FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
September 18, 2007
IMLS Press
Contacts
202-653-4632
Jeannine Mjoseth, jmjoseth@imls.gov
Mamie Bittner, mbittner@imls.gov
$2 Million Awarded to Promote Leadership in Nation’s
Museums
Washington, DC—Ten
organizations will receive $2,074,017 in 2007 awards under
the 21st Century Museum Professionals program from the
Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the primary
source of federal funds for the nation's museums and libraries.
The program supports leadership development and professional
training in museum operations. Institutions receiving
these grants will match the awards with $2,507,736 in
non-federal spending. Click
here to see a list of awarded institutions.
"These projects will boost the capacity
of museums to connect people to information and ideas
by improving museum staff knowledge and skills,"
said Anne-Imelda M. Radice, Ph.D., IMLS Director. "This
grant program recognizes that museum professionals need
high levels of knowledge and expertise as they help create
public value for the communities they serve."
Highlights from this year’s recipients
include awards to the Alaska State Museums to create an
internship program for small museums and Native-run cultural
centers through a partnership with the statewide professional
association, Museums Alaska; the Costume Society of America
to develop and present a series of intensive one-day workshops
and other activities focusing on the specialized care
and preservation of costume and textile collections for
small museums and historical societies, beginning with
a focus on hurricane-damaged materials in New Orleans;
Seton Hall University’s Institute of Museum Ethics
to develop educational initiatives designed to help museum
professionals create more transparent, accountable, and
socially responsible institutions; and the International
Coalition of Historic Sites Museums of Conscience to provide
training in the facilitation of public dialogue programs
on immigration issues of concern to 12 history museums
-- including the Japanese American National Museum, Ellis
Island National Monument, and the Levine Museum of the
New South.
In 2007, IMLS received 45 applications for
21st Century Museum Professionals grants seeking more
than $11 million.
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