Where Grants Go: 50 Literacy Grants, 24 States

[hero] Mathematica reviewed 50 IMLS literacy grants across 24 states. Here's what the money actually does.

[beat_1] Thirty-two percent invested in training library staff—the most common use of funds. In Arizona, librarians completed Early Childhood literacy certificates; in Alaska, staff were trained to deliver a specific reading program and track caregiver engagement.

[beat_2] Twenty-six percent funded summer reading programs. California's Summer @ Your Library leveraged an existing state book club to curate titles, while Rhode Island gave teachers resource guides to weave summer reading into fall classroom lessons.

[beat_3] Twenty-two percent expanded collections—books, e-books, audiobooks, multimedia. Some libraries also invested in infrastructure: Washington funded age-appropriate furniture for an early learning center; Pennsylvania launched a bookmobile to reach communities without building access.

[beat_4] Twenty percent provided resources for caregivers—developmental milestone guides in Colorado, readiness surveys in Georgia, activity-matched literature in Massachusetts that paired songs with infants and play groups with preschoolers.

[beat_5] Eighteen percent funded storytime and literacy skill development, often together. Prime Time brought humanities researchers into family storytimes; Oneida Nation walked trails with children and caregivers, reading outdoors around the library grounds.

[close] Fifty grants, 24 states, one pattern: libraries fund people first, then the programs those people deliver.

[credit] Source: Mathematica for IMLS, February 2026.

[cta] Read the full Mathematica study (link)