Digital Pathways: Online Health Literacy Programming for Adults Guidelines

250209-ppo-digital-pathways-1-ala.org_

Date posted: October 23, 2025

Applications Open: October 29, 2025 - January 7, 2026

Questions?

Contact the American Library Association (ALA) Public Programs Office at 1-800-545-2433, ext. 5045, or publicprograms@ala.org.

Table of Contents 

  1. Initiative Description
  2. Project Overview
  3. Eligibility
  4. Award Information
  5. Application and Submission Information
  6. Application Review
  7. Award Administration Information
  8. Contact Us

Initiative Description

There has been a significant increase in adults using the internet to access health information over the past decade. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention noted that 58.5% of adults utilize the internet specifically for accessing health and medical information. Enhancing adults' online health literacy is crucial for enabling access to this vital area of the internet, reducing disparities in healthcare access, and fostering active engagement in personal health management.

Libraries can play a vital role in helping adults connect with reliable healthcare resources. They can also provide spaces and support for adults to access telehealth services. As libraries increasingly integrate technology into their services, they have become essential community hubs where patrons can access telehealth appointments and informational sessions. To serve in this capacity for their communities, libraries need readily available tools and resources focused on how to effectively create online health literacy programming for adults.

Through the Digital Pathways: Online Health Literacy Programming for Adults, ALA has created a toolkit for library workers of ready-made programming ideas and resources that can be used to implement online health literacy programming for adults.

Project Overview

In collaboration with UnitedHealthcare, the ALA Public Programs Office is seeking applicants to participate in Digital Pathways: Online Health Literacy Programming for Adults. This pilot program will provide 12 libraries with a resource package to support online health literacy programming during a nine-month implementation period. The selected libraries will be required to use the program guide to hold at least three health literacy programs  for adults in their communities, and work with project evaluators to provide feedback on their effectiveness. The guide outlines programming ideas that libraries can implement or adapt to support online health literacy and telehealth access among adults. It also offers practical, detailed examples of successful and innovative programs drawn from diverse public library settings. The examples illustrate how libraries can effectively adapt these program models by leveraging local partnerships, enhancing digital and eHealth literacy, optimizing accessible spaces, and employing inclusive and culturally responsive outreach practices.

Eligibility

This opportunity is open to public libraries, medical libraries, and tribal libraries. 

Award Information

Up to twelve libraries will be selected in this application period (October 29, 2025 – January 7, 2026).

Selected Public Libraries Will Receive

  • Professional development resources, including a practitioner’s guide; onboarding webinar; and professional development webinars on the topics of Understanding Online Health Literacy and Telehealth, Equipping Adults with Skills for Telehealth and Online Health Literacy, Best Practices for Online Health Literacy Programs, and Online Health Literacy and Telehealth Programming in Practice.
  • $8,000 stipend to cover costs associated with implementing at least three online health literacy programs from the programming guide. Eligible expenses may include hiring a facilitator, buying additional technology, or purchasing materials recommended in the practitioner’s guide. Examples include investing in tech devices and services to enhance telehealth programs—such as creating a lending library of laptops and/or hotspots for patrons who are not physically able to come to the library; creating a dedicated telehealth space within the library with soundproofing for patron privacy; or equipping a room with a WiFi-enabled laptop, webcam, and vital signs monitoring tools (scale, blood pressure monitor, thermometer, and pulse oximeter).
  • Access to a community of practice for participating library staff to ask questions, share expertise, offer advice, and engage in peer sharing and learning.

Requirements for Selected Sites

All selected libraries are required to do the following:

  • Sign a contract with ALA agreeing to programming, publicity, evaluation, reporting, and other project requirements.
  • Participate in training webinars.
  • Present a minimum of three public programs on health literacy based on the models in the practitioner’s guide.
  • Promote the programs in the community and allow the public to attend free of charge.
  • Create a program card on UHC’s white label Findhelp or UniteUs resource tool, to facilitate identification of programming for UHC member services to refer local members to program engagement at the library.
  • Participate in reporting and evaluation.
  • Appoint one staff member as the library project director. The library project director is responsible for participating in training and overseeing programming and promotions.
  • Agree to all publicity requirements, including the use of designated project credits and/or logos on all local publicity materials, both print and online.
  • Spend the grant funds by December 31, 2026.
  • Submit a final report to ALA by January 31, 2027.

