ALA is partnering with Communities for Immunity, an unprecedented collaboration among libraries and museums to boost COVID-19 information and vaccine confidence in communities across the United States.
Communities for Immunity provides funding to libraries, museums, science centers and other cultural institutions to enhance vaccine confidence where it matters most: at the local level. Building on the many ways they have supported their communities during the pandemic, the partnership will activate libraries and museums to create and deliver evidence-driven materials and develop resources, programs, and approaches specifically designed to help these institutions engage diverse audiences in vaccine confidence.
There is funding available for libraries to create projects and initiatives to enhance vaccine confidence. The deadline for the first round of applications is September 2, 2021.
If you are interested in applying, view a free informational webinar.
Libraries and museums will leverage resources and research available on vaccines and variants disseminated by the Institute of Museum and Library Services' (IMLS) research partnership with OCLC and Battelle, the Reopening Archives, Libraries, and Museums (REALM) project. Communities for Immunity will further build on existing resources and efforts, including the Smithsonian Institution’s Vaccines & US: Cultural Organizations for Community Health initiative, as well efforts from the CDC, Department of Health and Human Services and more.
Supported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and IMLS, other Communities for Immunity collaborators include the Association of Science and Technology Centers, American Alliance of Museums and the Network of the National Library of Medicine. In addition to ALA, library organizations joining in the effort include the Association for Rural and Small Libraries; the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums; and the Urban Libraries Council. The national coalition of partners are creating a community of practice to develop and refine vaccine education resources that will be shared with the broader library and museum community.
