1) New content: MARGARET THATCHER POSTS ARCHIVES ONLINE
2) New access: CNIB LAUNCHES DIGITAL LIBRARY FOR THE BLIND
3) And two new from IMLS:
a) PROPOSALS FOR LIBRARIANS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY AWARDS
b) FIRST-EVER WORLD SUMMIT ON THE INFORMATION SOCIETY
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MARGARET THATCHER'S ARCHIVES ONLINE
Britain's first female prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, has posted her
vast archive on the Internet - a first for politics and the web.
http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/collins200311170841.asp
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CNIB: DIGITAL LIBRARY FOR THE BLIND
"Launched Wednesday by the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, the
CNIB Digital Library is described as the most advanced collection of
alternative formats in the world and a model for 175 international libraries
producing alternative-format information. It also contains a Children's
Discovery Portal, the world's first portal of its kind for children who are
blind."
Full story:
http://www.globetechnology.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20031113.gtblindnov13/BNS
tory/Technology/
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IMLS INVITES PROPOSALS FOR LIBRARIANS FOR THE 21ST CENTURY AWARDS
Grants help recruit and educate librarians and strengthen graduate schools
of library and information science
(APPLICATION DEADLINE: JANUARY 15, 2004)
To read an HTML version of the press release, please visit:
http://www.imls.gov/whatsnew/current/120303.htm
WASHINGTON, DC - The Institute of Museum and Library Services has issued new
guidelines for its Librarians for the 21st Century program (posted on the
IMLS Web site at http://www.imls.gov/grants/appl/index.htm#21cent). The
program was initiated in 2003 with an appropriation of $10 million. The
President has requested $20 million for this program for FY 2004.
With the increase in appropriations, IMLS has been able to add additional
priorities for funding for Librarians for the 21st Century in 2004. In
addition to scholarships for masters and doctoral-level students, IMLS has
established a new priority to build the institutional capacity of graduate
schools of library and information science through curriculum development in
critical areas including digital library science, research methods, and
leadership. The award amounts range from $50,000 to $1 million. One-to-one
cost sharing for requests other than for student support and research
projects is required.
The deadline for applications is JANUARY 15, 2004. Awards will be announced
in mid-July.
The priorities for funding in the Librarians for the 21st Century program
for 2004 (not listed in order of priority) are:
Priority #1 Master's Level Programs:
Educate the next generation of librarians. In particular, increase the
number of students enrolled in nationally accredited graduate library
programs preparing for careers of service in libraries.
Priority #2 Doctoral Programs:
Develop faculty to educate the next generation of library professionals. In
particular, increase the number of students enrolled in doctoral programs
that will prepare faculty to teach master's students who will work in
school, public and academic libraries.
Develop the next generation of library leaders. In particular, increase the
number of students enrolled in doctoral programs that will prepare them to
assume positions as library managers and administrators.
Priority #3 Pre-Professional Programs:
Recruit future librarians. In particular, attract promising high school and
college students to consider careers in librarianship through recruitment
strategies that are cost-effective and measurable. One large-scale national
project may be supported.
Priority #4 Research
Provide the library community with information needed to support successful
recruitment and education of the next generation of librarians. In
particular, through funded research, establish baseline data on professional
demographics and job availability, and evaluate current programs in library
education for their capacity to meet the identified needs
Priority #5 Programs to Build Institutional Capacity
Develop or enhance curricula within graduate schools of library and
information science. In particular, develop new courses and programs in
critical areas such as leadership, research methods, and digital
librarianship; proposals may include requests for faculty salaries as well
as student support.
Contact Program Officer Stephanie Clark at [log in to unmask] for more
information on the 21st Century Librarians program.
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is an independent Federal
grant-making agency dedicated to creating and sustaining a nation of
learners. 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
Eileen Maxwell
Public Affairs Specialist
Institute of Museum and Library Services
1100 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Suite 510
Washington, DC 20506
202-606-8339
202-606-8591 (fax)
[log in to unmask]
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Institute of Museum and Library Services Director Robert S. Martin
To Advance Role of Museum and Libraries at First Ever
World Summit on the Information Society
WASHINGTON, DC - The United Nations will host the World Summit on the
Information Society (WSIS), the first global UN Summit to address the
challenges and opportunities presented by the information society, December
8-12th in Geneva, Switzerland. To prepare for the Summit, the international
community has embarked on an unprecedented global dialog to encourage the
use of information technology to promote economic and social opportunities
for all the world's inhabitants. The United States continues to do its part
to ensure that the World Summit on the Information Society is a successful
event. IMLS Director Robert S. Martin will participate as an official U.S.
delegate to WSIS in two pre-Summit conferences.
"We know that today, in the United States, we must be more than an
information society; we must be a learning society. And that is why the
Institute of Museum and Library Services is dedicated to creating and
sustaining a nation of learners. In the international context, we share the
belief that we must work towards a knowledge society, rather than merely a
global information society," said Director Martin.
Director Martin will speak on museums and libraries' contribution to
education in the information age in a forum entitled "Role of Science in the
Information Society (RSIS)." Sponsored by CERN (the European Organization
for Nuclear Research, and the world's largest particle physics center) with
UNESCO and others as co-sponsors, this pre-conference December 8-10,
explores how the open exchange of information has revolutionized everything
from global commerce to how we communicate with friends and family. Among
the plenary speakers are Tim Berners-Lee, Inventor of the World Wide Web,
and Ismail Serageldin, Director General of the Library of Alexandria. To
learn more about RSIS, log onto:
http://rsis.web.cern.ch/rsis/01About/AboutRSIS.html.
Director Martin, as the only United States' government representative, will
also speak at UNESCO's December 9-10 pre-Summit symposium, "Building
Knowledge Societies: From Vision to Action." This high-level symposium,
co-sponsored by the Swiss Federal Office of Communications (OFCOM) brings
together eminent political and intellectual world leaders to debate the main
implications and challenges for the construction of knowledge societies.
Among the panelists are noted experts such as Gary Becker, Nobel Prize
winner in Economics and John Gage, Chief Researcher and Director of the
Science Office of Sun Microsystems. Director Martin will speak on
"Transforming Cultural Institutions in Support of the Knowledge Society."
For more information about this symposium, visit the UNESCO Web site.
The United States believes that the keys to prosperity in the information
society are education, individual creativity, and an environment of economic
and political freedom. An environment in which citizens will have access to
information is at the core of a truly inclusive information society.
To learn more about the World Summit on the Information Society, please log
onto: http://www.itu.int/wsis
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is an independent Federal
grant-making agency dedicated to creating and sustaining a nation of
learners. 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
Eileen Maxwell
Public Affairs Specialist
Institute of Museum and Library Services
1100 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Suite 510
Washington, DC 20506
202-606-8339
202-606-8591 (fax)
[log in to unmask]
