June 2007 Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Grant Announcement

Arizona  |  California  |  Colorado  |  District of Columbia  |  Florida  |  Georgia  |  Hawaii  

Illinois  |  Indiana  |  Iowa  |  Minnesota  |  Missouri  |  New York  |  North Carolina  |  North Dakota 

Ohio  |  Oklahoma  |  Pennsylvania  |  Texas  |   Virginia  |  Washington 

Arizona

University of Arizona - Tucson, AZ
Award Amount: $301,618; Matching Amount:$155,691
Grant Category: Research

Contact: Dr. Patricia Overall
Assistant Professor
(520)621-3565; overall@u.arizona.edu

Project Title: "Assessing the Effect of Teacher Librarian Collaboration to Improve Science Information Literacy for Latino Students"
In this Early Career Development project, Dr. Patricia Montiel Overall at the University of Arizona, in partnership with Sunnyside Unified School District and Tucson Unified School District, will examine the effect of teacher/librarian collaboration on science information literacy of Latino students. Using qualitative and quantitative methodologies over three years, this study will look at teacher/librarian collaboration in the preparation of science instructional modules for 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders in predominantly Latino elementary schools. This research will examine questions about the relationship of teacher/librarian collaboration to Latino students performance on standardized tests of science proficiency and information literacy.

California

Los Angeles Public Library - Los Angeles, CA
Award Amount: $362,358; Matching Amount:$125,806
Grant Category: Masters Level Programs

Contact: Ms. Janine Goodale
Assistant Director, Central Library, LAPL
(213)228-7477; jgoodale@lapl.org

Project Title: "Librarians for Los Angeles"
The Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) will meet the need for professional public librarians in the ethnically and culturally diverse City of Los Angeles by partnering with the University of California, Los Angeles, and San Jose State University School of Library and Information Science to promote LAPL as a potential employer. This project will offer tuition reimbursement incentives for LAPL clerical employees to attend library school, recruit clerical staff from the student population of the local library school partners, and present a regular series of reference institutes for library school students. LAPL will add up to 40 new librarians in Los Angeles through these efforts.

San Jose State University - San Jose, CA
Award Amount: $943,336; Matching Amount:$416,713
Grant Category: Masters Level Programs

Contact: Dr. Mary Somerville
Associate Dean, University Library
(408)808-2065; mary.somerville@sjsu.edu

Project Title: "Preparing a New Generation of Librarians to Serve Our Communities"
The San Jose State University (SJSU) Library and the SJSU School of Library and Information Science, in partnership with the San Jose Public Library and the National Hispanic University, will recruit fifteen people of color into SJSU’s graduate program of library and information science, provide full scholarships and living stipends, train them to meet the needs of diverse communities, and prepare them to serve as leaders throughout their library careers. The students will build relationships with experienced librarian-mentors, receive hands-on learning experiences in urban libraries, attend leadership development seminars and professional conferences, and participate in other activities that prepare them to become future library leaders.

Colorado

Denver Public Library - Denver, CO
Award Amount: $988,518; Matching Amount:$126,909
Grant Category: Masters Level Programs

Contact: Ms. Kristen Svendsen
Employment and Recruitment Manager
(720)865-2073; ksvendse@denverlibrary.org

Project Title: "L.E.A.D.ers II (Librarian Education and Diversity)"
Building upon an earlier IMLS-funded project, the Denver Public Library will partner with REFORMA-Colorado and the University of Denver (DU) to further develop and refine the Future LEADers of America scholarship program in order to increase community access to libraries. The project will provide full scholarships for eighteen racially and linguistically diverse students to earn master’s degrees in library science at DU. Participants will sign an agreement stating their willingness to work in the public library field for at least three years beyond the program. By increasing the number of minority and bilingual public librarians, the LEADers II project will improve library services to underserved populations.

District of Columbia

Catholic University of America School of Library and Information Science - Washington,
Award Amount: $412,660; Matching Amount:$261,287
Grant Category: Masters Level Programs

Contact: Dr. Carrie Gardner
Assistant Professor
(717)329-4159; gardner@cua.edu

Project Title: "Washington, D.C. School Librarian Initiative"
The Catholic University of America’s (CUA) School of Library and Information Science will partner with the District of Columbia Public Schools and the District of Columbia Library Association to address create a project that will select, educate, mentor, and employ ten new school librarians. These participants will gain experience in DC school libraries as part-time library associates, while receiving a graduate education in library science from CUA. Coinciding with DC Public Schools’ current efforts to improve and upgrade its elementary school library media centers, the project will promote higher student academic achievement by filling numerous library media specialist positions with professional librarians.

