FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
June 15, 2010
IMLS Press Contacts
202-653-4632
Jeannine Mjoseth, jmjoseth@imls.gov
Mamie Bittner, mbittner@imls.gov
IMLS Awards More Than $22.6 Million in
Librarian Recruitment and Education Grants
Washington, DC—The Institute of Museum and Library
Services (IMLS) today awarded 38 Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program grants totaling
$22,623,984. These grants provide scholarships for students in master’s and doctoral programs
in library and information science, support the research of early career faculty in graduate
schools of library and information science, and provide continuing education opportunities to
enhance the skills of practitioners in libraries and archives. Some of the projects in this
year’s awards will help to boost libraries’ efforts to help the unemployed find work; support
libraries in rural communities; expand relationships between libraries, museums, and archives;
and strengthen the skills of library staffs in the Pacific territories. To see a complete list
of awardees and descriptions of how they intend to use their grants, please click here.
“Library services are in great demand as evidenced by the growing
numbers of patrons turning to the library to meet their education, workforce, and health
information needs. At the same time, information technology has transformed library service
and opened the doors to innovation so that libraries can reach diverse people more
effectively. In this fast-changing environment, providing training and educational support
for librarians and library staff is more important than ever,” said Marsha L. Semmel,
acting director of IMLS.
The 2010 grantees include:
University of Illinois
Amount: $988,543
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Graduate School of Library
and Information Science, the University of Tennessee School of Information Sciences, and
the National Center for Atmospheric Research have partnered to establish Data Curation
Education in Research Centers (DCERC). DCERC will develop a model, including a field
experience in a data intensive scientific environment, for educating LIS master’s and
doctoral students in data curation. It will implement a graduate research and education
program to address the need for professionals with scientific expertise who can manage and
curate large digital data collections.
Pratt Institute
Amount: $971,407
Project CHART (Cultural Heritage, Access, Research and Technology) is
a three-year partnership among the Pratt Institute, the Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn
Museum, and Brooklyn Historical Society designed to prepare master’s students for leadership
roles as digital managers and curators in libraries, museums, and archives. Students who receive
tuition scholarships graduate with a Master of Library and Information Science having completed
an 18-credit program in digital management. The program includes internships at partner
institutions where students digitize Brooklyn photographs and produce a public Web site
featuring those photographs.
Palau Community College
Amount: $216,405
Palau Community College will develop a distance education Library &
Information Services program accredited through the Accrediting Commission for Community
and Junior Colleges of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. The goal of this
pilot program is to provide a formal training opportunity for the library workers of Palau
and to evaluate and test the associates degree curriculum and technology before formally
expanding the program to reach the other islands in Micronesia.
OCLC/WebJunction
Amount: $940,750
WebJunction and the State Library of North Carolina will conduct and
impact and needs assessments on unemployment in all United States regions and create a
corresponding curriculum that can be tailored to meet local needs. WebJunction will
conduct one train-the-trainer workshop and up to 75 local workshops for public library
staff working in the highest unemployment areas. It will deliver a presentation at local
conferences and make a free version available online, in addition to hosting a Web site for
ongoing communication among state libraries.
Nebraska Library Commission
Amount: $721,033
The Nebraska Library Commission and Central Community College will
foster the recruitment, education, and 21st century skills development of 165 pre-professional
and professional students through scholarships, internships, and stipends. The Cultivating
Rural Librarians' Technology Skills program adds value to students' formal educational
experiences through social and face-to-face networking opportunities and through technology
skills training. The grant will also be used to recruit promising high school and college
students and diverse library personnel to ensure that Nebraskans receive library services
provided by knowledgeable librarians who represent a range of backgrounds and talents.
Alaska Division of Libraries, Archives, and Museums
Amount: $185,427
The Alaska Native Libraries, Archives, and Museum will support
paraprofessional and professional continuing education and training at a summit of
library, archives, and museum staff who are Alaska Native or serve significant Alaska
Native populations. Working with a diverse group of for-profit and non-profit organizations,
the state library will develop a strategic plan to sustain these education initiatives.
It will develop a Web site to disseminate continuing education and professional
development opportunities and will deliver three workshops using a variety of
traditional and technology-enabled methods.
There were 110 applications to the program with requests totaling
$68,242,619. The next deadline for the Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program is
December 15, 2010. Click here for more information.
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