IMLS budget

President Requests $188,500,000 for America's Museums and Libraries
Request Includes $10 million for New Digitization Initiative

February 1, 1999

Washington, DC-The President's FY 2000 budget released to Congress
today requests $188,500,000 for the Institute of Museum and Library
Services (IMLS) and includes $10 million for a new leadership
initiative to support the creation of a National Digital Library for
Education, part of the President's Educational Technology
Initiative.

Diane Frankel, Director of the Institute of Museum and Library
Services, said, "The National Digital Library for Education will
make more museum and library collections accessible to every school
child and every American. Libraries are on the forefront of using
new technology to get people the information they want and need. For
museums, this is the first federal program specifically designed to
make their collections accessible on line "

The budget contains $34,000,000 for museum services and $154,500,000
for library services.

In addition to the new initiative, IMLS will continue its ongoing
programs of support for museums and libraries.  The Institute's
library programs help libraries to use new technologies to identify,
preserve, and share library and information resources across
institutional, local and state boundaries and to reach those for
whom library use requires extra effort or special materials.  Museum
programs strengthen museum operations, improve care of collections,
increase professional development opportunities and enhance the
community service role of museums.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services is a federal
grantmaking agency that benefits the public by encouraging lifelong
learning, innovation and leadership in museums and libraries
throughout the U.S.  The agency supports using new technology to
access library and museum collections, collaboration, preservation,
training, public service and leadership.

For additional information about the programs and grants of IMLS, go
to the IMLS web site at <URL:http://www.imls.fed.us/> or e-mail
imlsinfo [at] imls__fed__us.

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 12:63
                 Distributed: Monday, February 1, 1999
                       Message Id: cdl-12-63-010
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