Library Leaders Selected for Institute

Forty-eight applicants have been selected to participate in the Library Leadership Massachusetts Institute, sponsored by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners and the six Massachusetts Regional Library Systems. The 3.5-day Institute drew applications from a highly-qualified pool of candidates from across the state and included professional staff, paralibrarians, and Friends. Applicants had a varied number of years in their fields.

Schreiber Shannon Associates, prominent national consultants, will guide the Institute. Future leaders will relate to library issues through case studies, readings, discussions, and other planned learning activities. The Institute will create a structure for continuing supportive relationships among its participants. In exchange, graduates will play a role in advocacy efforts for Massachusetts libraries through professional organizations and/or contributions to publications or newsletters.

Congratulations to these participants from the Northeast Region:

Kathleen Alexander Haverhill Public Library
Patricia Arrington Peabody Institute Library, Danvers
Allison DaSilva Reading Public Library
Jan Dempsey Boxford Town Libraries
Michelle Filleul Reading Public Library
Rukmal Harvey Salem State College
Jamie Penney Reading Public Library
Angela Reddin Gleason Public Library, Carlisle
Bethan Steward Chelmsford Public Library
Kristina Worcester J. V. Fletcher Library, Westford
Laura Zalewski Nevins Memorial Library, Methuen

The Institute is federally funded in part by LSTA funds through the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.

For a PDF version of this release, see: www.cmrls.org/lead/index.html.

---

Institute of Museum and Library Services Awards $3,423,733 to Support Library Service in Massachusetts

Dr. Robert Martin, Director of the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), announced grants totaling over $160 million to state library agencies. "Libraries help connect us to our communities and to each other. They address our many information needs and encourage us to be lifelong learners," said Dr. Martin. "These grants play an important role in building the capacity of libraries to help communities address their changing educational, economic, and social needs."

The grants are awarded under the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) and are made to each state's library agency to administer the funds according to a population-based formula. Massachusetts will receive $3,423,733.

These funds help state library agencies provide library resources and services to an entire community. Highlights of how the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners uses these funds in Massachusetts include:

*The Watertown Free Public Library received a grant of $20,000 for the acquisition of materials in "community languages": Arabic, Armenian, Greek, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.

*The Central Massachusetts Regional Library System in Shrewsbury, in collaboration with youth services consultants from the five other Regional Library Systems in Massachusetts, reached out to youth services staff across the state. The project had a profound effect on the ability of youth services librarians, especially those new to the field of children and youth services, to receive much-needed support in their pursuit of excellence.

*Serving People with Disabilities: Northeastern University Libraries designed a project based on long-range planning to provide access and services to all members of the Northeastern Community. The library offered extensive staff training for library personnel and extended training opportunities to others in the library community throughout Boston, including other university libraries.

For more examples, please access the IMLS Web site at www.imls.gov.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services is an independent federal grant-making agency dedicated to creating and sustaining a nation of learners. The Institute fosters leadership, innovation, and a lifetime of learning by supporting the nation's 15,000 museums and 122,000 libraries. The Institute also encourages partnerships to expand the educational benefit of libraries and museums. To learn more about the Institute, please log onto www.imls.gov.