Recipient: Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust
Location: Oak Park, IL
Grant: Learning Opportunities Grant (now Museums for America)

Goals: The Frank Lloyd Wright Preservation Trust’s Architect Studio 3D is an interactive Web-based activity that enables users to become virtual architects, finding design solutions that meet the needs of virtual clients and virtual building sites. With funds from an IMLS grant, this project offers learning and excitement to middle-school students across the country and beyond. Learn more

Very soon the Institute will officially launch a new visual identity. This edition of Primary Source is the first to have our new look. The fresh approach builds on a solid foundation and will extend to our Web site, publications, conference exhibit and more. Grantees and partners will find tools for using the new branding here. Our new logo drops the acronym and places “museums and libraries” front and center.

The new look supports a big idea. The Institute has a clearly defined mission: to grow and sustain a Nation of Learners. We believe every community with a library or a museum can be a learning community. And we want all of our communications to support that big idea.

Museums and libraries sustain our cultural heritage, provide learning opportunities for families and communities, build 21st Century skills and encourage civic participation. They are adept at helping people transform information into knowledge. The need to adapt to change and always keep learning are essential to our democracy, to our economy and to our quality of life – and libraries and museums are essential to learning… for life.

- Mary Chute, Acting Director, IMLS

FY 2006 Appropriations Bill Increases Funding for Institute of Museum and Library Services
President Bush recently signed the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, which provides fiscal year 2006 appropriations for the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The Act gives IMLS programs and administration $247,144,000, a 2.7 percent increase over FY 2005. The Institute’s grants and leadership activities help to create and sustain a nation of learners, building the capacity of libraries and museums to serve their communities. Read more.

Register Now For 2006 WebWise Conference
Registration is now open for the seventh annual WebWise Conference on Libraries and Museums in the Digital World, to be held February 15-17, 2006, in Los Angeles. Co-hosted by the Online Computer Library Center and the J. Paul Getty Trust, this year’s conference will explore the theme: "Inspiring Discovery—Unlocking Collections." It will feature presentations and panel discussions by library, museum and other information experts engaged in enhancing the “discoverability” of cultural heritage resources. Topics include automated indexing and other new discovery tools and techniques, re-examination of traditional information organization, and discovery methodologies. In addition, exemplary digital projects will be showcased in demonstrations to encourage networking and information sharing. Half-day workshops on cataloging cultural resources, creating sharable metadata, and assessing the use of digital resources will be offered on February 15. These pre-conference workshops require separate registration. There are no fees for the conference or for the pre-conference workshops, but early registration is recommended as space is limited. Read more.

Partnership Sponsors Series of Professional Development Interactive SessionsThe Partnership for a Nation of Learners (PNL), a leadership initiative of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), will sponsor a series of five, monthly one-hour professional development web casts designed to help local museums, libraries and public broadcasters work collaboratively to address local needs. Read more.

The Institute Calls for National Leadership Grant Applications, Deadline—February 1
The guidelines for National Leadership Grants for Libraries and for Museums are available on the Institute’s Web site as a PDF file. This year, The Institute plans to support a wide range of projects under its three grant categories: Advancing Learning Communities, Building Digital Resources, and Research and Demonstration. Among the priorities for each category is a focus on youth development. Read more.

The Institute Calls for 2006 National Awards for Museum and Library Service, Deadline—February 15
These awards are the nation's highest honors for the extraordinary public service provided by museums and libraries, and they carry a $10,000 award. The National Awards for Museum and Library Service recognize museums and libraries that have made a difference in their communities through long-term, ongoing public service. Any individual may submit an application, and museums and libraries of all sizes are encouraged to apply. Read more.

PNL Offers Technical Assistance Audioconferences for Grant Applicants
In its first year of funding, the Partnership for a Nation of Learners’ competitive grant program awarded $1.4 million to build and strengthen working relationships among libraries, museums, and public broadcasting licensees that enhance their roles within their communities. The deadline for the program’s second year of funding is March 1, 2006. Applicants for the 2006 PNL Community Collaboration Grant may participate in the second of two technical assistance audioconference calls on February 8, 2006 from 2:00-3:00 PM ET. The phone number for the calls is (866)814-8482. For grant details, go to the PNL Web site at: www.partnershipforlearners.org.

