Invitation to participate in a focus group at the DLF Fall Forum,
10/25/04

Date:  Monday, October 25, 2004
Time:  10:45 am - 12:30 pm (lunch will be served)
Location:  Hyatt Regency Baltimore, Constellation C

In conjunction with a recent IMLS grant to Indiana University and the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (see details appended to this
message), we are organizing a focus group at the DLF Fall Forum in
Baltimore, October 25 from 10:45-12:30 at the conference hotel.
Professor
Leigh Estabrook of the University of Illinois Library Research Center
will be the facilitator and box lunches will be served.  As stated in
the grant proposal, the focus groups to be conducted in the first year
of the grant are part of a needs assessment to inform curriculum
development for a digital libraries specialization at Indiana and
Illinois. 

If you would like to contribute your views on needed preparation for
work in digital libraries through participation in the focus group,
please contact Leigh Estabrook at [log in to unmask] or 217/333-4209 as
soon as possible.  We are very interested in involving participants in
the DLF
Fall Forum in this effort.

The project abstract follows:

Indiana University, School of Library and Information Science -
Bloomington, IN $939,618 

2004 Librarians for the 21st Century 

Indiana University, School of Library and Information Science, will
collaborate with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to
create the first research-based, comprehensive master's-level and
post-master's in library science (MLS) degree to educate librarians for
work in digital library programs. New internships in digital library
projects will be added to libraries at both institutions, and post-MLS
enrollees will be required to complete an internship. The pilot project
will feature paid fellowships for a limited number of students. During
the grant period, the project will also host an annual conference of
representatives from schools of library and information science that are
developing digital management programs, with a goal of developing
recommendations for core competencies in digital information management.
Match: $452,352 
  
The project is led by Kristine Brancolini and Javed Mostafa at Indiana
and
William Mischo and Linda C. Smith at Illinois.

Linda C. Smith
Professor and Associate Dean
Graduate School of Library and Information Science
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
501 E. Daniel St.
Champaign IL 61820
217/333-7742
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