Digital Initiatives Grants
We launched our Digitization Grant Program in January 2005 to support projects involving significant collections held by METRO member libraries in New York City and Westchester County. Since that time, we’ve awarded over $900,000 in grants to support 92 digital projects. Our grant program is supported in part by funds from the New York State Regional Bibliographic Databases Program.
Funding is distributed on an ongoing basis for qualifying projects that aim to increase access and engagement with digital materials. Projects will only be considered that have a realistic project plan and clear evidence of the intent and ability to make digital collections publicly available online.
Only current METRO member organizations located in New York City and Westchester County are eligible to apply for grant funding.
Applications for METRO Digital Project funding for 2020 will be announced in late winter. Please look for announcements in our newsletter and on our discussion list.


Projects We've Funded
We’re honored to have provided funding for 92 digitazation projects untaken by our members. For information about funded projects, please see the articles below.
Announcing METRO’s Equity in Action 2020-2021 Grant Recipients
Announcing METRO’s Equity in Action 2020-2021 Grant Recipients METRO is pleased to announce the recipients of funding...
A Final Assessment of Preserve This Podcast
We are pleased to share the Preserve This Podcast end-of-grant report, researched and written by Meridith Beck Mink....
Announcing our 2019 Digitization Grant Program Awards
METRO is pleased to announce the 2019 METRO Digitization Grant Program awards. All of the funded projects will provide...
Early Episodes of WNYC’s On the Media Are Now Available Online
New York Public Radio recently completed a project to digitize early On the Media broadcasts from 1993-1996, courtesy...
Seminal Woman’s Suffragist Publications from the Staten Island Museum Now Available Online
The Staten Island Museum recently completed a project to digitize two periodicals published by Women’s Suffrage...
2018 Funded Projects: Carnegie Hall Corporation
Collection: Carnegie Hall Incorporated Collections Description: The Carnegie Hall Incorporated Collections document...
2018 Funded Projects: Irwin S. Chanin School of Architecture Archive of The Cooper Union
Collection: The Student Work Collection Description: The Student Work Collection represents over eight decades of The...
2018 Funded Projects: New-York Historical Society
Collection: Burr McIntosh Photographic Prints, 1900-1910 Description: Burr McIntosh (1862-1942) established his first...
2018 Funded Projects: New York Public Radio
Collection: On The Media 1993-2000 Description: Since 1993, WNYC’s seminal program On the Media investigates “how the...
2018 Funded Projects: Leo Baeck Institute New York
Collection: Digitizing the Estate of the Art Historian Rachel Wischnitzer Description: The collection (18 reels of...
2018 Funded Projects: Leo Baeck Institute New York
Collection: The Gaby Glueckselig Collection Description: This collection (44 reels of microfilm/44,000 frames)...
2018 Funded Projects: Staten Island Museum History Center and Archives
Collection: Digitize Suffrage Periodicals Description: Collection of 382 issues made up of 6,117 pages from two...