Florida

Florida State University College of Information - Tallahassee, FL
Award Amount: $559,872; Matching Amount:$562,766
Grant Category: Masters Level Programs

Contact: Dr. John Bertot
Associate Professor
(850)644-8118; jcbertot@ci.fsu.edu

Project Title: "Southeast Florida Library Leaders: Building the Next Generation of Service to Underserved Populations"
Florida State University College of Information will partner with Broward County Library, Miami-Dade Public Library, Southeast Florida Library Information Network, and the State Archives and Library of Florida to provide a master’s scholarship program for the next generation of leaders and managers who will serve underserved populations in Southeast Florida public libraries. The project will provide a total of 30 scholarships, 15 for students seeking the college's ALA-accredited program (with a Leadership & Management Specialization) and 15 for students seeking the college's certificate in Leadership & Management.

Georgia

Southeastern Library Network (SOLINET) - Atlanta, GA
Award Amount: $866,284; Matching Amount:$1,586,258
Grant Category: Continuing Education

Contact: Ms. MaryEllin Santiago
Manager, Gulf Coast Libraries Project
(404)892-0943; msantiago@solinet.net

Project Title: "Staffing Gulf Coast Libraries Project"
SOLINET will create staff capacity and strengthen staff skills in 16 public library systems in Louisiana and Mississippi that suffered severe damage and destruction from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. In partnership with the affected libraries, SOLINET will provide staff to run temporary library facilities in communities while permanent libraries are planned and rebuilt, and continuing education to build knowledgeable, skilled library staff to support these communities as they rebuild and recover. The two-year Staffing Gulf Coast Libraries Project will work in synergy with a multi-year project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The Gates Foundation project supports recovery of public libraries in Louisiana and Mississippi by providing and operating temporary library facilities where services are currently unavailable due to building loss, assisting libraries with planning for rebuilding, and replacing all lost public access computers.

Emory University - Atlanta, GA
Award Amount: $773,336; Matching Amount:$291,158
Grant Category: Masters Level Programs

Contact: Mr. Martin Halbert
Director, Library Systems
(404)727-2204; mhalber@emory.edu

Project Title: "Recruiting and Educating Librarian's for the Digital Age: Diversifying Librarianship in the South"
The Emory University Libraries and their partners, the University of North Texas and the Atlanta University Center, will address the need for professional librarians with contemporary skill sets in north Georgia. Currently, no ALA-accredited graduate library program exists in the state of Georgia. The project will recruit, educate, and prepare an Atlanta-based cohort of thirty-five diverse graduate students for library careers with an emphasis on digital knowledge management. Upon receiving a master’s degree in library and information science from the ALA-accredited program at the University of North Texas via distance learning, the graduates will become a skilled workforce of librarians with specialized training in digital librarianship.

Hawaii

Pacific Resources for Education and Learning - Honolulu, HI
Award Amount: $652,127; Matching Amount:$665,120
Grant Category: Continuing Education

Contact: Ms. Jane Barnwell
Director, Resource Center
(808)441-1320; barnwellj@prel.org

Project Title: "Leaders for Pacific Libraries"
The Leaders for Pacific Libraries (LPL) project will provide specialized continuing education training to library staff in six jurisdictions of the U.S.-affiliated Pacific: (1) American Samoa, (2) the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, (3) the Federated States of Micronesia, (4) Guam, (5) the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and (6) the Republic of Palau. The training, which will be provided through three workshops and one summer institute, will focus on digital library development, grant writing, and preservation. The three institutes will be held in conjunction with the annual Pacific Islands Association of Libraries, Archives, and Museums (PIALA) conference. In addition, each cohort will be provided with regular instruction through videoconferencing.

Illinois

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Graduate School of Library and Information
Award Amount: $990,234; Matching Amount:$552,575
Grant Category: Doctoral Programs

Contact: Linda Smith
Associate Dean
(217)333-7742; lcsmith@uiuc.edu

Project Title: "Preparing Future Faculty: Enhancing the Doctoral Program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign"
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Graduate School of Library and Information Science will enhance its doctoral program by building a stronger research community within the school for the study of information in society, including policy, economic, and historical dimensions. Project goals include enhancing the doctoral program curriculum; connecting the research community to the wider world of librarianship; and attracting and supporting 13 diverse students, especially those from underrepresented groups, with a specific focus on recruiting doctoral students who will teach master's students capable of becoming future leaders in public, academic, and school libraries.

