This latest Knight News Challenge theme focused on the future of libraries. The 22 winners presented projects to further develop and sustain the value of libraries in their community, whether through promoting education, digitizing content, or rethinking the way libraries can be used. Each project received a share of a $3 million award pool to implement their proposal.

Browse the list of winners.

All applications were posted online in September and were open to community views and applause votes. The Library Freedom Project, which received the most views, will use its $244,700 award to empower librarians on issues of digital privacy and surveillance and support workshops educating citizens. The Internet Archive, which received the largest grant at $600,000, will develop and extend a set of digital tools so more citizens can be involved with uploading, preserving, and presenting data. 

Fourteen of the winners received "protoype" awards of $35,000 that will be used for digital training and rapid idea iteration. The Journalism Digital News Archive, a project out of the Reynolds Journalism Institute, will work to find a better system to protect and preserve content that was "born digital."