FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 3, 2008

IMLS Press Contacts
202-653-4632
Jeannine Mjoseth, jmjoseth@imls.gov

Laura Bush and IMLS Director Anne Radice Congratulate Gulf Coast
Museums and Libraries

NEW ORLEANS — During a May 30 visit to the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans, First Lady Laura Bush and Anne-Imelda M. Radice, Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), acknowledged Gulf Coast libraries and museums for the critical role they have played in helping people recover from the 2005 hurricanes in New Orleans.

“Museums and libraries preserve the heritage that makes us who we are. And by keeping us in dialogue with our past -- which books and works of art do -- artwork and artifacts can help us make a better future,” said Mrs. Bush. “Libraries and museums in this region still play a very, very important role. Their collections are preserving communities' stories and memories.”

“We are so honored to have the First Lady visit New Orleans to help focus attention on the federal government’s ongoing efforts to the help the Gulf Coast rebuild,” Radice said. “IMLS is pleased to support and recognize the hard-working people who are preserving the unique cultural traditions of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.”

In April, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art received a Hurricane Relief Award to assist in their continuing recovery from Hurricane Katrina. The museum was one of 11 museums in Mississippi and Louisiana that received Hurricane Relief Awards totaling $225,000, awarded by IMLS in partnership with the Southeastern Museums Conference. Other grant recipients included the Historic New Orleans Collection, which was one of the first museums in the area to reopen after the hurricanes, and the Lynn Meadows Discovery Center in Gulfport, which will use their IMLS grant to fund the WINGS performing arts program. WINGS received a 2007 Coming Up Taller award from the President's Committee on Arts and Humanities last January for its creative work.

“These efforts show how IMLS grant recipients are playing a central role in Gulf Coast rebuilding,” Mrs. Bush said. “And they show why museums and libraries across the nation must prepare now to respond to future disasters. In times of upheaval and challenge and disaster like people on the Gulf Coast have faced, we depend on these institutions to hold our communities together.”

The Hurricane Relief Awards are part of IMLS’s ongoing commitment to support museums and libraries in the affected gulf coast region. The awards also included $100,000 to support a partnership between Tulane University's Amistad Research Center and the Ashé Cultural Arts Center, both in New Orleans, and the River Road African American Museum in Donaldsonville, LA. The organizations, which focus on African American history, art, and culture, will improve access to collections, communicate with members, and enhance their ability to attract new audiences.

In addition to the Hurricane Relief Awards, IMLS provided:

• $670,000 in financial assistance to seven museums in Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi to improve emergency preparedness and response. Read more.
• $866,284 for SOLINET (Southeastern Library Network), which created staff capacity and strengthened staff skills in 16 public library systems in Louisiana and Mississippi that suffered severe damage and destruction from hurricanes.
• Funding, supported by the Foundation of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic & Artistic Works, for the development of a team of “rapid responders” that can be mobilized to provide emergency assistance to museums in the wake of hurricanes, earthquakes, and other natural and man-made disasters. Read more (pdf).
• Funding for the development of dPlan, a free online program created by the Northeast Document Conservation Center in Andover, MA, which helps institutions write comprehensive disaster plans. Read more at www.dplan.org.
• Funding, in conjuction with Heritage Preservation, for the pilot Program for Risk Evaluation and Planning (PREP), to help museums develop disaster plans and create guidelines for first responders and local emergency managers. Read more.

About the Institute of Museum and Library Services
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 122,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. The Institute's mission is to create strong libraries and museums that connect people to information and ideas. The Institute works at the national level and in coordination with state and local organizations to sustain heritage, culture, and knowledge; enhance learning and innovation; and support professional development. To learn more about the Institute, please visit www.imls.gov.

About the Southeastern Museums Conference
The Southeastern Museums Conference (SEMC) fosters professionalism, mutual support and communications among its members and the larger museum community. A nonprofit membership organization, SEMC strives to increase education and professional development opportunities, improve the interchange of ideas and information, and encourage respect and collegiality. Members of the Southeastern Museums Conference are comprised of museum leaders from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. To learn more about SEMC, please visit www.semcdirect.net.