FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 11, 2007

Press Contacts
202-653-4632
Jeannine Mjoseth, jmjoseth@imls.gov
Mamie Bittner, mbittner@imls.gov

$2.2 Million for Native American and Native Hawaiian Communities
for Library Enhancements

Washington, DC—Fourteen Native American tribal communities and Alaska Native villages received awards totaling $1,753,300 to improve library services to their communities, announced Anne-Imelda M. Radice, Ph.D., Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the primary source of federal funds for the nation's museums and libraries. Radice also announced an award of $519,700 to Alu Like, Inc.’s Native Hawaiian Library in Honolulu. For more information on the Enhancement Grant and Native Hawaiian Library Services recipients, please see the list of awarded institutions.

"Tribal libraries are vibrant centers of community life, not only serving the information needs of their patrons, but actively preserving and sustaining cultural traditions and language for future generations,” Radice said.

Native American Library Services Enhancement Grants support projects that enhance existing library services or implement new ones. Preference is given to projects that expand services for learning in a variety of formats; provide users with access to information and resources through electronic networks and linkages; develop partnerships with other agencies and community-based organizations; or target services to users of diverse backgrounds and to underserved populations.

Projects funded under the Native American Library Services program include an Internet-connected Hopi Public Tutuqayki Síkisve ("Librarymobile”) to serve eleven Hopi villages located on a 90-mile stretch of highway on the Hopi Tribe of Arizona reservation; transformation of the existing library in the Organized Village of Kasaan, 30 miles northwest of Ketchikan, AK, into a community learning center where people can learn about Haida culture and language; a reading program for pre-school children, students, and adults combined with story times and workshops at local day care centers at the Pueblo of Pojoaque, north of Santa Fe, NM; and new staff, a new Web site, and expanded hours of the Circle of Knowledge Library at Spokane Tribal College, in Wellpinit, WA, and service to various library stations throughout the reservation on behalf of the Spokane Tribe.

Funded under the Native Hawaiian Library Services program, Alu Like, Inc.’s Native Hawaiian Library will enhance its digital libraries, providing digitized materials on genealogy and land title in searchable text format in both Hawaiian and English. It will expand satellite libraries and literacy programs in four Hawaiian communities on Hawaii, Oahu, and Kauai, and establish a new one on Molokai. After-school tutoring programs providing homework assistance and reading development skills will be offered to at-risk students.

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.