ULC is fortunate to attract grant funding from national foundations such as the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and The Wallace Foundation, and from government agencies such as the Institute for Museum and Library Services. This funding helps us create and conduct demonstration projects that will significantly enhance and improve professional practice. ULC members often provide extensive in-kind support for these grants as learning labs. Current showcase project areas include:

ULC Executive Leadership Institute

Library research shows that a huge wave of retirements at the top of public libraries is now underway. Among ULC member libraries alone, one in three directors have turned over in the past three years, and another one in three directors is expected to retire and be replaced in the next three to five years. ULC is taking the lead on creating new and emerging leader training and professional development opportunities, designed to give new leaders the tools to work in changing organizational, industry, community, and political environments.

The ULC Executive Leadership Institute, funded by the Institute for Museum and Library Services, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and W.K. Kellogg Foundation, is a unique and highly effective program that develops new leadership talent in public libraries using a model of “Action Learning".

Update:

ULC is delighted to announce that through funding from IMLS’s Librarians for the 21st Century program, the ULC’s acclaimed Executive Leadership Institute returned with the launch of ELI 4 in December 2006.

Partners in Youth Development (PLPYD) and Learning in Libraries

While children and families have long been a “core” service area for public libraries, increasingly new youth services are being developed for teens and young adults. Part of this renaissance of youth development services has been fueled by the ULC work supported with grants fromThe Wallace Foundation.

ULC Scholars (Librarians for America's Neighborhoods)

ULC is interested in fostering a brand of librarian that understands and works effectively with diverse community populations. With the support of a new initiative funded by the Institute for Museum and Library Services, ULC has developed and supported, along with 21 Partner Libraries, unique and innovative learning opportunities for new librarians to study and work in metropolitan neighborhood public libraries across the country. 

Update:

The Institute for Museum & Library Services has awarded ULC a grant to continue the ULC Scholars program, “Librarians for America’s Neighborhoods.”  We are delighted to lead the charge on this initiative, along with several ULC member libraries, to recruit the next public library professionals to the field and orient them to the diverse array of issues facing urban public libraries today.