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Volume 29, Number 4, Winter 2007

METRO Awards $70,000 to Help Digitize Collections in New York Area Libraries

Eight leading New York City and Westchester County libraries have been chosen to receive special grant funding to digitize collections that include a wide range of rare and historically significant materials. A total of $70,000 was awarded by the Metropolitan New York Library Council (METRO), as part of the Digital Metro New York (DMNY) collaborative digitization program, a special initiative that supports important digitization efforts within the New York library community.

“Expanding public access to culturally and historically valuable materials is a crucial challenge for New York's libraries. In order to continue to meet the needs of their users, libraries must make every effort to keep pace with innovation. The funding available through DMNY helps many more libraries make their collections available to millions of users around the world,” said Dottie Heibing, METRO Executive Director.

The eight recipients will use the funding to support digitization of materials related to many areas of research interest, including children's literature, fashion design, crime, and museum and library issues. Libraries receiving funding include the American Museum of Natural History, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Center for Jewish History, Jewish Theological Seminary, Lehman College, New York Academy of Medicine, The New School's Fashion Design History Database, and The New York Public Library.