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Congratulations on your receipt of an LSTA Mini–Grant. The following information will assist you in preparing the required narrative and fiscal reports and in requesting changes to the budget. Project staff are urged to contact the State Library whenever questions or concerns about the grant arise. Missy Lodge, LSTA Program Coordinator and Julia Ward LSTA Fiscal Coordinator may be reached at 800–686–1532 or 614–644–7061.

The information included here should be used in conjunction with the Contract and the Application. Although the reporting schedules are discussed here, please make sure you read the Contract carefully.

Also, it is very important that Project Coordinators and Fiscal Officers work closely together. The Project Coordinator is responsible for the narrative report and the Fiscal Officer is responsible for the fiscal reports. Both should work together for program implementation. All documentation, including the mini–grant application and the Contract, should be shared with the Fiscal Officer.

LSTA Staff prefers receiving reports via email. Narrative reports should be sent to: jward@sloma.state.oh.us with a carbon to mlodge@sloma.state.oh.us. Financial reports should be sent to jward@sloma.state.oh.us with a carbon to mlodge@sloma.state.oh.us.

Requests for project changes should be emailed mlodge@sloma.state.oh.us or you may wish to call and discuss with Missy Lodge proposed changes prior to submitting a request.

The administration of the mini–grant is subject to the provisions required by the Library Services and Technology Act (P.L. 104–208), 45 Code of Federal Regulations 1183, Institute of Museum and Library Services policies, State Library of Ohio Board policies, the LSTA Five Year Plan 2003 – 2007, and the laws governing the State of Ohio.

State Library staff wants the LSTA process to be as beneficial to your library and community as possible. Staff is available to answer your questions and work with you throughout the process. If you have any questions, concerns, or comments please call the LSTA Office at 800–686–1532 or 614–644–7061.

Project Reports

One of the requirements of having an LSTA mini–grant is that one narrative and two fiscal reports must be prepared and submitted to the State Library. Reports are necessary to show progress of the project and the information provided is used to report Ohio's LSTA program to the State Library Board and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

The timeline indicating actual due dates of reports can be found at:

Narrative Reports

Narrative reports are to be written against the objectives and activities stated in the application. An electronic version of the form can be found at: http://oh.webjunction.org/ohlstaminirepsl Click on "Format for Final Narrative" under mini–grants.

The narrative report must address the activities scheduled to be undertaken as a part of the project. Any press releases, newspaper articles or other public relation materials appearing to announce or promote the project should be sent to the State Library as an appendix to the electronically submitted narrative report. Also, any materials produced as part of the project should be sent to the State Library for inclusion in the official file.

For the most part, LSTA mini–grant narrative reports will show pre–program activities, indicating the equipment/materials were ordered, received, installed/processed. If any program implementation has occurred this should be discussed.

A year after evaluation must also be completed as part of the project. An evaluation form will be sent to you approximately one year after the project's termination. The year after evaluation will evaluate the project as a whole and its results once project implementation has been completed. It will also attempt to measure the impact the project is having on the community.

The narrative report should be emailed to the LSTA office on or before the close–out date of September 30. Support documentation should also be received at the State Library on or before the close–out date.

Fiscal Reports

Fiscal reports must be prepared against the budget cited in the contract. Fiscal reports must be completed and signed by the treasurer. Reports signed by the project coordinator will not be accepted.

The amount of the award, for federal and local funds is stated in the contract. When preparing the fiscal report(s) use the federal and local amounts stated in the contract, not those in the application. Both the federal and local amounts must be expended during the life of the grant. If the Project Coordinator or Fiscal Officer have questions regarding the budget or the funding amounts, they should contact Lisa Hickle for clarification.

Acceptance of a fiscal report is contingent upon the accurate reporting of disbursements and open purchase orders and the correct reporting of any unencumbered balances.

Because LSTA mini–grant funds are funded with LSTA carryover funds, all funds must be encumbered by August 31 and disbursed by September 30.

The termination report is due at the State Library 15 working days following the termination date of August 31. The report should indicate that all funds were encumbered by the termination date. A close–out report, showing final disbursement of funds, must be at the State Library within 15 working days of the project's close–out date of September 30.

Should all funds be encumbered and disbursed by August 31, only one financial report will be needed. The report will then count as both the termination and close–out report.

Libraries receiving an LSTA mini–grant must supply the State Library with appropriate back–up documentation to verify that the subgrantee is in compliance with audit and federal regulations.

All subgrantees must comply with the requirements and principles as outlined in OMB Circular No. A–133. Institutions expending $500,000 or more in a year in federal awards (including LSTA funds) will be audited under OMB Circular No. A–133.

An electronic version of the form and the instructions for its completion can be found at http://oh.webjunction.org/ohlstaminirepsl Click on "LSTA Cumulative Financial Report – Schedule I – Mini" under mini–grants.

Budget Changes

State Library staff realize that changes can occur between the time you write a grant and the time you begin implementation, such as new technology availability, pricing fluctuation, items no longer available.

Should it become necessary to change your budget, or revise the number and/or type of items to be purchased, you should first call the LSTA Office at 800–686–1532 or email Missy Lodge at mlodge@sloma.state.oh.us

There are three types of budget changes:

• Budget Adjustments are used to revise and the number and/or model of items to be purchased. Budget adjustments can be done without prior permission from the State Library. Such changes should be noted in the narrative report. If you have any questions regarding whether or not permission is required to make a change, please contact either the LSTA Program Coordinator or LSTA Fiscal Coordinator.
• Budget Revisions are required when funds (local cash or federal) are moved within a category because you wish to purchase an item which is not already a line item in that category or you wish to eliminate a line item that was in the original budget. An example of a budget revision would be if the equipment category includes PCs and a laptop and you wish to purchase a printer or decide not to purchase the laptop. Budget revisions require prior approval from the State Library before the revision is implemented. An email request should be made to either the LSTA Program Coordinator mlodge@sloma.state.oh.us or the LSTA Fiscal Coordinator jward@sloma.state.oh.us In most cases, LSTA staff will email an OK to the budget revision and ask that the change be noted in the narrative report.
• Budget Transfers are required when moving funds (local cash or federal) from one category to another. An example of a budget transfer would be if you had purchased all of the equipment stated in the equipment category and wished to transfer remaining funds into the supply category to purchase additional printer cartridges and toner. Budget transfers require prior approve from the State Library before the transfer is implemented. An email request should be made to either the LSTA Program Coordinator mlodge@sloma.state.oh.us or the LSTA Fiscal Coordinator jward@sloma.state.oh.us. In most cases, LSTA staff will email an OK to the budget change and ask that the change be noted in the narrative report. If the change is a substantial one you may be asked to submit a letter to the State Library detailing the request and why it is necessary. This letter will then be placed in the official file for the project.

Publicity

All publications, press releases, and products produced as part of the LSTA project must credit both the State Library of Ohio and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services suggests you use the following language when writing press releases: "Thanks to a grant from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), awarded by the State Library of Ohio....."

In terms of publications and products, the LSTA Office recommends using one of the following options.

This project was supported in whole or in part by federal Institute of Museum and Library Services funds, granted through the State Library of Ohio. The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of IMLS or the State Library of Ohio, and no official endorsement by either agency should be inferred.