The U.S. government has announced a $100,000 grant to a project that involves exploring blockchain application in the public library systems, CoinDesk reported.

The project will be undertaken at the San Jose State University Research Foundation. The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is funding the initiative under the National Leadership Grants for Libraries.

The document states:

“The San Jose State University School of Information iSchool will investigate ways that blockchain technology can be used by libraries to partner with other organizations and to support city or community goals.

“The proposed National Forum would bring together 20-30 technical experts in libraries, blockchain technology, and urban planning to discuss ways that blockchain technology can advance library services to support city or community goals. The resulting commentary from a project blog, national forum, and conference and the survey data will be evaluated and included in the project's final report, which will be available online.”

National Leadership Grants for Libraries support projects that address challenges faced by the library and archives fields and that have the potential to advance library and archival practice with new tools, research findings, models, services, or alliances that can be widely replicated. The IMLS last week announced 49 grants to institutions totaling over $10 million.

“We are delighted to announce today’s grant recipients whose projects are designed to have lasting benefits for the library and archives fields,” said IMLS Director Dr. Kathryn K. Matthew. “These grants highlight how IMLS helps steer the nation’s investments in libraries and ensure that librarians are equipped to provide citizens access to the information, resources, and services they want and need.”

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