FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 15, 2006

Press Contacts
202-653-4632
Eileen Maxwell, emaxwell@imls.gov
Mamie Bittner, mbittner@imls.gov

IMLS Museum Grants for African American History and Culture
Application and Guidelines Now Available on IMLS Web site
(Application Postmark Deadline: July 15, 2006)

Telephone Conference Call to Help Applicants Prepare Proposals June 27!

Washington, DC—The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) announces availability of guidelines and application forms for the new Museum Grants for African American History and Culture. The program will support a wide range of activities to build professional capacity in the African American museum community. It will assist staff at museums to gain skills and knowledge in the areas of management, operations, programming, collections care, and other museum skills identified as a high priority by applicants. Funds will also support a broad range of other activities including training, technical assistance, internships, outside expertise, or other professional development tools.

The postmark deadline for receiving applications at IMLS is July 15, 2006. Program guidelines and application forms are now available (PDF, 748KB). If you have any questions about IMLS’s new Museum Grants for African American History and Culture program, please contact Chris Reich, Senior Program Officer, at 202-653-4685; creich@imls.gov.

To help applicants prepare proposals for this new grant program, IMLS will offer a telephone conference call on Tuesday, June 27, 2006 from 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. EST. To participate, please call (719) 457-2731 or (800) 481-9591, 5–10 minutes before 2:00 and identify your call as “African American History and Culture.”

"I am proud to present this new funding opportunity for African American museums,” said Dr. Anne-Imelda M. Radice, Director of IMLS. “For decades, African American museums in the United States have been catalysts that deepen appreciation and understanding of the African American experience in art, history, and culture. They play an essential role in the creation of scholarship and serve as trusted stewards of collections." The National Museum of African American History and Culture Act calls upon the director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services to work in coordination with the council of the new Smithsonian museum and its director (Lonnie Bunch III) to create this new funding opportunity.

“I can’t tell you how pleased I am, on behalf of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, (NMAAHC) to work with Dr. Radice and the IMLS staff,” said Lonnie G. Bunch III, the museum’s founding director. “This is really an important moment in the history of museums. This congressional appropriation gives us an opportunity to support those institutions that care passionately about African American history and culture. With this backing, we can support them in a way that, I am sure, will grow over time, making IMLS one of the central sources of what is needed to help museum professionals do the essential work they do every day.” Congress has appropriated $842,000 to IMLS for the Museums Grants for African American History and Culture in FY2006. President Bush has requested $1,500,000 for the program for FY2007.

African American museums continue to be eligible for other IMLS grant programs and the agency encourages applications. Click here to learn more.

About the Institute of Museum and Library Services
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 122,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. Its mission is to grow and sustain a “Nation of Learners” because life-long learning is essential to a democratic society and individual success. Through its grant making, convenings, research and publications, the Institute empowers museums and libraries nationwide to provide leadership and services to enhance learning in families and communities, sustain cultural heritage, build twenty-first-century skills, and increase civic participation. To learn more about the Institute, please visit: http://www.imls.gov.