Evaluation

The Digital Pathways pilot will include a formal evaluation of the implementation and impact of this program. Libraries that receive this grant award will be required to work collaboratively with our third-party evaluation partners, Knology, to do the following:

  • Track program details and attendance
  • Implement post-surveys for program participants
  • Participate in online focus groups with Knology
  • Attendance numbers, surveys, and interviews will help ALA learn about the impact and improve this pilot in the future. Key questions that will guide this evaluation are the following:
    • How was the program implemented?
    • What was the impact of this program? Were the programs informative, relevant, and useful? Did patrons gain the confidence needed to take advantage of telehealth/online health services?
    • How can this program be improved? ALA and Knology will work in partnership with selected libraries and support them throughout the evaluation process.

Eligible Expenses

Digital Pathways grant funds are restricted to project-related expenses. Eligible expenses may include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Tech devices and services to enhance telehealth programs—such as creating a lending library of laptops and/or hotspots for patrons who are not physically able to come to the library
  • Library staff time
  • Honoraria for program facilitators
  • Payment to project partners for services and support provided
  • Health literacy collection materials
  • Project supplies
  • Promotion and publicity

Grant funds may not be used to support indirect costs (e.g., general library administrative expenses) or as donations to other organizations.

Application and Submission Information

Getting Started

To submit a proposal, go to the online application form and complete the following steps. If this is your first time submitting an application through ALA Apply, our grants management system, you may want to first review our How to Apply webpage. Please note that the grants platform requires a login that is separate from ALA membership credentials.

Note: ALA recognizes that libraries that most need support are often those with the least capacity to apply for grants due to inadequate resources and staffing. If you feel you need support developing your application, please contact the Public Programs Office at publicprograms@ala.org or 312.280.5045 to speak with a member of the ALA Public Programs Office staff.

If you encounter problems interacting with our online grants management platform due to difficulties with assistive technologies, please contact publicprograms@ala.org or call 312.280.5045. Please also include information about the nature of your accessibility barrier so we can best provide support.

To apply for the Digital Pathways: Online Health Literacy Programming for Adults grant, you must complete the following steps:

  1. CREATE/ACCESS YOUR ACCOUNT
  2. ENTER PROJECT NAME
  3. COMPLETE PROJECT DIRECTOR INFORMATION
  4. COMPLETE LIBRARY INFORMATION
  5. WRITE GRANT NARRATIVE
  6. BUDGET JUSTIFICATION
  7. UPLOADS
  8. E-SIGN APPLICATION
  9. REVIEW AND EDIT YOUR APPLICATION
  10. SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION

1. Create/Access Your Account

Applications will be completed via the ALA PPO grants management platform.

  • Existing Users should log into the grants management platform.
  • New Users should sign up for an account. Please follow the instructions below.
    • Additional information for how to create an account can also be found on the How to Apply website.
    • Watch a tutorial about accessing the site and how to create an account.

Create a New Account (New Users)

  • Visit the Log on page.
    • It’s recommended that you bookmark this page in your internet browser for ease of access.
  • Click “Create New Account”.
  • Enter your personal information then click “Next”.
    • The email address you enter will act as your username when logging on to the site in the future.
    • Fields with an asterisk next to them are required fields, and you must complete them before moving forward.
    • Note you can always click on the “Cancel Account Creation” button to abandon the registration process.
  • Create a password for your account and click “Create Account”
  • Upon creating an account, you will be taken to the Email Confirmation page, so you can confirm that you are receiving emails from the system.
  • Follow the on-screen instructions and click “Continue” to finish the registration process.
  • Now you have an account in the system; and remember, this is an account that you will use for both present and future applications.

If at any time after creating an account, you can’t remember your password, you may click on the “Forgot Your Password?” link on the Logon page, enter your email address, and you will be sent a link to reset your password.

