FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 23, 2007

Press Contacts
202-653-4632
Jeannine Mjoseth, jmjoseth@imls.gov
Mamie Bittner, mbittner@imls.gov

IMLS Names Wolfsonian–Florida International University
As Host of 2008/2009 WebWise Conferences

Washington, DC—The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has made an award of $499,702 to The Wolfsonian–Florida International University to plan and co-host the 2008 and 2009 WebWise Conferences on Libraries and Museums in the Digital World. The Florida Center for Library Automation (FCLA), which serves Florida’s institutions of higher education, is also a partner.

“WebWise is a signature initiative of the Institute of Museum and Library Services,” said IMLS Director Anne-Imelda M. Radice. “This year it will be better than ever. The partnership with the Wolfsonian-FIU will allow us to offer it in the South for the first time. We look forward to working with the Florida team.”

Each year the WebWise Conference brings together approximately 350 representatives of museums, libraries, archives, information and systems science, and other fields interested in the future of high-quality online content for inquiry and education. The annual conference shares new research and innovations in digital technology with technical experts and thought leaders from the library, archives, and museum fields in order to enhance technology transfer among cultural heritage institutions nationwide and to promote institutional collaboration. It also provides grant recipients the opportunity to showcase exemplary projects and to demonstrate the impact of federal funding on the development and improvement of library and museum services. The conference has been co-hosted in previous years by the University of Missouri at Columbia, Johns Hopkins University, the University of Illinois at Chicago, OCLC, Inc., and the J. Paul Getty Trust, in collaboration with IMLS.

The 2008 WebWise Conference will be held in Miami Beach, Florida, with tentative dates of March 5-7. The conference theme is “WebWise 2.0: The Power of Community.” Sessions will emphasize the ability of institutions to provide unfettered access to their collections and to reach a broad public audience by developing innovative ways to involve users in a digital environment. Projects featuring museum and library resources, the paths to their discovery, and digital tools to help institutions and users effectively manage, manipulate, present and use digital content will be featured in plenary sessions and demonstrations. Half-day workshops requiring separate registration will be offered on the first day, with the main conference taking place over the next two days. Online registration for all events will be available through the IMLS Web site in Fall 2007. Dates for the 2009 conference, which will be held in Washington, D.C., will be announced later.

Members of the 2008 Program Committee are: Cathy Leff, Director of the Wolfsonian Museum; Priscilla Caplan, Assistant Director for Digital Library Services, Florida Center for Library Automation; Paul Marty, Assistant Professor of Information Studies, Florida State University; Joyce Ray, Associate Deputy Director for Library Services, IMLS; Bernard Reilly, President, Center for Research Libraries; Marsha Semmel, Deputy Director for Museums, IMLS; and Robert Semper, Executive Associate Director of the Exploratorium Museum.

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. The Institute's mission is to create strong libraries and museums that connect people to information and ideas. The Institute works at the national level and in coordination with state and local organizations to sustain heritage, culture, and knowledge; enhance learning and innovation; and support professional development. To learn more about the Institute, please visit www.imls.gov.

About Wolfsonian–Florida International University
The Wolfsonian-FIU, located in Miami Beach, is a museum, library, and research center that uses its collection of approximately 120,000 objects to illustrate the persuasive power of art and design. For over one decade now, The Wolfsonian has been a division of Florida International University, which is one of the fastest growing urban universities in the United States. The Wolfsonian’s curatorial goal and multidisciplinary approach explores what it means to be modern and tells the story of social, historical, and technological changes that transformed the world during the period 1885 to 1945. Encouraging people to see objects in new ways and to learn from the past as they shape the present and influence the future, the museum seeks emerging technologies to make its unique collection accessible to a tech-savvy public.