The State Library has hosted two extremely successful continuing education initiatives entitled ILEAD U (Illinois Libraries Explore, Apply and Discover). ILEAD U was designed to help library staff understand and respond to user needs through the application of participatory technology tools and the creation of an easy-to-replicate model program. While the first year was limited to Illinois library staff, this year librarians from other states traveled to Springfield to take part in ILEAD U.

We’re pleased to announce that the State Library has received a $470,000 Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to expand ILEAD U nationwide. Next year, ILEAD U becomes ILEAD USA. Twenty-eight five-member teams in Illinois, Colorado, Iowa, Ohio, and Utah will attend three three-day, in-person sessions over the course of nine months.

ILEAD USA will be held March 25–28, June 17–20, and October 21–24, 2013. The sessions will be held simultaneously in each of the five states, with plenary sessions broadcast live on streaming video. In-person sessions, virtual meetings and activities will allow participants to hone their newly acquired skills; experiment with participatory technology tools; and continue communication with the ILEAD USA network of participants. The Illinois State Library will announce registration information later this year.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 123,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. Through grant making, policy development, and research, we help communities and individuals thrive through broad public access to knowledge, cultural heritage and lifelong learning. To learn more about IMLS, please visit the IMLS website.