Federal grant will help NKU assist rural communities in educating library staffs

News from NKU...

Thursday - June 30, 2011
For immediate release...


HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - A federal grant will help Northern Kentucky University assist rural communities in educating their library staffs.

Last week, NKU's W. Frank Steely Library received notification of the award from the 2011 Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program. The $860,677 grant will benefit a nearly $1.2 million project - a partnership between NKU's Steely Library, the West Virginia Library Commission and Mountwest Community College in Huntington, W. Va.

The Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program received 114 applications requesting more than $55 million and selected 24 projects to receive funding, totaling $11,227,761.

"Bridging the Gap II: Supplying the Next Generation of Librarians for Appalachian West Virginia" is a replication of the very successful Bridging the Gap project currently underway in Kentucky. Both projects seek to increase the level of knowledge and skills among public library workers in isolated, rural and impoverished counties.

A majority of public library workers in West Virginia lack undergraduate degrees, including a significant number of library directors. The West Virginia project targets 40 counties with scholarships, technology stipends, a mentoring system and support for professional travel and interaction. In addition, a central online web resource will be created for West Virginia's librarians and regular online colloquia will be held, providing the state's library community with sessions on issues of interest to rural libraries.

Students will study at Mountwest College and NKU with the goal being an increase in the number of degreed library employees and an increase in the number of those who pursue the M.S. of Library Science.

"We are extremely excited to have had this grant funded," says Arne J. Almquist, associate provost for library services for NKU's Steely Library. "Feedback from our Kentucky students shows that we are having a profound, positive effect on the lives of library employees, and by extension, on the lives of those who they serve. It is extremely gratifying to have the opportunity to extend this very successful program to the people of West Virginia through a very unique interstate partnership."

In April, Congress passed a budget for fiscal year 2011 that contained $237.4 million for the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) - $28.5 million less than appropriated in fiscal year 2010. The Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program absorbed the largest cut, going from $24.5 million in fiscal year 2010 to $12.8 million in fiscal year 2011.

Only 37 percent of library directors in West Virginia have a master's of library science and a majority lack undergraduate degrees, factors that may negatively impact the level of service they can provide to their communities. Bridging the Gap II should dramatically increase the level of education among library staff and leadership in at-risk counties throughout the state.

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