Twenty-one South Carolina library systems enter 2022 with grant money to expand their resources and programs for multilingual patrons. The Multilingual Collection Development Grants help support people who speak a language other than English at home by offering new library materials in their first languages. The goal is to strengthen relationships between public libraries and members of this population. Since Spanish is the second most spoken language in South Carolina, many grant recipients will purchase Spanish materials. Libraries with a need for Mandarin Chinese, Arabic, Korean, Russian, French, and German materials will also feature these languages. We encourage recipients to work with community partners to help bring awareness to their collections.
The $2000 grants are part of the American Rescue Plan Act and funded through the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and administered by the South Carolina State Library (SCSL).
Abbeville County Library System
ABBE Regional Library – Aiken
AHJ Regional Library - Jasper
Anderson County Library
Beaufort County Library
Berkeley County Library
Calhoun County Library
Chapin Memorial Library
Cherokee County Library
Chester County Library
Darlington County Library
Florence County Library
Kershaw County Library
Lexington County Library
Newberry County Library
Pickens County Library
Saluda County Library
Spartanburg County Library
Sumter County Library
Union County Library
York County Library