Founded in June 2007, Prairielands, in conjunction with the Pioneerland and Plum Creek Library Systems, began to provide coordinated and cooperative support for young adults throughout the region. A team of like-minded individuals dedicated to encouraging the young adult services in our area were invited to be part of this new initiative, and Teen Co-Op Steering Committee was born.
Now, most often simply called the Teen Co-Op, it’s offerings include two annual Teen Grants which specifically support programming for teens.
TeenTober Grant
(October) – Sept 2025
Teen Summer Read Grant
(Summer) – April 2026
Application
Grant Guidelines
Evaluation
Special Grants*:
Prairielands also offers numerous grant opportunities throughout the year with the goal of bridging partnerships, community, patron outreach, and collaboration within all of the library types we serve within the region, including public libraries, post-secondary academic libraries, school libraries, and museums/special type libraries. Some of these grants are recurring each year, while others are specific to the current year. A brief description can be found below, while details are included in the individual guidelines document.
Author Grants – Oct 2025
Prairieland’s Author Grants help partnering school and public libraries in hosting an author visit. Originally limited to YA authors, the partners can invite authors to speak and/or conduct writing workshop for all audience levels at each library.
Academic Grants – Aug 2025
College Libraries Creating Connections
College and university libraries in the Prairielands region may apply for funds to create events, plan programs, purchase physical items or create marketing materials that will encourage students to connect with the library.
