================================================================= ALAWON Volume 6, Number 48 ISSN 1069-7799 June 24, 1997 American Library Association Washington Office Newsline In this issue: (179 lines) LSTA NATIONAL LEADERSHIP GRANT GUIDELINES PUBLISHED FOR COMMENT; BACKGROUND ON LSTA NATIONAL LEADERSHIP GRANT GUIDELINES _________________________________________________________________ LSTA NATIONAL LEADERSHIP GRANT GUIDELINES PUBLISHED FOR COMMENT On June 17 the Institute of Museum and Library Services announced draft guidelines for "National Leadership Grants or Contracts" program under the Museum and Library Services Act. Public comments are being accepted until August 18. "The draft guidelines call for proposals that are national in impact reflecting an understanding of current issues relating to library and/or museum services and have far reaching impact throughout the library and museum communities," said Diane Frankel, IMLS director. "National Leadership Grants mark a new opportunity for all types of libraries and museums. IMLS welcomes all comments on the guidelines and their impact on the ability of museums and libraries to improve their service to the public." A notice concerning the draft guidelines was published in the Federal Register (June 17, 1997, vol. 62, no. 116, pp. 32830-31). The full text of the draft guidelines is available on the IMLS web site at: http://www.ims.fed.us/guidelines/natlead.pdf or by mail from the Institute of Museum and Library Services at 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C. 20506. Comments should be submitted by Monday, August 18 to Dr. Rebecca Danvers at IMLS, phone 202/606-8539 or e-mail imsinfo@ims.fed.us. ALA members are encouraged to examine the guidelines and submit comments directly, as well as provide input to ALA's comments. Input to ALA's comments must be received by Friday, August 1. Contact the ALA Washington Office at alawash@alawash.org, fax: 202/628-8419 or phone: 800/941-8478. BACKGROUND ON LSTA NATIONAL LEADERSHIP GRANT GUIDELINES "National Leadership Grants or Contracts" is Section 262 of the Library Services and Technology Act, which in turn is Subtitle B of the Museum and Library Services Act (Subtitle A and C being General Provisions and Museum Services). LSTA includes a mandated setaside of 4 percent of appropriations designated for national leadership purposes, as follows: Education and training of persons in library and information science, particularly in areas of new technology and other critical needs, including graduate fellowships, traineeships, institutes or other programs; Research and demonstration projects related to the improvement of libraries, education in library and information science, enhancement of library services through effective and efficient use of new technologies, and dissemination of information derived from such projects; Preservation or digitization of library materials and resources, giving priority to projects emphasizing coordination, avoidance of duplication, and access by researchers beyond the institution or library entity undertaking the project; and Model programs demonstrating cooperative efforts between libraries and museums. Priorities proposed by IMLS for FY 1998 awards are as follows: 1. Education and Training. Two types of education and training projects will be given priority for funding with the goal 1) to make a significant impact on training library and information science professionals, currently employed in libraries as defined in these guidelines, in new knowledge, skills and abilities for the effective use of new technologies; or 2) to attract to the practice of library and information science individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds. 2. Research and Demonstration. Priority for funding for applied research and demonstration will be given to digital library projects including discovery and retrieval; projects examining economic models for educational use of digital images; addressing the challenges of preserving and archiving digital images; and projects creating methods to evaluate the contributions to a community made by libraries and museums providing access to information and services. 3. Preservation or Digitization. Priority for funding will be given to projects that create virtual collections of materials from multiple geographic locations with the goal of making available a comprehensive body of previously inaccessible information. 4. Cooperation between Libraries and Museums. Priority for funding will be given to projects that will develop, document and disseminate both the processes and products of model programs of cooperation for libraries and museums. Cooperative projects should address issues of community, technology or education. The museum grant program legislation also includes a reference to model joint museum/library projects. No funds are mandated for this purpose, but Frankel, in the Administration's FY98 museum grant program budget, has included a request for an additional $1 million which, if approved by Congress, would be available for joint museum/library activities. A House subcommittee has recently approved the additional $1 million, but the congressional funding process is just beginning. The Administration's FY98 request of $136.4 million for LSTA would provide $5,455,000 for National Leadership Grants (4%). The antecedents of the LSTA national leadership program are various programs in the former Higher Education Act title II discretionary library grant programs. HEA II library education/training and library research/demonstration programs are currently funded in FY97 at $7.5 million. The draft guidelines intend that one-third of the LSTA setaside support projects for cooperation between libraries and museums, or an estimated $1.8 million, plus the $1 million from museum grant appropriations, for a total of $2.8 million. Two-thirds of the LSTA setaside, about $3.6 million, would support the first three FY98 LSTA National Leadership priorities. For the first three priorities, all types of libraries, higher education institutions, and agencies (state or local governmental library or museum agencies) may apply. Museums may also apply for any of the first three in partnership with an eligible library. Eligible applicants for the fourth priority must include a museum. Partnership applications and collaborations are strongly preferred throughout the draft guidelines: "Participating in partnerships that involve multiple organizations in addressing issues of national concern increases the likelihood that the impact of this Federal support will be more broadly and deeply imbedded in the future operations not only of the principal partners, but beyond to other organizations." A potential problem is that the draft guidelines may well have the effect of turning the only federal discretionary grant program directed at libraries into an entirely joint library-museum program. More than 90% of LSTA funds are appropriately allocated to the states for statewide services and subgrants for library outreach services and technological innovation. The 4% setaside represents the only federal funds directly for libraries not divided up into 50 pieces but available for national needs of libraries, their users, and the library field. _________________________________________________________________ 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: Carol C. Henderson Claudette Tennant All materials subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. =================================================================