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Graduate School of Library and Information
Award Amount: $788,895; Matching Amount:$720,960
Grant Category: Pre-Professional Programs

Contact: Mr. Bertram Bruce
Professor
(217)244-3576; chip@uiuc.edu

Project Title: "Community Informatics for Youth: Using the Extension Network to Recruit Future LIS Professional"
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign School of Library and Information Science and the University of Illinois Extension’s statewide 4-H network, will partner to reach youth and youth leaders with engaging, educational activities to recruit underserved youth into Library Information Science (LIS). Five Illinois communities—Champaign-Urbana, Chicago, Danville, East St. Louis, and Rockford—with a high concentration of minority, low-income, and English-language-learner populations will pilot the program. Junior high and high school youths will participate in a variety of activities designed to give them familiarity with a range of information science topics, and a variety of LIS careers. The project will also produce a curriculum for use elsewhere.

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Graduate School of Library and Information
Award Amount: $996,243; Matching Amount:$858,802
Grant Category: Programs to Build Insitutional Capacity

Contact: Dr. Ann Bishop
Associate Professor
(217)244-3299; abishop@uiuc.edu

Project Title: "Community Informatics Corps: the Next Generation"
The University of Illinois Graduate School of Library and Information Science (GSLIS) will expand and enhance its pilot Community Informatics Corps (CIC) masters program. Community informatics (CI) is the field of study and practice devoted to understanding how information processes and technologies help communities achieve their goals. The aim of the CIC is to recruit and mentor a group of Latino, African-American, and other students interested in the experiences of underserved groups in society who are eager for a career that gives them the opportunity to contribute to their communities. Students in the CIC focus their coursework on social entrepreneurship and community library and information services, so that they are prepared to apply what they've learned to the creation of innovative information services implemented within and across a range of community-based and public interest organizations.

American Library Association - Chicago, IL
Award Amount: $872,920; Matching Amount:$773,553
Grant Category: Masters Level Programs

Contact: Ms. Mary Ghikas
Senior Associate Executive Director
(312)280-2518; mghikas@ala.org

Project Title: "Reach 21: Preparing the Next Generation of Librarians for 21st Century Library Leadership"
Building on the success of the Spectrum Scholarship Program, which provides scholarships for ethnically and racially underrepresented students attending graduate library and information science programs, the American Library Association will initiate “REACH 21: Preparing the Next Generation of Librarians for 21st Century Library Leadership.” The project will foster the recruitment, matriculation, and early career development of 150 minority students in master’s-level library and information science programs; provide mentoring and coaching of sixty additional students from underrepresented backgrounds; establish a formal, year-long mentoring program that will leverage community and support networks and aid educational and early career retention; and create an outreach services component.

American Library Association - Chicago, IL
Award Amount: $407,111; Matching Amount:$546,198
Grant Category: Continuing Education

Contact: Ms. Nancy Bolt
Project Director
(303)642-0338; nancybolt@earthlink.net

Project Title: "Library Support Staff Certification Program (LSSCP)"
The American Library Association, in partnership with the Western Council of State Librarians, will develop a national voluntary certification program for support staff in rural or small town public and academic libraries. Needs assessments for the last fifteen years have called for a national, standardized certification program for library support staff. The three-year project will result in a set of core competencies and policies and procedures. It will provide alternative options for assessing current knowledge of the field and experience for non-traditionally trained library staff. The resulting plan will be tested in five sites and will be sustained by ALA.

American Library Association - Chicago, IL
Award Amount: $358,690; Matching Amount:$419,216
Grant Category: Continuing Education

Contact: Ms. Susan Brandehoff
Program Director, Public Programs Office
(800)545-2433x5054; sbrandeh@ala.org

Project Title: "The Online Resource Center for Library Cultural Programming: A Web-Based Professional Development Space for Librarians"
The American Library Association’s Public Programs Office will create and administer the Online Resource Center for Library Cultural Programming (ORC), a professional development Web site to help librarians find authoritative resources for cultural programming, and will train librarians in cultural programming techniques. The ORC will organize and make accessible through links and online documents a wide array of national cultural program information and training tools, and provide access to successful "turnkey" programs developed by cultural organizations such as state humanities councils, thus extending the value of the original investment in the programs. The ORC will be particularly useful for librarians in small rural libraries who rarely can attend conferences and have little professional development funding. The three-year project includes a major evaluation of the Web site by librarians, educators, and students.

