Two pieces of recent news of interest to DLF institutions -- there are
some revisions to the 2005 IMLS national Leadership Grants, with three
new categories: "advancing learning communities," "building digital
resources," and "research and demonstration."  And there is now a web
browser toolbar from Yahoo! that enables you to search the OCLC worldcat
public catalog with a single click.

David

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1) Guidelines for Revised National Leadership Grant Program Now
Available 
New Categories Advance Learning Communities, Encourage Collaborations 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 15, 2004 

Press Contacts
202/606-8339 Mamie Bittner [log in to unmask]  

WASHINGTON, DC - The guidelines for the updated National Leadership
Grants for Libraries <http://www.imls.gov/grants/library/lib_nlgl.asp>
and for Museums <http://www.imls.gov/grants/museum/mus_nlgm.asp> are now
available on the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) Web
site as a PDF file at:
http://www.imls.gov/grants/museum/pdf/2005NLG.pdf. Paper copies of the
guidelines can be requested by calling 202-606-8539 (museums) or
202-606-5226 (libraries). 

The program features three new categories, "advancing learning
communities," "building digital resources," and "research and
demonstration," under which both museum and library applicants will
apply.  Each of the three categories also encourages museums and
libraries to partner with each other or with other community learning
organizations. 

Dr. Robert Martin, Director of IMLS, said, "As core agencies of lifelong
learning, museums and libraries must respond to the evolving needs of
our learning society. Our updated program will help these institutions
better structure and deliver their services so that learners of all ages
have access to their unique cultural, scientific, and artistic
collections." 

The deadline for all National Leadership Grant categories is February 1,
2005. Grants will be awarded in mid-September. Applicants may request
$25,000 to $1,000,000.  

To learn more about IMLS National Leadership Grants and other funding
opportunities for libraries and museums, please see the 2005 IMLS Grants
and Awards program brochure at:
http://www.imls.gov/pubs/pdf/2005programs.pdf   

The Institute of Museum and Library Services is an independent Federal
grant-making agency dedicated to creating and sustaining a nation of
learners by helping libraries and museums serve their communities. The
Institute fosters leadership, innovation, and a lifetime of learning by
supporting the nation's 15,000 museums and 122,000 libraries. The
Institute also encourages partnerships to expand the educational benefit
of libraries and museums. To learn more about the Institute, please log
onto: http://www.imls.gov . 

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2) OCLC and Yahoo! Offer Joint Toolbar
<http://www.infotoday.com/newsbreaks/nb041115-3.shtml>

Information Today, November 15, 2004. Excerpt. 

'Today, OCLC <http://www.oclc.org/> and Yahoo! <http://www.yahoo.com/>
officially launch a free co-branded toolbar
<http://www.oclc.org/toolbar>  that provides one-click access to Open
WorldCat as well as Yahoo! Search's Web search engine. The free toolbar
plugs into Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser. A whirligig OCLC logo
to the extreme left on the toolbar clicks to a subset of Open WorldCat
(currently 2 million of the 57 million records available in the full
WorldCat, reflecting the holdings of some 9,000 libraries). In time, the
click-through will access more-perhaps all-of the WorldCat database, as
Yahoo! begins to "harvest" the full file now offered by OCLC.'