Competition for Innovative Library Projects CCB Seal (Spain)

This Resolution announces the launch of the “CCB Seal” competition for innovative projects for the year 2025, in accordance with the provisions of article 23 of Law 38/2003, of November 17, General Subsidies, which rewards innovative projects from libraries of different types (school, specialized, national and regional, public and university), dependent on the different Spanish public administrations, located in national or international territory, which are part of the Strategic Subsidy Plan of the Ministry of Culture.

Objectives

• Promote the sustainability and universal accessibility of libraries
• Contribute to the public visibility of libraries and library services
• Improve the professionalization and recognition of the library sector
• Improve the effectiveness and impact of library services through data analysis
• Strengthen access and quality of services in rural libraries
• Develop information and media skills
• Contribute to the conservation, digitalization and dissemination of heritage bibliographic

Categories

• School libraries (Modality A): centers supported with funds public Early Childhood and Primary Education.
• School libraries (Modality B): publicly funded Secondary Education centers, including centers that provide vocational training courses, special education, and adult education centers.
• Specialized libraries.
• National and regional libraries.
• Public libraries: for up to 10,000 inhabitants.
• Public libraries: for those with more than 10,000 inhabitants.
• University libraries.

Funding Information

• Each prize, worth €5,000, will be awarded to the project with the highest score in its category, according to the criteria established in Section Nine.

Eligible Expenses

• Media and information literacy programs: Initiatives aimed at fostering interest in reading and developing skills in the critical use of information, through the organization of workshops, seminars, and other activities that promote information and media literacy, fostering a better understanding and evaluation of news content.
• Implementation of areas dedicated to experimentation and leaming in the field of technology and innovation, with equipment and resources for the development of robotics, programming, virtual reality, and other projects.
• Accessibility and inclusion projects: Implementation of specific programs that promote the inclusion of groups with special needs or at risk of social exclusion, and/or that address cultural and linguistic diversity.
• Library cooperation projects: Promoting interlibrary cooperation and cooperation with other cultural and educational entities for the exchange of resources, knowledge, and best practices, as well as for program development.
• Sustainability and social responsibility projects: Implementation of sustainable practices in library management and activities that contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, including environmental education and energy efficiency initiatives.
• Strengthening community and citizen participation: Development of activities and events that promote active community participation in the library’s cultural and social life.

Eligibility Criteria

• The following library categories may be accessed and benefited from this call: school, specialized, national and regional, public, and university, provided they have not won a prize in the last five calls.
• The same administration may participate in the award in more than one category.
• The centers for which the award is requested, except those corresponding to the school library category, must be included in the Directory of Spanish Libraries and in an active status at the time of publication of this call.
• Both specific projects that have already been implemented and projects that are part of the center’s strategic lines (or that are periodically developed there) may be submitted to the call, provided they have been implemented in previous years.
• In accordance with the provisions of Article 11 of Law 38/2003, of November 17, General Subsidies, if the project is the result of a collaboration between two or more libraries, regardless of whether they are of the same or different categories, the amount of the subsidy to be applied by each of them must be expressly stated in both the application and the granting resolution, which will also be considered beneficiaries. In any case, a representative or attorney must be appointed.
• The sole representative of the group, with sufficient powers to fulfill the obligations that correspond to the group as a beneficiary, although each of the beneficiaries must justify the amount of the subsidy granted to them.
• Libraries whose ownership and management depend on the General State Administration are excluded from this call.

Assessment Criteria

• Project relevance: The project objectives and detailed description (target population, methodology, phases and lines of action, and results/achievements) will be assessed.
• Scope and relevance of the project:
  • Originality, creativity, innovation and possibilities for replication.
  • Impact on library services or on the protection and dissemination of bibliographic heritage.
  • Scope in the type of users contemplated.
  • Project visibility: impact in the media and social networks.
  • Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the UN 2030 Agenda related to the impact of gender, attention to diversity and/or environmental sustainability: It will be assessed that the definition of the objectives has sufficiently taken into account the perspective of gender equality (SDG 5), attention to diversity.
  • Cooperation: The project’s promotion of collaboration between different libraries and the enhancement of citizen participation and/or the participation of other sectors and/or institutions will be valued.

For more information, visit Ministry of Culture.