Dominican University Graduate School of Library and Information Science - River Forest,
Award Amount: $199,796; Matching Amount:$60,206
Grant Category: Research

Contact: Dr. Kate Williams
Assistant Professor
(708)524-6670; kwilliams@dom.edu

Project Title: "Chicago Community Informatics: Places, Uses, Resources"
In this Early Career Development project, Dr. Kate Williams at Dominican University Graduate School of Library and Information Science will use a social capital/social network model to research actual and potential IT use in six disadvantaged communities across Chicago. The research will analyze how people and communities are already using computers and the Internet, and how their own lives and identities might be represented as part of our nation’s cyberinfrastructure.

Network of Illinois Learning Resources in Community Colleges - River Forest, IL
Award Amount: $994,610; Matching Amount:$207,493
Grant Category: Masters Level Programs

Contact: Mr. John Berry
Executive Director
(708)366-0667; jberry@nilrc.org

Project Title: "Librarians Serving Communit-based Higher Education"
The Network of Illinois Learning Resources in Community Colleges, along with ten partner libraries in community colleges in Illinois and Missouri, will build a diverse professional workforce that understands community-based library staffing and service strategies as well as the challenges of serving a non-traditional, diverse, commuter-based student population. The project will support the education of twenty students at the Graduate School of Library and Information Science (GSLIS) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). GSLIS will collaborate with the university’s College of Education to provide a varied curriculum. The partner libraries offer the students mentoring throughout the graduate program and for six months following graduation.

Indiana

Indiana University School of Library and Information Science at Indianapolis -
Award Amount: $343,420; Matching Amount:$386,855
Grant Category: Programs to Build Insitutional Capacity

Contact: Dr. Katherine Schilling
Assistant Professor
(317)278-2372; katschil@iupui.edu

Project Title: "Career Transitions Executive Leadership Leadership Program (CTELP)"
The Indiana University School of Library & Information Science at Indianapolis (SLIS) is partnering with the Indiana Library Federation (ILF) and Indiana State Library (ISL) to develop the Career Transitions Executive Leadership Program (CTELP). CTELP is designed to build capacity for identifying, recruiting, educating, and mentoring the next generation of library managers and leaders. It seeks to address the profession’s need for highly qualified new MLS graduates who have the knowledge, attitudes, and skills to assume management and leadership roles in libraries and information centers. Through their engagement with professional mentors, on-site library residencies, projects, and coursework, CTELP students will gain experience and insights into the challenges of leading a complex information organization.

Indiana University School of Library and Information Science - Indianapolis, IN
Award Amount: $362,490; Matching Amount:$386,856
Grant Category: Continuing Education

Contact: Dr. Rachel Applegate
Assistant Professor
(317)278-2395; rapplega@iupui.edu

Project Title: "Shaping Outcomes Continuing Education"
Indiana University School of Library and Information Science (IU SLIS) in Indianapolis will offer, enhance, and revise the instructor-mediated courseware, "Shaping Outcomes" (www.shapingoutcomes.org/course), developed and tested through a three-year collaborative agreement between the Institute for Museum and Library Services and Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis’s (IUPUI) Museum Studies program and School of Library and Information Science. IU SLIS will develop partnerships with organizations and agencies involved in librarian continuing education and evaluate the effectiveness of the Shaping Outcomes project in improving approaches to project planning, grant preparation, and successfully addressing the needs of library and museum professionals.

Iowa

University of Iowa School of Library and Information Science - Iowa City, IA
Award Amount: $881,692; Matching Amount:$281,692
Grant Category: Masters Level Programs

Contact: Dr. James Elmborg
Director
(319)335-5707; james-elmborg@uiowa.edu

Project Title: "Institute for Library and Museum Services 21st Century Teacher Librarians: Cultivating the Future in Iowa"
The University of Iowa’s School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) will recruit two cohorts of twenty students each into its master’s degree program in library and information science. Formal partners include Iowa’s Area Education Agencies, the State Library of Iowa, and the Iowa Association of School Librarians, all of which will assist in the recruitment process. In addition to increasing the number of teacher-librarians, the project will provide an opportunity for SLIS to revise and refine its curriculum and delivery systems.