Ensure you receive messages regarding your application! Emails regarding your application status will come from administrator@grantinterface.com. Save this email address as a contact to ensure messages are not marked as spam.

Once signed in, click “Apply” or “See Opportunities” in the upper left to bring up a list of available grant opportunities. Select the blue “apply” button next to the Digital Pathways: Online Health Literacy Programming for Adults listing to begin your application for this opportunity.

2. Enter Project Name

To begin your application, enter DigitalPathways into the “Project Name” field. Please do not enter an original project name.

3. Complete Project Director Information

To complete this section, provide all the information that is requested about the Project Director. Note: The project director is the person who will be responsible for coordinating the entire proposed project. They will be the primary point of contact for the project at the applicant institution.

4. Complete Library Information

To complete this section, provide all the information about the applying library, including type, total population served, and community type.

5. Write Grant Narratives

Before you compose the narrative part of this application, we strongly recommend that you read these guidelines carefully. Please ensure that you fully answer the questions listed below in each section. If you do not, your application is unlikely to be competitive.

  1. Community and Library Information Describe your library and the community it serves, including your community’s current demographics, internet connectivity, and digital literacy. Do library patrons have internet access at home? Are they able to access health or other important, trustworthy information online from home?
  2. Health Literacy Access Briefly describe your library’s existing capacity to meet the health literacy needs of patrons, including partnerships, services, and programming. How do patrons currently access health services out of your library? How did you learn about your community’s needs for health literacy programming?
  3. Rationale  Describe how increased access to resources and health literacy programming through the library would benefit adults and specific audiences in your community.
  4. Project Plan Please describe how you plan to implement the project. How will you publicize and promote the required programs? How will you meet patrons’ digital literacy needs?  A general description of how you envision it, with relevant examples of previous programming, is fine.

6. Budget Justification

Describe your plans for the grant funds. What will you use the funding to purchase or support? Please be specific (e.g. $1,000 will be spent on staff time to support the development and implementation of the project, $1,000 will be used to purchase a laptop dedicated to telehealth appointments). The total amount of this section must add up to $8,000.

7. Uploads

Upload any additional materials that support your proposed project. These may include, but are not limited to:

  • Letters of support
  • Sample promotional materials

8. E-Sign Application

An application for a Digital Pathways: Online Health Literacy Programming for Adults grant is an application for a grant from the ALA, using funding provided by an award from UnitedHealthcare. ALA is required by law to ask applicants to identify a certifying official who is authorized to submit applications for funding on behalf of the institution.

To complete this section, you must enter all information that is requested.

9. Review and Edit Your Application

10. Submit Your Application

Once you have completed all parts of your application, you may submit it by selecting the “Submit” button. All applications must be submitted by 11:59 CT on January 7, 2026. Applications submitted after that time will be ineligible.

Note that once you have submitted your application, you can no longer alter it. The application will then be submitted for review. You will receive an email confirming submission of your application.

Ensure you receive messages regarding your application! Emails regarding your application status will come from adminstrator@grantinterface.com. Please save this email address as a contact to prevent notification emails from being marked spam.

Application Review

Each eligible application will be assessed by a review panel of library workers. UnitedHealthcare and ALA will make final decisions based on peer reviewer feedback and other possible considerations, such as geographic distribution. Applications will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

  • Clarity and completeness of the application. Has the applicant supplied all required information, including all sections of the proposal narrative?
  • Demonstrated need for a program of this nature in their community.
  • Ability to carry out a successful series of programs.
  • The quality of the marketing and outreach plans and the likelihood of engaging the target audiences.

Award Administration Information

Award Notification: February 18, 2026

Grant Acceptance Forms Due: March 5, 2026

Virtual Onboarding: March 2026 (exact date to come)

Grant Implementation Period: April 1, 2026 – December 31, 2026

Pre-Program Form Due: 14 days prior to programs beginning

Programs Complete and Spend Down Due Date: December 31, 2026

Final Report Due: January 31, 2027

Contact Information

If you have questions about the program or the application, contact:

Public Programs Office

800-545-2433, ext. 5045

publicprograms@ala.org (include project name in subject line)