IMLS 21st Century Museum Professionals grants awarded

2.5 Million Dollars Awarded to Support Training and Development for
the Nation's Museum Professionals

The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the primary
source of federal support for the nation's museums and libraries, is
pleased to announce the eight recipients of this year's 21st Century
Museum Professionals (21 MP) grants. The awarded organizations will
receive a combined total of $2,548,088 that will be used to
implement projects to strengthen leadership, management,
interpretation, and other important skills of thousands of museum
professionals nationwide.

   "The museum field is constantly evolving and changing, and it is
    important that museum professionals are offered the training
    they need to not only remain current but also be prepared for
    the future," said Anne-Imelda Radice, Director, IMLS. "21st
    Century Museum Professionals grants are awarded to meet these
    needs by funding classes, collection assessments, and
    pre-professional training programs for all interested museum
    employees to ensure a savvy museum workforce."

Many of this year's 21 MP projects will have long-lasting and
national impacts through the creation of web-based resources,
publications, and other materials. Examples of the 2008 awardees
include the New England Aquarium, which will coordinate a
collaboration of five aquariums to provide their educators with
specialized training, materials, and tools to increase public
awareness of ocean change. By the end of the three-year project,
over 200 interpreters will be trained, a toolkit will be developed
for use with visitors, and a model training program will be refined
for adaptation by other aquariums.

The American Association for State and Local History (AASLH),
another 21 MP grant recipient, will provide training for museum
professionals in the fundamentals of project management to support
education programs, collections-related activities, and capital
projects, and will develop and present a series of on-site and
web-based project management workshops specifically geared to
history museum professionals. To learn more about the 2008 21 MP
grant recipients, visit

    <URL:http://www.imls.gov/news/2008/091008b_list.shtm>

The next deadline for the 21st Century Museum Professionals program
is March 15, 2009. For more information, visit

    <URL:http://www.imls.gov/applicants/grants/21centuryMuseums.shtm>

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                  Conservation DistList Instance 22:15
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