Minnesota

College of St. Catherine - St. Paul, MN
Award Amount: $352,526; Matching Amount:$479,747
Grant Category: Programs to Build Insitutional Capacity

Contact: Mr. David Lesniaski
Assistant Professor, MLIS
(651)690-8723; dalesniaski@stkate.edu

Project Title: "The ELITE Curriculum"
The College of St. Catherine will develop an innovative Library and Information Science curriculum that combines competence in librarianship/information science with the knowledge, attributes, skills, and capacities that will be essential for future successful professionals. These include an understanding of ethical principles as they apply to librarianship and information science, exposure to and practice with research methods, development of leadership and communications skills, and technological fluency. The new curriculum will incorporate interdisciplinary learning in leadership, research, communication, philosophy, ethics, education, and information technology.

Missouri

University of Missouri – Columbia School of Information Science and Learning
Award Amount: $766,610; Matching Amount:$151,079
Grant Category: Masters Level Programs

Contact: Dr. John Budd
Professor
(573)882-3258; BuddJ@missouri.edu

Project Title: "Preparing Tomorrow's Academic Library Managers (IMLS Priority 1 - Master's Level Programs)"
The University of Missouri-Columbia School of Information Science and Learning Technologies, in partnership with four Missouri libraries (University of Missouri-Columbia, University of Missouri-St. Louis, University of Missouri-Kansas City, and Missouri State University), will prepare students at the master's level for leadership and management careers in academic libraries by creating an academic library fellows program. The project will recruit qualified individuals who have academic librarianship as a career goal; provide them with the skills they need to succeed; enable them to gain functional experience at one of the four academic libraries; and provide them with a deep and broad understanding of the present and future of scholarly communication, the dynamics of financing and managing public higher education, the complexity of services to resident and distant populations, and the personnel needs of academic libraries.

New York

Long Island University Palmer School of Library and Information Science - Brookville, NY
Award Amount: $316,967; Matching Amount:$234,323
Grant Category: Programs to Build Insitutional Capacity

Contact: Dr. Patrick McGuire
Associate Professor of Library Science
(516)299-3322; patrick.mcguire@liu.edu

Project Title: ""
Long Island University Palmer School of Library and Information Science, in partnership with the City University of New York (CUNY), will place 30 specially trained interns in the special collections departments of CUNY over a three-year period to assist with digital projects to expand access to CUNY's historical, cultural, and aesthetic materials. The Palmer School will also expand its curriculum by at least one course to teach up-to-the-minute skills suited to CUNY's needs.

New York University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences - New York, NY
Award Amount: $700,133; Matching Amount:$260,142
Grant Category: Masters Level Programs

Contact: Ms. Carol Mandel
Dean of Libraries
(212)998-2444; carol.mandel@nyu.edu

Project Title: "NYU-LIU Dual Degree Program for Librarians"
New York University’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, in collaboration with Long Island University’s Palmer School of Library and Information Science, will address the need for academic librarians with scholarly training by recruiting and educating students in a dual master’s degree program. Twenty students will receive scholarships and a reduction in the number of credits required to complete the two master’s degrees—one in library and information science and the other in a subject area of the student’s choice. A structured mentorship program is designed to match students with mentor librarians at New York University or other institutions in the New York area, according to the students’ specific subject interests.

New York Public Library - New York, NY
Award Amount: $329,750; Matching Amount:$344,717
Grant Category: Continuing Education

Contact: Mr. Gary Wasdin
Director of Staff Development
(212)340-0895; Gary_Wasdin@nypl.org

Project Title: "Leadership Now! at The New York Public Library"
The New York Public Library's project, "Leadership Now!," will develop an enhanced workforce of mid-level managers equipped with the skills and vision to enhance the library’s role as a learning organization.

St. John's University - Queens, NY
Award Amount: $988,419; Matching Amount:$678,524
Grant Category: Masters Level Programs

Contact: Dr. Jeffrey Olson
Project Director
(718)990-5705; olsonj@stjohns.edu

Project Title: "Partnership for Underserved Urban Children and Families: Connecting LIS Education, Libraries and Museums"
St. John’s University, in partnership with the Queens Borough Public Library, the Office of School Libraries of the New York City Education Department, and the New York Hall of Science in Flushing, Queens, will improve literacy and academic performance of youth in underserved metropolitan areas by recruiting and training forty students for future employment in public libraries, school library media centers, and museums in the New York City Metropolitan area. In addition to receiving a graduate degree in library science, students will participate in internships and field work, attend conferences and workshops, and produce and evaluate the outreach programs offered as a result of the partnership.

