_________________________________________________________________ ALAWON Volume 7, Number 120 ISSN 1069-7799 October 2, 1998 American Library Association Washington Office Newsline In this issue: (129 lines) (1) NCLIS AND NATIONAL MUSEUM SERVICES BOARD HOLD SECOND JOINT MEETING (2) LSTA NATIONAL LEADERSHIP GRANTS INCLUDED STIFF COMPETITION _________________________________________________________________ (1) NCLIS AND NATIONAL MUSEUM SERVICES BOARD HOLD SECOND JOINT MEETING On September 28 the Institute of Museum and Library Services hosted the second joint meeting of the U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science and the National Museum Services Board. Both entities have advisory responsibilities to IMLS, particularly with regard to the National Leadership Grants (NLG). IMLS announced the first awardees under the National Leadership Grant program and awards for Native American library services (see ALAWONs v7, n115, September 29, 1998 and v7, n116, September 30, 1998). The two groups also discussed minor adjustments IMLS is proposing to the NLG guidelines, based on experience of peer panels and applicants and public input. ALA submitted a letter to IMLS on September 15 in response to a request for comments on the NLG guidelines, which included fine tuning the priorities and emphasizing the requirement for national leadership impact in the FY99 guidelines. Many of the ALA suggestions were among those being considered by IMLS and discussed by NCLIS and the museum board at their meeting. IMLS Director Diane Frankel also announced that she is planning awards for libraries and seeks input from the two advisory bodies. Currently IMLS makes museum awards, and a major criteria is community involvement and partnerships. This is likely to be a criteria for library awards as well. Sen. James Jeffords (R-VT), chair of the Labor and Human Resources Committee with jurisdiction over museums and libraries, spoke at the joint meeting luncheon. Among other very supportive comments, he said that libraries are essential components of community partnerships in the Reading Excellence Act legislation, which he hoped would pass Congress before it adjourns. _________________________________________________________________ (2) LSTA NATIONAL LEADERSHIP GRANTS INCLUDED STIFF COMPETITION The National Leadership Grants (NLG) program, administered by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, has compiled an impressive record in its first year. Part of the Library Services and Technology Act under the Museum and Services Act, the NLG's antecedents are in the former Higher Education Act Title II-B grants for library education and training and library research and demonstrations. However, as reinvented in LSTA, the NLG is a new program with added components for preservation and digitization and for model library/museum projects. In the first round of awards announced September 28, more than 250 applicants requested more than $42 million. This is almost 6.5 times the amount of funds available and indicates strong demand for assistance, despite the fairly short notice any new program is able to provide in its first year. Funding for the FY98 NLG awards came from the museum grant program ($1 million toward joint museum/library projects) and LSTA (3.75% of the LSTA total or $5,487,750). The deadline for the FY99 proposals will be March 19, 1999, and revised grant guidelines will be available from IMLS before the end of 1998. For FY98 41 grants have just been awarded totaling $6,487,750 (see the IMLS web site at http://www.imls.fed.us/nlg98list.htm for details about individual awards) the NLG category and FY98 priorities, number of proposals and awards, and amounts requested and awarded were as follows: 1. EDUCATION AND TRAINING. Model programs to provide education and training for the use of emerging technologies in the field of library and information science and to attract individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds to the field. PROPOSALS: 43, requesting total of $7,631,335. AWARDS: 6, totaling $922,513. 2. RESEARCH AND DEMONSTRATION. Model projects to enhance library services through the use of appropriate technologies and to create methods to evaluate the contributions to a community made by institutions providing access to information services. PROPOSALS: 66, requesting total of $10,330,723. AWARDS: 10, totaling $1,483,103. 3. PRESERVATION OR DIGITIZATION. Projects to preserve unique library resources of national significance, emphasizing access by researchers beyond the institution undertaking the project, and projects that address the preservation and archiving of digital media. PROPOSALS: 65, requesting total of $8,758,224. AWARDS: 13, totaling $1,710197. 4. MODEL PROGRAMS OF COOPERATION BETWEEN LIBRARIES AND MUSEUMS. Projects that develop, document and disseminate both the processes and products of model programs of cooperation between libraries and museums, with emphasis on how the community is served, technology is used, or education is enhanced. PROPOSALS: 78, requesting total of $15,476,678. AWARDS: 12, totaling $2,371,937. _________________________________________________________________ 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. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.ala.org/washoff/ subscribe.html or send the message: unsubscribe ala-wo 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 All materials subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. _________________________________________________________________