The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation named 22 projects as winners of the Knight News Challenge on Libraries, awarding the recipients a share of $3 million for their ideas. One of the national winners was the Miami-Dade Public Library System.
The library system won a $35,000 grant from the Knight Prototype Fund, which helps innovators take media and information projects from idea to demo, for its idea to create a collaborative co-working space for freelancers and entrepreneurs within the walls of the library. The grant will be used to create a prototype in one of the branches.
All the winning projects aim to leverage libraries as a platform to build more knowledgeable communities. Eight of the winners will receive investments of $130,000 to $600,000, while the other 14 early-stage ideas will receive $35,000 each.
Knight News Challenge on Libraries was the second Knight News Challenge announced in 2014. In June Knight announced 19 winners of the 2014 Knight News Challenge on Strengthening the Internet, which sought ideas to strengthen the Internet for free expression and innovation. Since 2007 Knight Foundation has reviewed more than 10,000 News Challenge applications and provided nearly $50 million in funding to 133 projects.