Syracuse University School of Information Studies - Syracuse, NY
Award Amount: $885,598; Matching Amount:$61,741
Grant Category: Doctoral Programs

Contact: Dr. Jeffrey Stanton
Professor
(315)443-2876; jmstanto@syr.edu

Project Title: "Developing Faculty to Educate the Next Generation of Library Professionals"
Syracuse University School of Information Studies will develop faculty to educate the next generation of library professionals to work in academic, public, or school libraries. Preparation for university-level teaching will be integrated with targeted library research activities to help Ph.D. students successfully make the transition to becoming assistant professors in library science programs.

North Carolina

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill - Chapel Hill, NC
Award Amount: $566,385; Matching Amount:$127,728
Grant Category: Research

Contact: Joanne Marshall
Alumni Distinguished Professor
(919)843-9968; marshall@ils.unc.edu

Project Title: "Workforce Issues in Library and Information Science 2 (WILIS 2): Implementing a Model for Career Tracking of LIS Graduates"
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will implement a career-tracking model for library and information Science (LIS) graduates based on a previous IMLS-funded comprehensive study of career patterns of graduates of LIS programs in North Carolina. The goals for national implementation are to refine the career-tracking survey and methodology so that they are suitable for all LIS programs to use with their recent graduates; recruit as many LIS programs as possible to participate in a staged national launch of the career-tracking model; conduct surveys and provide access to results for the participating LIS programs; explore options for sustaining the national career-tracking model; and disseminate findings and publicize the availability of the model.

North Dakota

Valley City State University - Valley City, ND
Award Amount: $573,909; Matching Amount:$292,517
Grant Category: Continuing Education

Contact: Donna James
Library Director
(701)845-7275; donna.james@vcsu.edu

Project Title: "Project Nexus"
Valley City State University, in partnership with North Dakota Indian Education Association (NDIEA), North Dakota Education Association-Library Media Association (NDEA-LMA), and the North Dakota Teacher Center (NDTC), will develop and institutionalize Project Nexus, a new graduate curriculum in library and information technologies. North Dakota has been without a master’s level library media degree program since the mid-1970s. Project Nexus will create an online, comprehensive graduate program in Library and Information Technologies to meet national standards for school media certification; recruit 15 graduate students per year from underserved, rural populations; provide tuition assistance to support disadvantaged applicants; and successfully implement a continuing graduate library education program at Valley City State.

Ohio

Kent State University School of Library and Information Science - Kent, OH
Award Amount: $643,007; Matching Amount:$318,677
Grant Category: Masters Level Programs

Contact: Dr. Carolyn Brodie
Professor
(330)672-2782; cbrodie@kent.edu

Project Title: "Youth Services, Librarians, and Museums: A New Vision of Learning"
Kent State University proposes to recruit and educate eighteen youth services librarians with an emphasis on the use of museums. The selected students will receive scholarships to complete their master’s degrees in library and information science through a combination of distance education throughout the academic year and two four-week summer sessions on campus, with a focus on using new technologies and applications such as wikis, podcasts and blogs. The project will increase the number of professional librarians in the area of youth services, and will potentially enhance awareness of museums and increase their use by young people.

Oklahoma

East Central University - Ada, OK
Award Amount: $800,733; Matching Amount:$600,480
Grant Category: Masters Level Programs

Contact: Dr. Carolyn Thomas
Program Director, Library Media Program
(580)310-5576; cthomas@ecok.edu

Project Title: "Westward Expansion: Preparing Library Media Specialists for Western Oklahoma"
East Central University, in partnership with Cameron University, Oklahoma Panhandle State University, Northwestern Oklahoma State University, and the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, will develop the Westward Expansion Project to meet the workforce needs of 156 isolated, rural school districts located in thirty counties in the western half of Oklahoma. Distance learning technology will be used to expand an existing library media specialist program into this area of Oklahoma, based on East Central University’s existing distance education model that has already facilitated the successful expansion of the program into six remote sites throughout the southeast quadrant of the state.

Pennsylvania

Mansfield University of Pennsylvania School of Library and Information Technologies -
Award Amount: $997,388; Matching Amount:$742,453
Grant Category: Masters Level Programs

Contact: Ms. Debra Kachel
Instructor
(717)393-6205; dkachel@mansfield.edu

Project Title: "Building Leaders"
Mansfield University of Pennsylvania School of Library and Information Technologies will partner with Antioch University Seattle and the Pennsylvania Department of Education to increase the number of school library media specialists across the nation by awarding 72 scholarships for master's degree programs to highly qualified teachers. The universities will also collaborate with the Tacoma School District (WA), training 60 principals in library advocacy and improving collaboration and leadership skills of school library media specialists.

