 |
 |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 13, 2005 Press Contacts 202-653-4632 Eileen Maxwell, [log in to unmask] Mamie Bittner, [log in to unmask] Dr. Robert S. Martin Completes Term as Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services Washington, DC-Dr. Robert S. Martin completed his four-year term as Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) yesterday. Dr. Martin was nominated by the President of the United States to be Director of IMLS in June 2001; the U.S. Senate subsequently confirmed his nomination by unanimous consent. During his tenure, IMLS has awarded 4,704 grants to America's museums and libraries totaling more than $899 million. A librarian, archivist, educator, and administrator, Dr. Martin was Professor and Interim Director of the School of Library and Information Studies at Texas Women's University (TWU) prior to his appointment at IMLS. From 1995 to 1999, he was Director and Librarian of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission. Dr. Martin will return to work at the Denton campus of TWU on September 1, 2006 where he has been named the Lillian Bradshaw Endowed Chair in Library Science. Since Dr. Martin assumed the directorship of IMLS, the agency's budget has increased from $232,321,000 to $280,564,000. In addition, in September 2003, President George W. Bush signed the Museum and Library Services Act of 2003 reauthorizing the agency through 2009. The legislation received bi-partisan support from Congress and enthusiastic backing from the library and museum communities. "I have been extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to serve IMLS during a period of extraordinary support for libraries and museums from both the Administration and Congress," said Dr. Martin. "Fundamental in the success of our efforts at IMLS, of course, has been the outstanding work that so many libraries and museum professionals do in simply serving their communities. Every day they demonstrate the undeniable value of libraries and museums through the resources and services they provide to the American people. My heartfelt gratitude goes to the Administration, particularly our First Lady and First Librarian Laura Bush, the Congress, and the library and museum communities." Under Dr. Martin's leadership, IMLS launched a new multi-million dollar grant program (over $22 million in FY 2005) to recruit and educate the next generation of librarians. Since First Lady Laura Bush announced the President would support the recruitment initiative in 2002 to offset a looming national shortage of library professionals due to retirement, IMLS has funded 1,537 master's degree students, 119 doctoral students, 660 pre-professional students, and 378 continuing education students. Dr. Martin also co-hosted with Mrs. Bush two seminal White House conferences, one on school libraries and the other on libraries, museums, and lifelong learning. In 2004, Dr. Martin made the inaugural grants for "Museums for America," the agency's largest grant program for museums. These grants sustain heritage, support lifelong learning, and provide centers for community engagement at the nation's museums. And, this fall the first research grants for museums as well as the first recipients of the new 21st Century Museum Professionals grant program, will be announced. IMLS has continued and strengthened its commitment to research during Dr. Martin's tenure. True Needs, True Partners, a 2001 study of museums' work with schools, found that America's museums spend more than $1 billion annually and provide more than 18 million instructional hours every year on K-12 education. In 2002, IMLS published the first-ever report on the Status of Technology and Digitization in the Nation's Museums and Libraries. And, published this June, the Museum Data Collection Report and Analysis, provides the most up-to-date research of data collection practices in the nation's museums. Dr. Martin's emphasis on accounting for results and measuring impact has led IMLS to promote outcomes-based evaluation among its grantees and develop a series of user-friendly tools and aids to prospective grantees, including an online project planning tutorial. Strategic partnerships figured prominently in Dr. Martin's vision for IMLS, and he involved the agency in several interagency collaborations including a recent partnership with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Under Dr. Martin's leadership, IMLS took on a principal role in representing the United States in international discussions of libraries and museums. He assisted in drafting the ministerial statement for the first-ever U.N. World Summit on the Information Society in Geneva, Switzerland in 2003. In 2004, Dr. Martin headed the U.S. delegation to the organization of American States Intergovernmental Meeting of Ministers of Culture in Mexico City. Later that year, he served as co-head of the U.S. delegation to the UNESCO Intergovernmental Meeting on Cultural Diversity in Paris. IMLS has taken a leadership role under Dr. Martin's leadership in identifying best practices for the creation, management, and preservation of digital resources, and in disseminating these practices throughout the library, archives, and museum communities. Since 2000, IMLS has sponsored an annual Web-Wise conference to share the latest research and newest inventions in digital technology. Until the President nominates and the Senate confirms a new director, IMLS Deputy Director Mary Chute <<http://www.imls.gov/about/mchute.htm>> will administer the day-to-day operations of the agency as Acting Director. The Museum and Library Services Act (P.L. 104-208) provides that the presidentially-appointed Senate-confirmed Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services shall rotate between an individual with library and information service expertise and an individual with museum service expertise. The next presidential appointee to be Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services will have expertise in museum services and will be appointed for a four year term. Eileen Maxwell Public Affairs Officer Institute of Museum and Library Services 1800 M Street, NW 9th Floor Washington, DC 20036-5802 202-653-4632 202-653-4600(fax) [log in to unmask] Subscribe to Primary Source, the IMLS monthly e-mail newsletter, for important museum and library news: http://www.imls.gov/utility/subscribe.htm.