are touchscreens, will also be outfitted with keyboards
and mice to aid accessibility. Other needs as determined by the community needs
assessment will then be addressed, whether by sourcing additional assistive equipment
or training staff on current equipment and best practices.
Ultimately, the goal of the project is to provide universal access to information
and technology. Provided the Madison Public Library proves to be a success case, the
rest of the system will adopt the same technologies and practices to provide utmost
service to the entire Madison County population. The project is easily scalable and
adaptable, so institutions across the nation will be able to turn to this project as an
example of adapting universal design practice within preexisting spaces. With increased
access will come increased awareness of the need to design with universal access in
mind from the start of every project and, ideally, a greater willingness of all public
library systems to keep universal access in mind for all of their physical and digital
spaces.