NMRLS Digital Library Grant Opportunity
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Northeast Massachusetts Digital Library Grant
Frequently Asked Questions

Will NMRLS provide funding to my institution as part of the grant? No, NMRLS assistance to institutions under this grant are limited to services/resources, such as those listed below. If we are unable to obtain funding, what do we gain from participation? NMRLS will provide the following services to approved grant participants Providing access to scanning and editing resources and equipment Training Advice/Consulting Scanning, editing, and indexing assistance by interns for qualified projects Hosting data and indexes to promote use of online collections Participating institutions will be included in the upcoming "Northeast Massachusetts Digital Library" Web site which will be searchable from all around the world, i.e., free publicity. What kinds of projects would make us eligible for the services you provide? We will consider all digitization projects that relate to northeast Massachusetts. Priority will be given to projects that relate to the following areas: Essex County History Projects that include subject matter relevant to diverse populations and/or women Projects for which the intended audience include: Massachusetts school students and teachers (in connection with Curriculum Frameworks) Diverse population Women Seniors Projects that involve the cooperation of more than one document repository Projects of repositories located in Essex County and those in NMRLS member libraries Why is NMRLS leading this project? This project fits within our mission and we believe that promoting the resources of local institutions will further our goals by providing free resources in cooperation with grant participants. NMRLS mission is to support academic, public, school, and special libraries with services that enable them to better serve their users, and to establish, encourage, and maintain cooperation among libraries in order to provide access to the widest possible range of resources and information for the people of northeast Massachusetts. What kinds of materials can be scanned? We have scanners that will create a high-quality image of many types of materials, e.g., books, papers, maps, and photographs (mounted and unmounted). We have scanned a license plate, coins, and other items. We might recommend and refer members to appropriate resources to photograph items that are not appropriate for scanning. Repositories will be responsible to ensure that they have the right to scan/reproduce and distribute electronically. See http://www.nmrls.org/ce/copyright/webliography.shtml for more information. Are there any other similar projects in progress? Yes, NMRLS led a small, similar pilot project last year. The site is at: http://www.nmrls.org/enha/exhibit/> Several other interesting projects have sites: http://www.nelinet.net/necol/digcolne.htm Examples provided by one software vendor are available: http://www.contentdm.com/customers/index.html Will NMRLS take responsibility for the safekeeping and security of items from our collection? No, NMRLS assumes no responsibility for items processed. We recommend that trained staff from your institution ensure the integrity, security, and safety of any items in your collection that are irreplaceable or that require special care. We also suggest that each participating institution evaluate internal security to ensure that items that are now promoted world-wide on the Web are not threatened by this publicity. What is the deadline to apply to participate in this grant? While there is no specific deadline to apply for this grant project which will continue until June 2005, we encourage you to apply early to help us implement the Digital Library website as soon as possible. How can I learn more about this project? Call NMRLS at 888-326-7772 Visit our Web site: http://www.nmrls.org/dli Attend an orientation session on December 19, 2002 or January 22, 2003. Register online at http://www.nmrls.org/dli/demo.shtml Or call NMRLS to sign up 888-326-7772.