There are many grants which are available through SEKLS for member libraries.

KANSAS FAMILY FOUNDATION GRANTS

With the generous support of a Kansas Family Foundation, the System will provide three new grants: Continuing Education Scholarship, Library of Things competitive grant, and Library of Community Hub competitive grant. The first grant is now available:

• Continuing Education Scholarships Guidelines and Application (July 17, 2026)

ALLOCATION GRANTS

The regional library systems began as organizations of public libraries only, and have remained part of the funding pattern for the support of public library service in the state.
SEKLS provides extended service grants, or allocations, to public libraries. To receive a System allocation or grant, a library must:

• Be eligible for the full amount of State Aid
• Comply with all applicable state laws and regulations regarding public libraries; including composition of library board, provision of free library service to all residents of territory comprising the SEKLS, etc. Where cities have used home rule authority to exempt themselves from provisions of state law regarding libraries, the library will be held to remain in compliance with the 2nd requirement, as long as such exemption does not alter the powers and duties of the library board.
• For more information, click on the Allocation Grant Guideline Download link on left.
• Questions regarding Allocation grants may be directed to the Sharon, System Director

Budget Information: Base Grant for 2026: $4,200 and $.95 per capita for Municipal Libraries | $3,100 without per capita for District Libraries
Grants awarded in 2025: $572,149 | 2024: $540,264 | 2023: $561,319

COMPETITIVE GRANTS

SEKLS offers a competitive grant of some type annually. All SEKLS members are eligible to apply for a limited amount of funding. Public libraries must qualify for the full system allocation in order to be eligible for competitive grants. The 2026 SEKLS competitive grant is for Equipment and Technology. Review the guidelines to see changes made to this grant. Part I, Programs opens March 30, 2026, with a deadline of May 1. Part II, Equipment opens July 6 and closes September 11, 2026. Questions regarding Competitive grants may be directed to Sharon, System Director.

Budget for 2026: $35,000 ($12,069 for part I | $22,931 for part II) | Grants awarded in 2025 for Collection Development: $33,129 | 2024 for Technology: $41,618 | 2023 for Facility Improvement/Furnishings: $40,030

CONTINUING EDUCATION GRANTS

Recognizing the importance of continuing education to library service, the Southeast Kansas Library System urges all member libraries to provide time and financial support for staff members and trustees to attend appropriate continuing education activities. To supplement what libraries are able to provide, SEKLS offers three types of continuing education grants. Questions regarding these grants may be directed to Amy, System Consultant. The three types of Continuing Education grants are:

• State library association conference grants ($250 maximum)
• General Continuing Education grants ($250 maximum, with exception for national conferences)
• Small Library Attendance Support grants ($100 maximum)

Budget for 2026: $4,000 | Grants awarded in 2025: $2,005 | Grants awarded in 2024: $2,844 | Grants awarded in 2023: $4,057 

DREAM GRANTS

The Dream Grant is available to help SEKLS members implement their dreams for their libraries. Dream Grant projects must be projects the library wishes to implement, with expenses connected with the project falling largely outside funding eligibility for single SEKLS competitive grants. Special consideration will be given to projects which are innovative new services in that library. Dream Grants may be applied for at any time of year. Questions and consulting support available from SEKLS staff.

Budget for 2026: $8,000 | Grants awarded in 2025: $4,000 | 2024: $8,678 | 2023: $0 

MATERIALS DELIVERY GRANTS

There are two parts to the Materials Delivery Grant. Part A is a reimbursement for money already spent on postage or other (non-courier) shipping costs for interlibrary loan materials during the prior year. Part B is reimbursement or pre-imbursement of a portion of courier costs. Questions regarding this grant may be directed to Sharon, System Director.

Materials Delivery Grant Costs for 2027: 3-day service $2,070  | 5-day service $4,600
Grants for  2026: 3-day service $2,205 (with a grant of $1,850) | 5-day service $4,900 (with a grant of $4,100)
Grants awarded in 2025: $117,041 | Grants awarded in 2024: $114,377 | Grants awarded in 2023: $108,984

PROGRAMMING GRANTS

All SEKLS members (school, academic, public, and special libraries) are eligible. Programs designed primarily for staff members of the library or institution are not eligible (for instance, in-service speakers), but must be designed for the population the library serves. No more than one grant will be funded for any member during a calendar year. A school district is one member, regardless of the number of libraries in the district. Questions regarding programming grants may be directed to Tammie for youth programs or Amy for adult programs. Grant amounts are determined by Library Service Level: $450 for libraries for Linking and Gateway libraries (fewer than 1,000) | $300 for libraries for Service Center I and above (greater than 1,000)

Budget for 2026: $4,000 | Grants awarded in 2025: $3,620 | Grants awarded in 2024: $3,785 | Grants awarded in 2023: $2,100 

ACADEMIC-SCHOOL EXTENDED SERVICE GRANTS

Grants are provided in compensation for service to the general public. To be eligible for the Academic/School Extended Service Grant, a library must:

• Be open to the public during most hours it is open to students of the institution
• Have a collection of materials
• Have a full-time librarian

The amount of each grant is determined by two factors: 1) the FTE enrollment of the institution and 2) use of the library by the public, as accounted for with Extended Service Use. For the purposes of this grant, extended service uses is a combination of circulation and computer use by persons who are not students ore employees of the parent institution. Questions regarding these grants may be directed to Sharon, System Director. This criteria was reviewed and further expanded in December 2025 to include “other library services” as an eligible use of the grant funds. The grant opened July 28, 2026 with a deadline of October 15.

Budget Information: 2026 Budget: $20,000 | Grants awarded in 2025: $16,500 | 2024: $14,500 | 2023: $13,500

DIGITAL RESOURCES GRANTS

This grant began in 2025 and provides support to Academic and public libraries for digital resources. To supplement what libraries are able to provide, SEKLS offers these options for the Digital Resources Grant: Direct Hoopla support paid to Midwest Tape by SEKLS | Digital Book Fund support | Digital resource reimbursement. As the SEKLS budget allows, funds will be distributed to eligible libraries based on a base amount of $100, with the remaining funds distributed by percentage of population.

Grants awarded in 2026: $40,000: 33 supported Hoopla for $24,671, 4 supported other platforms for $3,491, and 25 supported Cloud Library for $11,838