ACRL/IMLS offer scholarships to attend RBMS preconference on libraries, archives, and museums
Contact: Tory Ondrla
ACRL
312-280-2515
tondrla@ala.org
For Immediate Release
February 6, 2006
ACRL/IMLS offer scholarships to attend RBMS preconference on libraries, archives, and museums
CHICAGO - The Institute for Library and Museum Services (IMLS) has provided funding for 30 new and aspiring professionals to attend a major national conference organized by the Rare Books and Manuscripts Section (RBMS) of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), a division of the American Library Association (ALA).
Entitled "Libraries, Archives, and Museums in the 21st Century: Intersecting Missions, Converging Futures?,” the conference will explore issues of mutual interest to libraries, archives, and museums. It will be held June 20-23, 2006 in Austin, Texas, preceding the ALA Annual Conference in New Orleans, June 22-28, 2006. The Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at The University of Texas at Austin will serve as the primary host for the expected 300 attendees.
“We are delighted by the support from IMLS,” said Katherine Reagan, curator of rare books at Cornell University and current RBMS chair. “This event will provide a broad platform for cultural institutions—those that preserve and promote access to collections of art, rare books, and historical archives—to discuss common ground and the potential for closer collaboration.”
Students currently enrolled in graduate program of library and information science or archival or museums studies, or graduates from such programs with less than five years of professional experience, are eligible to apply for the IMLS-funded scholarships, which are designed to cover all costs associated with attending the conference, including registration, airfare, lodging and meals. At least 10 scholarships will be reserved for applicants from professionally underrepresented backgrounds.
Further information and an online application form are available from the conference web site at
http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/rbms2006 . The deadline for applications has been extended to March 30, 2006.
The two-and-a-half-day conference program will include a series of plenary sessions that will address a broad range of topics from comparative viewpoints, including collecting purposes and strategies, audiences and access, legal issues, and professional education and development. A variety of seminar sessions and facilitated discussions will complement the conference theme. Participants also will be able to take advantage of special tours of the recently renovated Ransom Center and Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art, the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum, and other local cultural facilities.
General registration will begin in February 2006, with an early-bird rate of $195. Lodging at the conference hotel, the Stephen F. Austin InterContinental in downtown Austin, will include rates from $99 to $129 per night. Additional lodging also is available at the University of Texas at Austin San Jacinto Residence Hall.
Questions about the IMLS scholarships may be addressed to Tory Ondrla, Meeting and Special Events Planner, at (312) 280-2515 or
tondrla@ala.org.
ACRL is a division of the American Library Association (ALA), representing more than 13,000 academic and research librarians and interested individuals. ACRL is the only individual membership organization in North America that develops programs, products and services to meet the unique needs of academic and research librarians. Its initiatives enable the higher education community to understand the role that academic libraries play in the teaching, learning and research environments.
