Association for Rural & Small Libraries Conference Professional Development Award

Application Overview

Before submitting your application, ensure that:

• Your institution is a NNLM member with a NNLM Member record.
  • If unsure, contact the NNLM Training Office for assistance.
• You (the applicant) MUST have a NNLM account. Set up an account here if needed.
• Your NNLM account is connected to your institution’s Member record (this will show a 5-digit NNLM ID).
• If you need help with this step, please contact sam.nunn@utah.edu

Complete your application online. Deadline: June 17, 2026, 11:59 PM ET.
In your application, prepare to describe:

• The primary health information needs of your community
• Your interest in attending the pre-conference, Healthy Roots, Strong Communities: Health Information Resources and Programming.
• How you anticipate sharing the knowledge gained with your library colleagues and/or community members. 

Notifications of award will be sent by June 29th, 2026.

Once selected, you will be required to submit an estimated travel budget and a memorandum of agreement. If you are a recipient from Region 1, you will submit a W-9 instead of the MOA. 

If selected, you will need to prepare an estimated budget. 

Please note:

1. Applicants, not from Region 1, are required to limit their expenses based on the Schedule of Allowable Rates for University of Utah Travel. Recipients from NNLM Region 1 (Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia) will follow the UMB Procedure on Business Travel for Nonemployees.
2. Food (except reimbursed meals for a professional development award), promotional items, or furniture are not allowable expenses.  
3. Non-allowable promotional items include but are not limited to: clothing and commemorative items such as pens, mugs/cups, folders/folios, lanyards, and conference bags that are sometimes provided to visitors, employees, grantees, or conference attendees.
4. Refer to the NIH Policy on Allowability of Costs/Activities.  

Budget Instructions

1. Applications must include 3-column budget table (or spreadsheet) that includes detailed budget Expense Categories described below. You may use the budget table template below to draft your expenses.

• Column 1 will contain the expense category (e.g. Personnel, Consultant Costs, Fees, Travel, Hotel, etc.).
• Column 2 will contain an itemized list for that category with costs per unit multiplied by number of units (e.g. Other: Airport Parking, 3 days @ $10/day).
• Column 3 will contain a total cost for item category (e.g. Personnel, Consultant Costs, Fees, Travel, Hotel, etc.).

  2. If a budget line is not applicable for your project, leave it blank.

  3. Enter each amount to the nearest whole dollar. The total estimated total cannot exceed $1500.00.

Note: Applicants must register for the full conference and the 3-hour preconference training.

The following reporting requirements are mandatory for Professional Development Award recipients.

1. NNLM Evaluation Office Professional Development Award Report (link to be provided upon award approval) must be submitted before the 10th day of the month following the end of the activity.
   The report includes 4 open-ended questions related to the results of participating in the activity. For each open-ended question, please include a minimum of a 150-word response. 
2. Submit all receipts for reimbursement within 30 days of the end of the activity. 

Please contact the NTO (nto@utah.edu) with questions about eligibility, membership, or the application process well before the deadline.

1. Awards are cost-reimbursable and:

• May be issued to NNLM member institutions or individuals affiliated with a member institution. Check to see if your institution is a member.
• In some cases, awardees are encouraged to have their expenses purchased directly by the funding institution (airfare, registrations, etc.)
• Applicants are required to limit their expenses based on 1) the Schedule of Allowable Rates for University of Utah Travel, 2) UMB Procedures on Business Travel for Nonemployees (for Region 1 recipients only), and 3) the NIH Policy on Allowability of Costs/Activities.  

2. This award is administered through the University of Utah under a Cooperative Agreement with the National Library of Medicine Award Number UG4LM013732 and the University of Maryland, Baltimore under a Cooperative Agreement with the National Library of Medicine Award Number UG4LM013734.
3. Applicants are NOT required to budget to the maximum amount if the proposal cannot justify it.
4. The NTO will provide a memorandum of agreement for approved projects. Region 1 recipients are required to provide a completed W-9. 
5. Award applicants are NOT to begin their project until all necessary documentation is signed and completed.
6. All award recipients must agree to comply with the below required terms set by the National Institutes of Health (see "NIH Requirements" tab for more details).

Awardees must complete the following requirements before spending award funds: 

1. Complete a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to the NTO or a W-9 to Region 1 by August 14, 2026. The NTO will provide an MOA. 
2. Submit a budget justification table that contains the details of your expected travel expenses (see "Budget" tab for more details).

All award recipients must agree to comply with the below required terms set by the National Institutes of Health.

508 Compliance 
Section 508 requires that all website content be accessible to people with disabilities. This applies to web applications, web pages and all attached files on the intranet as well as internet. The National Library of Medicine is a part of the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Recipients of National Library of Medicine funding through the NNLM must meet all requirements under Section 508. Information on 508 compliance.

NIH Public Access Policy
Recipients of NNLM funding are required to deposit any peer-reviewed manuscript upon acceptance for publication in PubMed Central in accordance with the NIH Public Access Policy.

Data Sharing and Development of Training Materials
To facilitate the dissemination of knowledge and information associated with the NNLM Cooperative Agreement Award, all sub-awardees are required to share any data or training material resulting from funding. This information must be submitted to the following collection sites as applicable:
•    Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM) website;
•    Other websites specifically designated by the NLM as part of the Network of the National Library of Medicine (considering changes in the project and data repositories required to maintain sharing within the Network).
In addition, recipients of funding are expected to use or adapt existing training materials before developing new materials. Consult with your RML/Office and the NNLM Training Office (NTO) prior to developing materials.

Publication and Copyrighting
Per Section 8.2.1. – Right in Data (Publication and Copyrighting) of the NIH Grants Policy Statement. The NIH must be given a royalty-free, nonexclusive, and irrevocable license for the Federal government to reproduce, publish, or otherwise use any materials developed as a result of funding and to authorize others to do so for Federal purposes, i.e. the ongoing development of the Network of the National Library of Medicine. Data developed by sub-awardees/consortium participants and consultants are also subject to this policy.

NIH Acknowledgement
Any resources developed with project funds must include an acknowledgement of NIH grant support and a disclaimer.
"This project has been funded in whole or in part with Federal funds from the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, under Cooperative Agreement Number UG4LM013732 with the University of Utah. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health."

Additional notices: 

1. Human Subject Research Restrictions: All proposed assessment and evaluation activities must either 1) not meet the definition of research (a systematic investigation designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge [45 CFR 46.102(l)] or 2) MUST be have been determined by the applicant's Institutional Review Board to be Exempt Research as defined by the Basic HHS Policy for Protection of Human Research Subjects §46.104(d). Additional human subjects research requirements may apply.
2. Institution Tax ID: Applicant must provide the 9-digit tax identification number for your institution. Professional Development Awards reimbursement requests paid to an individual are excluded.
3. Institution Unique Entity ID: Please confirm your organization’s Unique Entity ID (UEI) with the System for Award Management (SAM.gov). If your organization does not have a UEI, register for one as soon as possible. Professional Development Awards reimbursement requests paid to an individual are excluded.
4. Funded projects are displayed on the publicly accessible NNLM website and are often provided by NLM in response to data requests from NIH, HHS, OMB, Congress, and the White House.