I've heard from people who got the impression that I think we're
unlikely to get new (i.e., increased) funding for IMLS.  Big mistake --
sorry!  I meant to say that the President's funding request shouldn't be
confused with accomplished fact.  We support the request, which we
wouldn't waste time doing if we thought it had no prospects.
(Certainly, stranger things have happened in this town over the past
year.)  Further, we are asking Congress for even more funds than the
budget request.

To state the obvious, IMLS has an interest in supporting programs that
are attractive to the greatest number of museums irrespective of type,
size, or location.  Nevertheless, disappointed applicants usually
outnumber successful ones.  The solution to the problem is to get more
funds for the agency.  As always, AAM will post action alerts to the
list at the appropriate time, in case subscribers want to help in our
efforts.

People who are interested or who have concerns about the digitization
proposal may want to contact IMLS directly.  For the former, learning
about the proposal may give you a jump on applying for funding later, if
it comes about.  (It may also provide motivation for helping us get more
funding for the agency!)  For the latter, you can give the agency
valuable feedback about potential problems.

Anyway, sorry to have sounded pessimistic.  It's always hard to get new
funding, unless you're the fashion du jour, but it's never impossible,
and always worth trying!

Andy Finch
American Association of Museums
[log in to unmask]

Disclaimers, naturally.