Library Simplified Project

The NYPL is partnering with ten libraries (Alameda County (Calif.) Library
Boston Public Library, Brooklyn Public Library, Chattanooga (Tenn.) Public Library, Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Cuyahoga County (Ohio) Public Library, Kent (Mich.) District Library, New York Public Library, Santa Clara County (Calif.) Library District, and Sacramento (Calif.) Public Library) on a project called Library Simplified.

The goal of the project is to enable users to download eBooks in three clicks.  NYPL received a $500,000 Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) grant a year ago to fund this project. More information can be found online from American Libraries.

IMLS grant supports library-faculty collaboration

Librarians and faculty from Cornell, Purdue, University of Minnesota and the University of Oregon are working together to help grad students master data-management skills.

“Starting in graduate school, students begin compiling mountains of research data — but they often have no formal training in how to efficiently keep track of it, share it or organize it so that it can be preserved and used in the future.”

http://www.gradschool.cornell.edu/news/library-faculty-collaboration-helps-grad-students-conquer-data

Leadership Through Collaboration

Yours, Mine, Ours: Leadership Through Collaboration

20-21 September 2010
Smithsonian Institution, Ripley Center, Washington, D.C.

Organized by the RLG Partnership and OCLC Research
Hosted by the Smithsonian Institution
Supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation
Endorsed by the Joint SAA, ALA and AAM Committee on Archives, Libraries & Museums (CALM)

OCLC Research and an RLG Partnership planning committee have created a two-day event on strategies for effective collaboration that will be hosted by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C, 20-21, September. All RLG Partners, as well as representatives from other cultural heritage organizations, are cordially invited to attend this free event. Please mark your calendars and register now to reserve your spot at this important event.

Thanks to Gary Price for letting us know about the conference.

IMLS Boosts Open Source ILS Project for Large Public Libraries

A million-dollar grant will fund the King County Library System’s effort to increase open source ILS adoption
Josh Hadro — Library Journal, 10/12/2009

Excerpt: “For many public libraries considering the switch to an open source integrated library system (ILS), there’s often a will but not necessarily a way. To ease the path for larger public library systems, which have so far been more cautious, the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has awarded a $998,556 (match: $1,014,400) grant to a project titled “Empowered by Open Source.”

The grant effort is being spearheaded by the King County Library System (KCLS), Issaquah, WA, and initially will rely both on the library’s own experience migrating to the open source Evergreen ILS—an effort already in-progress—and on KCLS’s financial investment in that ILS.

Working with KCLS on the “infrastructure components” for the initial phase of the grant are three partner institutions: Peninsula Library System (San Mateo, CA), Orange County Library System (Orlando, FL), and Ann Arbor District Library (MI). At least eight more libraries are expected to join over three years.”