The Public Library Improvement Fund is administered by the Scottish Library and Information Council on behalf of the Scottish Government. It supports creative and innovative public library projects throughout Scotland and plays a key role in helping public library services achieve the vision set in Forward: Scotland's Public Library Strategy 2021-2022. The document outlines 15 strategic aims grouped under the themes of People, Place & Partnership, and maps out an exciting future for Scotland's public libraries.
Below is a list of previous Awards from the Public Library Improvement Fund. These projects helped to achieve the Strategic Aims of Ambition & Opportunity - Scotland's First Public Library Strategy - which was published in 2015.
You can also view Archive Awards from the Public Library Improvement Fund on our Publications page.
Aberdeen City Building Bridges Overcoming Barriers £11,760
Angus Alive Using the Mobile Library to Grow Community Library Services £11,530
East Ayrshire Leisure Trust On The Road to Digital Success £38,000
Glasgow Life Live Well Health Information Hubs £62,509
Glasgow Life Connect, Engage, Retain £49,211
Moray Libraries Digi Bytes and Takeaways £7,000
North Ayrshire Libraries Off the Page £11,900
Orkney Library & Archive Sensory Exploration in Orkney £8,500
You can also download the 2022 Public Library Improvement Fund Awards as a PDF
Successful Applications
Applicant Project Award Amount
East Lothian Libraries Libraries at Play £5,500
East Renfrewshire Culture & Leisure The Root Cause £14,240
High Life Highland Books and Beats £5,400
Inverclyde Libraries Play Together £17,600
Leisure & Culture Dundee Fintry Tool Library £1,404
Renfrewshire Leisure Renfrewshire eSports Athlete Programme £7,450
North Ayrshire What’s Your Story £29,800
Perth & Kinross Libraries Culture & Heritage Connections £14,800
South Ayrshire Jock Tamson’s Bairns £9,200
South Ayrshire Climate for Change £26,610
Stirling Libraries Making A Difference £46,568
West Dunbartonshire Towards a Sustainable Future £21,435
West Lothian Eco-Albeism £6,000
You can also download the 2021 Public Library Improvement Fund Awards as a PDF
Successful Applications
Applicant Project Award Amount
Inverclyde Libraries The Library of Kindness £19,970
North Ayrshire Libraries Talking Mince £13,000
ONFife Data Led Library Leadership £41,800
South Lanarkshire Leisure & Culture Signsational £5,500
Western Isles Libraries Ar n-Eileanan /Our Islands £34,000
Successful Collaborative Applications
Glasgow Life Libraries & Partners Investing in Our Digital Offer £85,950
You can also download the 2020 Public Library Improvement Fund Awards as a PDF
Successful Individual Applications
Applicant Project Award Amount
Inverclyde Libraries The Library of Kindness £19,970
North Ayrshire Libraries Talking Mince £13,000
ONFife Data Led Library Leadership £41,800
South Lanarkshire Leisure & Culture Signsational £5,500
Western Isles Libraries Ar n-Eileanan /Our Islands £34,000
Successful Collaborative Applications
Glasgow Life Libraries & Partners Investing in Our Digital Offer £85,950
You can also download the 2019 Public Library Improvement Fund Awards as a PDF
Successful Individual Applications
Applicant Project Award Amount
Aberdeenshire Libraries Precious Things Precious Stories £8,500
East Renfrewshire Culture & Leisure Virtually Together £23,500
North Ayrshire Library Service Open North Ayrshire: Library Hackathons £45,000
South Ayrshire Library Service Paws to Read £3,920
Successful Collaborative Applications
ANGUSAlive & Partners SLIC Library Film Clubs £46,679
Leisure & Culture Dundee & Partners Public Libraries Volunteer Accreditation Scheme £10,850
Falkirk Community Trust & Partners Library Live! £35,700
Midlothian Council & Partners Building the Librarian in the Multi-Professional Healthcare Team £54,336
Stirling Libraries & Partners Storing Stories £9,622
You can also download the 2018 Public Library Improvement Fund Awards as a PDF
