1. WNYLRC RBDB Grant Writing Workshop
August 28, 2019
Sheryl Knab and Heidi Ziemer

2. What is RBDB?
Regional Bibliographic Data Bases and Interlibrary Resources Sharing Program (RBDB)
Categorical aid each library council gets from NYS
$217,783 ($230,348)
Used for technology related expenses and projects
NY Heritage hosting and management costs
DPLA harvesting
Ask Us 24/7
IT staff
Training center expenses (Internet, network)
Training
Website development
Grants to Members

3. Which WNYLRC Members Are Eligible to Apply?
Governing Members (Majority of institutional members)
Patron Organizational (DLIS, LCHIB)
Individual public and school libraries must apply through their library system who must sign off on the application

4. RBDB Member Project Grant Application Packet
Cover letter
Grant Guidelines
Grant Application – two ways to complete
Copyright agreement
Final Report
Helpful Information
Tip Sheet
Timeline
Sample agreement
Check list

5. Great Projects Previously Funded

6. Consider these questions!
What’s needed?
What’s innovative?
Who can I collaborate with?
Are there hidden collections at my institution?
Do I have a few items that could be combined with another institution’s items to make a really interesting online collection?
Consider these questions!

7. Projects to Consider
Developing finding aids and adding them to Empire Archival Discovery Collaborative
Contribute to ESIE – Empire State Immersive Experiences
Using technology to enhance regional access to resources or information
Developing a service model that utilizes technology and that can be replicated by other libraries
Digitization of oral histories
Digitization of institutional histories of local companies and organizations
Developing a tool or a process that uses existing technology that helps libraries manage their data and statistics
Add digital collections to NY Heritage or NYS Historic Newspapers
Create online exhibits that uses images and collections in NY Heritage
Develop lesson modules that utilize collections in NY Heritage and NYS Historic Newspapers

8. RBDB Cycle Timeline
September: RBDB Grant Application process announced on WNYLib-l.
October: Deadline for RBDB Member Project Grant applications
December: RBDB Member Project Grant proposals reviewed by an independent RBDB Reading Team and submit recommendations to Regional Advisory Committee (RAC)
January: RAC reviews RBDB Reading Team’s funding recommendations and submit their recommendations to WNYLRC Board
March: WNYLRC Board of Trustees reviews RAC’ recommendations and determines final funding and grant approvals by the WNYLRC Board of Trustees
April: Grant recipients notified via regarding grant approval
July/August: Grant funding received by WNYLRC. Grant recipients notified of awards via formal letter
of agreement.
*Please note that grant funding is not released until the NYS Legislature and the Governor approve the state budget and WNYLRC has physically received the funding.

9. Common Mistakes Not reading the guidelines Not using whole numbers
Not paying attention to deadlines
Starting the project early before funds arrive
Not demonstrating how the project impacts the region
Not seeking appropriate partners
Not getting proper signatures
Starting a digital project without contacting WNYLRC

10. WNYLRC Member Benefits and Resources
WNYLRC Staff
When you have questions with the RBDB grant application (Sheryl)
When you have questions regarding your digital project and/or CONTENTdm (Heidi)
When you have questions regarding upcoming training and events (Caitlin)
When you have questions on other technology (Derek)
Copyright and legal concerns regarding your collections or situations
Ask the Lawyer RAQ page ( )
Ask the Lawyer inquiry form (
Business Planning, marketing, branding
Ask the SCORE Business Mentor (

11. What’s fundable
Digitization projects – newspapers, photos, scrapbooks, oral histories, maps, directories, manuscripts, letters, and more
Technology projects
Professional development that is technology focused
Creation of finding aids
Delivery of materials to vendor for digitization
Selective equipment
Personnel or contracted personnel: salary and benefits*
Space rental for events
Vendor contracts

12. What’s not fundable? Food
Mileage of individuals unless cleared in advance
Delivery of ILLs
Some equipment (check with WNYLRC)
Foundation overhead or grant administrative fees
Current salary and benefits of existing staff*
Overhead costs including physical plant
Purchase of local automated systems

13. What Ideas Do You Have For Your Next RBDB Grant?
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY
What Ideas Do You Have For Your Next RBDB Grant?