FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

        November 12, 1999

        Press Contacts:   202-606-8339
        Eileen Maxwell: [log in to unmask]
        Mamie Bittner:   [log in to unmask]

        Federal Funding Info for Museums and Libraries:  Just A Click Away

        Washington, DC- Want to know about funding opportunities for your
museum or library?  Want to know how libraries and museums use federal funds
to expand their services?  There is a new site on the Internet designed
especially for you.  The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) web
site, at http://www.imls.gov, has been redesigned for easier navigation and
better access to important agency information. It connects users to complete
grant information, best practices, publications, and research, and it
features new interactive tools, such as a map of grants by state and the
IMLS electronic newsletter, The Primary Source.

        Beverly Sheppard, Acting Director of the federal Institute of Museum
and Library Services said, "I am proud to launch our new on-line presence.
For years we have supported the efforts of museums and libraries to expand
access to their collections and programs through new technologies. Now, IMLS
is leading by example with a newly organized and redesigned Internet site.
The site provides instant access to agency grant information, and it serves
as a hub for sharing best practices."

        The newly designed site is a valuable source of information for
grant seekers. Applicants can retrieve all IMLS grant guidelines from the
site (most in PDF format), as well as current application deadlines, grant
announcements, sample narratives, lists of previous winners and grantee
outreach resources.  The site also makes it easier than ever for museum and
library professionals to become grant reviewers.

        Museum and library professionals interested in the latest news and
information from IMLS will be able to sign up for the agency's electronic
newsletter, The Primary Source, through the new site.  Sent automatically to
subscribers' e-mail addresses, the monthly newsletter contains the latest
agency news and links to new additions to the web site.

        In addition to serving museum and library professionals, the site
will provide valuable information for members of the news media,
Congressional staff and anyone who wants to learn how our nation's museums
and libraries expand their services with federal funds.

        About the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) - Created
by the Museum and Library Services Act of 1996, IMLS is an independent
federal grantmaking agency that fosters leadership, innovation and a
lifetime of learning by supporting the nation's 15,000 museums and 122,000
libraries.  For more information, including grant guidelines, contact:
Institute of Museum and Library Services, 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.,
Washington, DC 20506, (202) 606-8536, or http://www.imls.gov.

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