Free Library of Philadelphia Foundation - Philadelphia, PA
Award Amount: $999,980; Matching Amount:$653,607
Grant Category: Masters Level Programs

Contact: Ms. Hedra Packman
Director of Library Services
(215)686-5305; Packmanh@library.phila.gov

Project Title: "Growing Our Own: A Model for Community Based Librarianship"
Building on a previous IMLS-funded project, the Free Library of Philadelphia Foundation will increase minority representation among professional librarians and the number of youth librarians throughout library system. Grant funds will be used to recruit and support twenty-five internal candidates with bachelor’s degrees from three different applicant pools: full-time paraprofessional staff, library interns and part-time or seasonal outreach staff. Students will earn master’s degrees in library and information science at the University of Pittsburgh. The program focuses on public librarianship, particularly youth services, in an urban setting. Upon graduation, these new librarians will better reflect the neighborhoods served and will be better equipped to meet the diverse needs of children, teens, adults, and seniors in the Philadelphia region.

Drexel University College of Information Science and Technology - Philadelphia, PA
Award Amount: $992,100; Matching Amount:$309,376
Grant Category: Doctoral Programs

Contact: Dr. Xia Lin
Associate Professor
(215)895-2482; xlin@drexel.edu

Project Title: "Developing Faculty in Digital Librarianship for the 21st Century"
Drexel University's College of Information Science and Technology will prepare new faculty who will be well trained in information systems and technologies, have the knowledge and skills to conduct research on digital libraries and related issues, and have the passion and expertise to educate the next generation of library professionals. Toward this goal, a series of activities from recruitment to curriculum development, research mentoring, diversity training, and dissertation research will be instituted.

Drexel University College of Information Science and Technology - Philadelphia, PA
Award Amount: $613,478; Matching Amount:$667,618
Grant Category: Programs to Build Insitutional Capacity

Contact: Dr. Eileen Abels
Associate Professor
(215)895-6274; eabels@ischool.drexel.edu

Project Title: "A Virtual Learning Laboratory for Digital Reference: Transforming the Internet Public Library"
Drexel University College of Information Science and Technology, in collaboration with the University of Michigan, Florida State University, and the University of Pittsburgh, will transform the Internet Public Library (IPL) into a fully featured virtual learning laboratory for digital reference. The IPL is a public service organization founded at the University of Michigan and hosted by Drexel University. Enhancements that will result from this grant include digital reference learning objects available to faculty in all ALA-accredited LIS programs; a laboratory with access to new technologies used to offer digital reference service; and a collaborative learning community for faculty, students, and working librarians.

Texas

University of Texas at Austin, Office of Sponsored Projects - Austin, TX
Award Amount: $407,780; Matching Amount:$335,586
Grant Category: Masters Level Programs

Contact: Dr. Lynn Westbrook
Assistant Professor
(512)232-7631; lynnwest@ischool.utexas.edu

Project Title: "Stepping Up: Library Leaders for the 21st Century"
The University of Texas at Austin School of Information’s “Stepping Up” program will provide a replicable model of community-wide cooperation designed to recruit, retain, and foster the professional growth of current library support staff with an interest in earning a master’s degree in library and information science. Upon admittance to the program, eleven current librarians from partner libraries will receive tuition, a small stipend, and a laptop, and be matched with mentors. The libraries at which the students are employed will give them time to attend class for the grant’s duration. In addition to increasing the number of professional librarians prepared for leadership positions, the project will facilitate a series of management workshops, developed jointly by faculty members and local library managers, to be offered to the library community.

University of Texas at Austin School of Information - Austin, TX
Award Amount: $911,928; Matching Amount:$154,306
Grant Category: Doctoral Programs

Contact: Ms. Ellen Cunningham-Kruppa
Director, Kilgarlin Center
(512)471-8287; e.cunnk@mail.utexas.edu

Project Title: "Doctoral Education in Preservation: a Second Cohort of Faculty Members and Library Leaders"
The University of Texas at Austin School of Information and the Kilgarlin Center for Preservation of the Cultural Record will support a cohort of five doctoral preservation fellowships. The primary goals of the project are to develop faculty leaders in preservation education and high-level administrators of major cultural repositories who are educated in preservation.

