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TWU School of
Library and Information Studies receives nearly $730,000 for
Professional Education for Librarians in Small Communities
(PELSC) project
6/21/07
DENTON —
The Texas Woman’s University School of Library and Information
Studies has received a grant of $691,323 from the Institute
of Museum and Library Services and a second grant of $38,400
from Tocker Foundation to implement its Professional Education
for Librarians in Small Communities (PELSC) project.
TWU, the Texas
Library Association and the Texas State Library and Archives
Commission will provide a matching amount of $442,074 in both
cash and in-kind services for the project.
The PELSC project
offers an online degree program that will enable library workers
currently serving in small and rural communities throughout
Texas to earn a master’s degree in library science.
The project will provide full support for tuition, fees and
travel stipends. Participants will form a cohort and be assisted
throughout their study by mentors who are professional librarians
in public libraries in Texas.
“We are extremely
excited about the PELSC project,” said Dr. Robert Martin,
the Lillian Bradshaw Professor of Library Science at TWU and
the principal investigator of the project. “This truly
leverages the potential for online learning at the advanced
degree level, and builds on what the State Library has already
accomplished with its Small Library Management Training Program.”
The Small Library
Management Training Program (SLMTP), administered by the Texas
State Library and Archives Commission, provides management
skills to non-MLS library staff of small community libraries
in Texas. Eligible applicants for the PELSC project must have
completed the SLMTP or be on schedule to complete it by the
first semester of their study. Participants in the PELSC project
will be required to attend an orientation event at the beginning
of their program, and are expected to receive their degree
in two calendar years.
More than three-quarters
of the public libraries in Texas serve communities with populations
of fewer than 25,000. Few of these libraries are managed by
a professional librarian — one having earned a master’s
degree from a program accredited by the American Library Association.
“This program
will result in a significant improvement of the management
of libraries serving small communities,” said Dr. Ling
Hwey Jeng, director of TWU’s School of Library and Information
Studies and co-principal investigator of the project. “That
means better library services for people living in small communities,
and more effective use of public resources in those communities.”
The grant period
begins July 1, 2007 and continues through June 30, 2010.
For more
information on the PELSC project at TWU, contact Dr. Robert
S. Martin or Dr. Ling Hwey Jeng at (940) 898-2602.
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 purpose of
the Tocker Foundation is to distribute funds principally for
the support, encouragement and assistance to small rural libraries
in Texas.
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Media
Contact:
Karen Garcia
Senior Copywriter
Tel: (940) 898-3456
e-mail: kgarcia@twu.edu |
