Tallahassee, FL – July 21, 2004 – The Florida State University School of Information Studies and its partners-Central Florida Library Cooperative (CFLC), Northeast Florida Library Information Network (NEFLIN), and Panhandle Library Access Network (PLAN)-have been awarded a $679,751 grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) as part of the Recruiting and Educating Librarians for the 21st Century initiative. The grant money will fund the recruitment and education of 30 Masters students who agree to practice in central and north Florida libraries following their graduation.
“In addition to the well-noted need to replace retiring librarians, Florida needs more librarians to keep up with its rapidly increasing population,” said Dean Jane Robbins of the FSU School of Information Studies, “librarians recruited and educated through this grant will help to provide knowledge, leadership, and diversity needed by libraries in some of the fastest growing areas of the state.”
The School’s partners (CFLC, NEFLIN, PLAN), three of Florida’s multi-type library consortia, have close contact with the personnel and library managers at these libraries, the people who know their specific needs. Using this knowledge, the School’s multi-type partners will develop recruitment targets which assure that the most critical staffing needs are met and that the recruitment is responsive to the diversity needs of the libraries.
Preference for admission will be given to present non-professional staff, identified for recruitment by project area librarians; however, any qualified applicant who meets the identified recruitment target criteria and admission standards will be given full consideration. The project advisory team will be coordinated by the co-project director, Dr. Marcella Genz. There will be six other permanent members of the team: Dr. Michelle Kazmer (co-project director), Dr. John Bertot, and Dr. Maria Chavez-Hernandez from FSU, as well as one representative from each of the partners.
For more information about the grant or applying for the fellowships, contact Dr. Marcella Genz at mgenz@lis.fsu.edu or 850-644-8106.