IMLS Acting Director Keynotes Mississippi Dedication Ceremony
Acting Director Mary Chute gave the keynote address at the dedication of the Mississippi Library Commission’s new home on January 9. Chute praised the commission’s perseverance in helping the state’s libraries recover from severe hurricane damage and described how the commission is working to help create and sustain a nation of learners. Read the speech.

IFirst National Conference on Civic Tourism Set for March
On March 16 - 18, 2005 in Prescott, Arizona, Prescott Hall will host the first national conference on civic tourism. The conference will bring together some of the nation’s finest researchers and practitioners who endorse a place-based approach to tourism and economic development. While the gathering is referred to as a "conference," it is really designed as a series of salons, during which participants can dig deeply into the idea of "using" tourism to preserve and enhance place, in addition to strengthening the economy. The civic tourism project is made possible by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. To register or for more information see: http://www.civictourism.org.

AAM’s Museum Assessment Program, Deadline—February 15
The American Association of Museums’ Museum Assessment Program is supported through a cooperative agreement with the Institute. It is designed to help museums assess their strengths and weaknesses and to plan for the future by providing technical assistance for four assessments: (1) collections management, (2) governance, (3) institutional, and (4) public dimension. Assessments are provided on a first-come, first-served basis. Read more.

“Resources for Recovering Mississippi’s Cultural Heritage” (panel program), George V. Smith, Ph.D., IMLS Associate Deputy Director for State Programs (speaker), sponsored by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Hattiesburg, MS, 10/14.

“Partner with IMLS to Achieve Excellence” (conference session), Christine Henry, IMLS Senior Program Officer, and Jennifer Headley, IMLS Program Specialist, sponsored by the Association of Science and Technology Centers Annual Conference, Richmond, VA, 10/16.

“Streamlining MAP: New Process, Same Benefits” (conference panel), Christine Henry, IMLS Senior Program Officer, and Jennifer Headley, IMLS Program Specialist (facilitators), sponsored by the Association of Science and Technology Centers Annual Conference, Richmond, VA, 10/16.

“Science TV-Museum Partnerships,” Marsha Semmel, IMLS Director for Strategic Partnerships (panel participant), sponsored by the Association for Science and Technology Centers Annual Conference, Richmond, VA, 10/16.

Welcome remarks, Mary L. Chute, IMLS Acting Director, Statewide Digitization Planners Meeting, sponsored by OCLC, Inc., Dublin, OH, 10/20.

“Saving Our Cultural Heritage: Preserving and Sustaining Digital Resources,” Joyce Ray, Ph.D., IMLS Associate Deputy Director for Libraries, Statewide Digitization Planners Meeting, sponsored by OCLC, Inc., Dublin, OH, 10/21.

“Statewide Summer Reading Program” (panel program), George V. Smith, Ph.D., IMLS Associate Deputy Director for State Programs (facilitator and speaker), sponsored by the Nevada Library Association, Annual Conference, Reno, NV, 10/21.

“IMLS Rural Library Seminar” post-conference program, George V. Smith, Ph.D., IMLS Associate Deputy Director for State Programs (speaker), sponsored by the Nevada Library Association, Annual Conference, Reno, NV, 10/21.

“Museums, Libraries, and Afterschool: New Models for Learning,” Marsha Semmel, IMLS Director for Strategic Partnerships (workshop presenter), “The Bridge from School to Afterschool and Back: Equity-Opportunity-Success” Conference, Vancouver, WA, 10/24.

“Streamlining MAP and CAP: New Process, Same Benefits,” Mary Estelle Kennelly, IMLS Associate Deputy Director of Museum Services, sponsored by the Association of Midwest Museums Annual Conference, Cincinnati, OH, 10/27.

“Put Your Museum on the Road to Success with Assistance from Federal Funding from IMLS,” Mary Estelle Kennelly, IMLS Associate Deputy Director of Museum Services, sponsored by the Association of Midwest Museums Annual Conference, Cincinnati, OH, 10/28.

“Laura Bush 21st Century Librarians - Next Steps,” Mary L. Chute, IMLS Acting Director, Kent State University, School of Library and Information Science, Kent, OH, 11/2.

Discussion of the role and function of IMLS, Mary L. Chute, IMLS Acting Director, Association of Academic Health Science Libraries Leadership Fellows “Capstone” Program, Washington, DC, 11/3.