FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
September 18, 2006
Press Contacts
202-653-4632
Eileen Maxwell, emaxwell@imls.gov
Mamie Bittner, mbittner@imls.gov
IMLS Calls for Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian
Grant Applications
Washington, DC--The Institute
of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) invites libraries,
archives, and library agencies, associations, and consortia
to apply for the Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian grant
program. The program supports efforts to recruit and educate
the next generation of librarians and the faculty who
will prepare them for careers in library science. It also
supports grants for research related to library education
and library staffing needs, curriculum development, an
early career development program for untenured, tenure-track
library and information science faculty, and continuing
education and training. Guidelines are available
on the IMLS Web site. The application deadline
is December 15, 2006.
In 2003, with a shortage of professional
librarians on the horizon, First Lady Laura Bush called
on the Institute of Museum and Library Services to help
recruit “a new generation of librarians” through
a special funding initiative. Since then, the Institute
has funded 2,224 master’s degree students, 149 doctoral
students, 1,016 preprofessional students, and 4,190 continuing
education students. The program also supported a major
national study on the future of librarians in the workforce.
“I am proud of the contribution of
the Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program and its
goal to develop a new generation of highly skilled librarians
who will expand the educational role of libraries for
learners of all ages, from early childhood through retirement,”
said Dr. Anne-Imelda M. Radice, Director of IMLS. “This
program has demonstrated an ability to spur new innovations
in library service while upholding our field’s traditional
values.”
The program supports
• recruiting and educating students at the doctoral
and master’s levels
• graduate schools of library and information science
to build institutional capacity through curriculum development
in key areas
• research to develop strategies for recruiting
and retaining librarians with the appropriate skills and
characteristics to meet future users’ needs and
to evaluate program effectiveness
• efforts to recruit future librarians from the
ranks of promising junior high, high school, and college
students;
• updating the skills of current librarians and
library staffs through continuing education programs
• early career development programs that help promising
untenured library and information science faculty in tenure-track
positions gain tenure by supporting their research at
a critical stage in their careers. Research topics in
early career programs address the investigator's individual
field of inquiry
NOTE: For fiscal year 2007, categories
of funding have been expanded to highlight opportunities
for library disaster recovery in 2005 and 2006 FEMA declared
disaster areas, and internships in conservation practice
in libraries that have suffered disaster-related collections
damage.
Applications, guidelines, and examples of
successful proposals can
be found on the agency’s Web site. All applications
must be submitted electronically through Grants.gov. Instructions
for completing and submitting applications through Grants.gov
are in the guidelines and on
the IMLS Web site. Contact Senior Program Officer
Stephanie Clark at sclark@imls.gov
or Program Specialist Karmen Bisher at kbisher@imls.gov
with questions or for more information.
Awards will be announced in mid-June 2007.
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