Purdue Libraries and School of Information Studies News

Purdue Libraries awarded IMLS Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program grant

June 17th, 2010

The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has awarded Purdue University a $187,000 Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program grant. Purdue received funding for its “Understanding Curation through the use of Data Curation Profiles” project, which will create a series of workshops to expand the expertise of academic librarians about data curation issues. Purdue Libraries cited that the needs of researchers and data producers are changing radically because of the disruptive effects of technology on research and its dissemination. The university’s continuing education program will teach an estimated 370 librarians to be more effective data curators.

Purdue was one of 38 universities and library organizations nationwide to receive a Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program grant. IMLS awarded a total of $22,623,984 in grants that provide scholarships for students in master’s and doctoral programs in library and information science, support the research of early career faculty in graduate schools of library and information science, and provide continuing education opportunities to enhance the skills of practitioners in libraries and archives.