Library Awarded Prestigious Grant

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library
Awarded Prestigious Grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library has received a Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program Grant for $499,582 from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). 

The grant was announced on November 16, 2008 and the agreement was signed by professor Paula Kaufman, university librarian and dean of libraries for the University of Illinois, and Dr. Zhan Furui, director of the National Library of China and president of the Library Society of China.  The agreement is one component of the new Partnership for Cultural Exchange established by IMLS and the Ministry of Culture of the People’s Republic of China.  The Ministry of Culture provides additional funding for the program. 

The “Think Globally, Act Globally” agreement establishes a cooperative and cultural exchange between American and Chinese librarians.  Under the agreement, the Asian Library and the Mortenson Center from the University of Illinois will partner with the Chinese American Librarians Association (CALA), and the Library Society of China.  These organizations will work together on the implementation of a two-year pilot project to enhance communication and relations between American and Chinese librarians and to enrich the variety of information and services that U.S. librarians can offer their users.  Activities will include training in the United States and the People’s Republic of China, and the development of a website for publically available Chinese information resources for use in U.S. libraries. 

“The University Library is primed to collaborate with the Chinese Ministry of Culture to make this proposed project a success with benefit to Chinese and U.S. librarians and the library users they serve,” said Kaufman.
 
“It is a rare and great opportunity for librarians from the United States and China to work together on such a large scale,” said Dr. Shuyong Jiang, project director/principal investigator of the grant. “I am confident that this grant will have a significant impact on library partnership on a global stage and on future collaborations among librarians between these two countries.”

For more information about the project, please visit www.library.uiuc.edu/china or contact Dr. Jiang at shyjiang@illinois.edu.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 122,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. The Institute's mission is to create strong libraries and museums that connect people to information and ideas. The Institute works at the national level and in coordination with state and local organizations to sustain heritage, culture, and knowledge; enhance learning and innovation; and support professional development. To learn more about the Institute, please visit www.imls.gov.