University of North Texas - Denton, TX
Award Amount: $70,144; Matching Amount:$74,280
Grant Category: Research

Contact: Dr. Philip Turner
Vice Provost for Learning Enhancement
(940)565-4946; pturner@unt.edu

Project Title: "Project IMPACT in Public Libraries"
The University of North Texas will study the impact of implementing Web-based training in public libraries. The study will model practical, yet theoretically based, implementation practices and assessment measures of online training; inform library administrators of both implementation practices and measures of staff and organizational impacts of investment in staff e-training courses; and contribute to the library literature on establishing best practices in delivery of computer-mediated courses for continuing education and training in public libraries. It will also provide practical tools to calculate return on investment and outcomes for administrative support of e-training initiatives.

Texas Woman’s University School of Library and Information Studies - Denton, TX
Award Amount: $691,323; Matching Amount:$442,074
Grant Category: Masters Level Programs

Contact: Dr. Robert Martin
Professor
(940)898-2720; rmartin2@twu.edu

Project Title: "Professional Education for Librarians in Small Communities"
The Texas Woman’s University School of Library and Information Science will offer an online degree program enabling library workers currently serving small and rural communities throughout Texas to obtain a library and information science master’s degree. Thirty students will receive full tuition and stipends. The specialized program focuses on public library services in small and rural Texas libraries with additional mentoring, leadership, and networking components. Formal partners include the Texas State Library and Archives Commission and the Texas Library Association.

Houston Independent School District - Houston, TX
Award Amount: $787,126; Matching Amount:$338,344
Grant Category: Masters Level Programs

Contact: James Hundermer
Manager, Library Services
(713)861-1204; jhundeme@houstonisd.org

Project Title: "Librarian Initiative for Better Schools (Project LIBS)"
The Houston Independent School District's Department of Library Services, in collaboration with the University of North Texas School of Library and Information Science, will recruit and educate teachers to become certified school librarians to address the need for certified librarians to serve an increasingly racially, ethnically, and culturally diverse student population. The project will place emphasis on, but will not be limited to, recruiting bilingual teachers.

Sam Houston State University Department of Library Science - Huntsville, TX
Award Amount: $330,746; Matching Amount:$132,475
Grant Category: Masters Level Programs

Contact: Dr. Mary Bell
Assistant Professor
(936)294-4857; lis_mah@shsu.edu

Project Title: "South Texas Educational Project"
The Sam Houston State University Department of Library Science will partner with the Region One Education Service Center to provide 20 scholarships for students from the South Texas area to earn master’s degrees in library science. Most of the recruits will be bilingual and/or of Hispanic heritage. Upon completion of the program, students will take the required state certification examination to become qualified school librarians for the State of Texas. The certified school librarians will then be placed in South Texas schools and in leadership positions within the school districts in the area.

Virginia

Old Dominion University - Norfolk, VA
Award Amount: $291,244; Matching Amount:
Grant Category: Research

Contact: Dr. Shana Pribesh
Assistant Professor
(757)683-6684; spribesh@odu.edu

Project Title: "Exploratory Study of the Relationship between National Board Certification in Library Media and Information Science and Student Academic Achievement"
Old Dominion University will conduct an exploratory study of the relationship between National Board Certification (NBC) in Library Media and Information Science (LMS) and student academic achievement. The project will provide a scientifically rigorous research framework and pilot that framework with a subset of the nation’s LMS professionals. The researchers will also discuss this framework and study findings with experts on an advisory council and researchers in the field at a research symposium.

Washington

University of Washington Information School - Seattle, WA
Award Amount: $731,965; Matching Amount:$254,016
Grant Category: Doctoral Programs

Contact: Dr. Allyson Carlyle
Associate Professor and PhD Chair
acarlyle@u.washington.edu

Project Title: "Washington Doctoral Initiative"
The University of Washington Information School will enroll a cohort of four students from traditionally underrepresented groups in a doctoral fellowship program that will become a model for intensive mentoring in library and information science doctoral education. The goals of this project are to mount a vigorous recruitment effort to attract a highly competitive pool of students from traditionally underrepresented groups; to provide intensive faculty mentoring for those students; to provide intensive mentoring and engagement with library leaders in the Seattle area; and, based on these mentoring efforts, to create a model of intensively mentored doctoral education for library and information science.