Lyrasis, a nonprofit member organization serving the global landscape of academic and public libraries, scholarly research, archives, museums and galleries, is pleased to announce the 2026 recipients of the Lyrasis Catalyst Fund. The Lyrasis Catalyst Fund is an award program that provides support for new ideas and innovative projects from the Lyrasis membership. Through the Lyrasis Catalyst Fund, now in its tenth year, Lyrasis has directly invested more than $1,000,000 in its members to support and promote projects with the potential for community-wide impact.

The Lyrasis Membership selected five projects to be funded for the benefit of the community at large.

The five projects awarded in the 2026 Lyrasis Catalyst Fund are:

  • Recruit, Mentor, Support: Building a Framework for Effective Transitions from Campus Job to Library Career, Swarthmore College Libraries. Amount: $16,115
    The goal of Swarthmore College Libraries (SCL)’s creation and implementation of the “Recruit, Mentor, Support” framework is two-fold: establish a career path support system for our diverse undergraduate staff; and enable supervisors of enthusiastic student-workers to cultivate an interest in librarianship and information science careers. SCL will create a sustainable, replicable model to integrate into current procedures, with shareable tools specific to guiding and mentoring undergraduates.     
  • Pathways to Prevention: Community Health Engagement and Care Kits (CHECK), Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives (KDLA). Amount: $28,000
    The Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives aims to strengthen public libraries’ capacity to deliver public health information and resources through the “Pathways to Prevention” initiative. Along with trusted partners, KDLA will provide training and a toolkit to deliver reliable health information and Community Health Engagement and Care Kits (CHECK). This initiative will establish an adaptable, non-clinical model that will help libraries connect patrons with trusted information and reduce barriers to preventative healthcare.     
  • Digital Smarts: Staying Safe & Confident Online, Nova Southeastern University (NSU). Amount: $15,000
    Digital Smarts: Staying Safe & Confident Online empowers adults with the knowledge and confidence to engage responsibly in today’s digital environment. Through free, hybrid digital literacy workshops, free books, and curated online materials, participants strengthen media literacy skills, build cybersecurity awareness, understand responsible AI use, and learn emerging technologies, expanding equitable access to trusted education and creating sustainable learning resources for the community.     
  • Scaling Academic Libraries’ Support for Open Science Through OSCLIP, Carnegie Mellon University. Amount: $31,900
    As our four inaugural projects of the Open Science Collaborative of Library and Information Professionals (OSCLIP) reach final stages, this grant will catalyze their transition from prototypes to community-validated resources. Through a pilot-testing process guided by design thinking and a culminating meeting, we will scale our knowledge base and advocacy and competency toolkits across ~100 institutions to build a collective voice for library and information professionals.     
  • Assessing and Selecting the Right Handwritten Text Recognition (HTR) Platform for Public Documents, Clemson University Libraries. Amount: $26,695
    With the increasing availability of handwritten text recognition (HTR) platforms and Al applications, it is difficult for libraries, archives and museums (LAMs) to sort through each option's capabilities and make an informed choice for their needs and budget. Clemson Libraries proposes to develop a workflow to test and evaluate four HTR platforms' capabilities and, based on the results, create an online tool to help LAMs to review, assess and select an appropriate platform for their needs.     

This year the Sandy Nyberg Award, named for Sandy Nyberg's pivotal role in the Lyrasis Catalyst Fund and her dedication to grants throughout her career, is awarded to Clemson University for Assessing and Selecting the Right Handwritten Text Recognition (HTR) Platform for Public Documents.

The Lyrasis Catalyst Fund application cycle opens every January. Lyrasis welcomes inquiries about the process year round. If interested, please reach out to catalystfund@lyrasis.org.

About Lyrasis

Lyrasis is a community-supported membership organization whose mission is to support enduring access to the world’s shared academic, scientific and cultural heritage through leadership in open technologies, content services, digital solutions and collaboration with archives, libraries, museums and knowledge communities worldwide.