The Pella Public Library has received an Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Accelerating Promising Practices for Small Libraries grant in the amount of $29,116. The grant will help with the creation of the Pella Community Memory Database, which will provide a central online repository for digitized local historical documents, photographs and other materials. The project will establish a digitization hub in the library, digitize and create metadata for historical materials from the library and the historical society, and make these materials available online. Building on the interest in and commitment to the community’s interest in local history and shared Dutch heritage, public programs will engage volunteers to help improve metadata, transcribe documents, translate documents from Dutch to English, and provide their own historical documents to digitize. The grant period begins September 1, 2019 and runs for two years.