Courtesy of the Institute of Museum and Library Services

Based on the enthusiastic response from museum, library and archive professionals throughout the country, the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) will offer a third, and final, round of competition to distribute an additional 1,000 copies of the IMLS Connecting to Collections Bookshelf. Online applications can be submitted to the American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) between January 5, 2009, and March 9, 2009, at www.aaslh.org/Bookshelf.

The IMLS Bookshelf, supported in the third application period by the Henry Luce Foundation, is a core set of texts that are essential for the care of collections. To date, 1,841 IMLS Bookshelves have been distributed to cultural heritage institutions. Every state and territory, including Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands has received a copy of the IMLS Bookshelf.

The IMLS Bookshelf, valued at approximately $800, focuses on collections typically found in art or history museums and in libraries’ special collections, with an added selection of texts for zoos, aquaria, public gardens, and nature centers. It addresses such topics as the philosophy and ethics of collecting, collections management and planning, emergency preparedness, and culturally specific conservation issues. The final set of recipients will also receive a recently published book by the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (AIC). The AIC Guide to Digital Photography and Conservation Documentation is a comprehensive guide to photographic equipment, software, and processing for those who use digital photography for conservation documentation. The complete Bookshelf bibliography and the list of application questions are available for review at www.aaslh.org/Bookshelf.

Recipients of the IMLS Bookshelf will also receive two guides: The Bookshelf User’s Guide and the Guide to Online Resources. Both documents are available on the IMLS Web Site at www.imls.gov/collections.

The IMLS Bookshelf is part of Connecting to Collections: A Call to Action, a multi-year initiative to help improve the care of our nation’s collections. IMLS began the initiative in response to A Public Trust at Risk: The Heritage Health Index Report on the State of America’s Collections, a 2005 Heritage Preservation study supported by IMLS, which concluded that:
* 190 million objects need conservation treatment,
* 65 percent of collecting institutions have damaged collections due to improper storage,
* 80 percent of collecting institutions lack an emergency plan for their collections and trained staff to carry it out, and
* 40 percent of institutions have no funds allocated in their annual budget for preservation and conservation.

Priority for the IMLS Bookshelf will be given to smaller institutions, but large museums and libraries with special collections are also eligible to apply. For the third round, organizations such as state libraries and museum associations, which may wish to circulate the IMLS Bookshelf within their states, are also encouraged to apply. Federally-operated institutions, for-profit institutions, and libraries that do not hold special collections are not eligible to receive the IMLS Bookshelf.

For more information, email Terry Jackson, American Association for State and Local History, at jackson@aaslh.org or call 615-320-3203.

SOLINET INVITES INDIANA LIBRARIES TO LEARN MORE ABOUT GOVERNING MEMBERSHIPS
Courtesy of SOLINET

SOLINET is excited to invite all Indiana libraries to learn more about their SOLINET membership and the added benefits of becoming a Governing member of SOLINET.

We have prepared two items for you to review. Welcome Hoosiers! links to a 15-minute recorded information session of SOLINET membership benefits and services. Also available is a list of added benefits that you can receive as a SOLINET Governing member. We are happy to extend a special promotion to all Indiana libraries through November 31 that includes these benefits plus the membership upgrade at a reduced cost:

Be a part of SOLINET governance and participate in important membership and Board of Directors elections, be eligible to run for SOLINET Board, receive three distance education classes at no charge, and have your library’s one-time administrative fee of $2,500 waived.

For more information, please contact Cheryle Cole-Bennett, SOLINET Quality Service Manager, at 800.999.8558 or c-bennett@solinet.net.

HAVE REFERENCE QUESTIONS? CALL THE STATE LIBRARY’S REFERENCE HOTLINE AT 866-683-0008 OR SUBMIT QUESTIONS ONLINE THROUGH e-REFERENCE

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