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.