SANFORD - The Central Carolina Community College Library has been awarded an $18,505 grant by the State Library of North Carolina to update and expand the library's collections in the technology program areas serving students in Chatham, Harnett and Lee counties.

The State Library, a division of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources, awarded the grant from funds provided through the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) Grants to States program.

The CCCC Library will use the grant to provide books, eBooks, and DVDs for programs such as electronics engineering, laser and photonics, sustainability technologies, and others, according to CCCC Director of Library Services Tara Guthrie. She said the library will work with faculty in selecting purchases to ensure that the new materials align the collections with what is being taught in classes and labs.

"We are so thankful to have received this LSTA grant award," Guthrie said. "In these economic times of decreasing state funds for book purchases, it can be challenging to keep library collections current, especially in the rapidly changing technology areas. This grant will allow us to provide students with up-to-date library materials in their technology fields of study."

The CCCC Library received one of the 112 LSTA competitive grants awarded to North Carolina libraries for fiscal year 2011-2012. The grants were funded by a federal allotment of more than $4 million. North Carolina LSTA grants fund projects across the state that help libraries deliver learning opportunities for a lifetime, support libraries in their mission to provide cost-effective access to the Internet and to information expertise, and make library resources more accessible to all users.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation's 122,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. Its mission is to create strong libraries and museums that connect people to information and ideas. Through the LSTA Grants to States program, funds to state library agencies are allocated using a population-based formula.

State libraries may use the appropriation to support statewide initiatives and services or for competitive sub grants to public, academic, school, special, and research libraries. To learn more about the Institute, visit www.imls.gov.

For more information about the state's LSTA program, visit hstatelibrary.ncdcr.gov/lsta/lsta.htm or contact the State Library's Federal Programs Consultant at (919) 807-7400. For more information about the Office of Grants and Sponsored Programs at CCCC, visit www.cccc.edu/grants, or call (919) 718-7426.