Two Florida State University researchers who received funding from the Institute of Museum & Library Services to build an online learning community and explore sustainability issues as part of a collaborative multi-university project for the Internet Public Library were interviewed in a radio show broadcast locally on National Public Radio.

College of Information assistant professors Lorri Mon and Sabah Currim are co-investigators with Drexel University professors Eileen Abels and Denise Agosto on a $613,478 grant for “A Virtual Learning Laboratory for Digital Reference: Transforming the Internet Public Library.” The IPL is a public service organization, founded at the University of Michigan and hosted by Drexel University, which provides digital library collections and online question-answering services. Graduate students at FSU, among many other universities, have participated in hands-on community service learning by answering questions asked by real people from around the world via the Internet Public Library’s e-mail service.

Enhancements to the Internet Public Library funded through the IMLS grant will make digital reference learning objects available to faculty in all ALA-accredited LIS programs, provide a laboratory with access to new technologies used to offer digital reference and digital library services and create a collaborative learning community for faculty, students and working librarians. This innovative approach is designed to meet the needs of digital librarianship training in a changing world in which librarians are experimenting with services via e-mail, chat, virtual worlds and Web 2.0 resources.

“Students graduating from today’s LIS programs are likely be employed in libraries offering not only traditional face-to-face reference services but also online question-answering services using a variety of remote and digital media,” Mon said. “My work will involve building the learning community site, while Dr. Currim will focus on the long-term sustainability of the project.”