================================================================= ALAWON Volume 6, Number 25 ISSN 1069-7799 April 7, 1997 American Library Association Washington Office Newsline In this issue: (138 lines) DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, NSF ESTABLISH WORLD WIDE WEB ACCESSIBILITY PROJECT TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION CHALLENGE GRANTS PROGRAM APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE LIBRARY RESEARCH AND DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE (NEW PROGRAM) _________________________________________________________________ DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, NSF ESTABLISH WORLD WIDE WEB ACCESSIBILITY PROJECT According to an April 3 press release, the U.S. Department of Education, through its National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research and the Office of Special Education Programs, will join the National Science Foundation in contributing up to $800,000 for the new World Wide Web Consortium's Web Accessibility Initiative. "This effort will guide the development of industry sponsored specifications to make the Internet accessible to all. Exciting possibilities like descriptive video, video captioning and innovative input devices will be explored," said Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley. He added, "Learning online must not become a new fault line in American education, dividing the haves and have-nots. The Internet is the blackboard of the future. This also applies to the increasing role of the Internet in the workplace and as a means of regular communication. All persons -- disabled and non-disabled -- deserve access to information that promotes excellence in education, work and social understanding." The press release is available at http://www.ed.gov/news.html#pr. _________________________________________________________________ TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION CHALLENGE GRANTS PROGRAM APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE Applications are now available for the Technology Innovation Challenge Grants Program. According to the Federal Register notice (March 28, 1997, vol. 62, no. 60, pp. 15051-53), the program provides grants to consortia that are working to improve and expand new applications of technology to strengthen the school reform effort, improve student achievement, and provide sustained professional development of teachers, administrators, and school library media personnel. Only consortia may receive grants under this program. Consortia must include at least one local educational agency with a high percentage or number of children living below the poverty line. They may also include other local educational agencies, State educational agencies, institutions of higher education, businesses, academic content experts, software designers, museums,libraries, and other appropriate entities. The deadline for receipt of applications is May 30, 1997. An estimated 20 awards over a project period of five years will be awarded. The estimated available funds is $18,000,000 with the estimated average award of $900,000 per year. The complete application package for the 1997 Technology Innovation Challenge Grants competition, including guidelines, forms, and relevant Federal Register notices, as well as descriptions & home pages of 1995 & 1996 awardees is available at http://www.ed.gov/Technology/challenge/ or call 1-800-USA-LEARN (1-800-872-5327) for applications. For more information, contact Technology Innovation Challenge Grants, U.S. Department of Education, Washington, D.C. 20202-5544. Telephone (202) 208-3882. Individuals may fax requests for applications to: (202) 208-4042. Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through Friday of each week except Federal holidays. _________________________________________________________________ LIBRARY RESEARCH AND DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE (NEW PROGRAM) According to the Federal Register [March 27, 1997, vol. 62, no. 59, pp. 14767-68], applications are now available for the Library Research and Demonstration Program. The program provides grants to institutions of higher education and other public or private agencies, institutions, and organizations for research and demonstration programs related to the improvement of libraries, education in library and information science, the enhancement of library services through effective and efficient use of new technologies, and dissemination of information derived from these projects. Institutions of higher education that meet the definition of eligibility under the terms of 20 U.S.C. 1141(a) and other public or private agencies, institutions, and organizations are eligible. This program is part of the "America Reads"' Challenge, a major initiative announced by President Clinton on August 27, 1996 to ensure that all children can read independently and well by the third grade. The deadline for applications is May 12, 1997. Approximately $1 million is available. An estimated five awards at an average of $200,000 for up to 24 months will be awarded. For applications contact Chris Dunn, U.S. Department of Education, 555 New Jersey Avenue, N.W., Room 300, Washington, DC 20208-5571. Telephone (202) 219-2299. Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Services (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern time, Monday through Friday. A copy of the March 28 Federal Register notice is available at http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/announcements/1997-1/index.html. _________________________________________________________________ ALAWON is a free, irregular publication of the American Library Association Washington Office. To subscribe, send the message: subscribe ala-wo [your_firstname] [your_lastname] to listproc @ala.org. ALAWON archives at http://www.ala.org/washoff/alawon. Visit our Web site at http://www.alawash.org. ALA Washington Office 202.628.8410 (V) 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, #403 202.628.8419 (F) Washington, DC 20004-1701 800.941.8478 (V) Lynne E. Bradley, Editor Deirdre Herman, Managing Editor Contributors: Mary R. Costabile Claudette W. Tennant All materials subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. =================================================================