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Tuesday, August 14, 2001
Contact: Peter Bailley
news@knox.edu
309-341-7715
More than 60 librarians will gather for a "Technology Exploratorium" on Thursday, August 16, 2001 at Knox College, Galesburg, Illinois. The event is sponsored by Alliance Library System, a consortium of 282 libraries that cooperate to deliver library services in 30 counties in central Illinois.
The event will feature three concurrent sessions from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. — a workshop on grant-writing, a discussion of library technology projects funded by the State of Illinois, and displays by vendors of high-tech products for libraries, such as wireless networks and hand-held computers. At 3:30 p.m., the group will tour Knox's Seymour Library, which has received top approval ratings from Knox students for its technology and user-friendliness.
For more information
Contact: Karen Bersche, Alliance Library Systems 309-661-9556
Knox College Seymour Library
Area librarians will discuss projects that they have completed with state grants. In May, Alliance Library System awarded $80,000 in "Light My Fire" grants for innovative library projects at 14 libraries.
"We are preparing our librarians to bring the latest technology and Internet connectivity to their communities," said Valerie J. Wilford, Executive Director of Alliance Library System. "The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will soon be offering more than $4 million dollars worth of computer equipment to libraries in Illinois."
"One of our goals at the Exploratorium is to prepare our librarians for the Gates Initiative," stated Kay Cloyes, Director of Automation and Technology for Alliance Library System. "Librarians will not only learn about new technology, but may attend sessions to improve their grant writing skills. Librarians will be writing grant applications to the Gates Foundation and to the Illinois State Library for state funds that are available for new technology equipment."
Vendors will be available to explain how libraries may join the Illinois Century Network, a new state program to provide high-speed Internet connectivity.
Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White, who also holds the post of State Librarian, is currently making $2 million dollars in grants available to local libraries from the Illinois State Library. "It is the role of Alliance Library System to assist local libraries in obtaining grants to stretch their local budgets," said Wilford. Very often the money for new equipment at libraries must be obtained with grant funds, rather than local funds.
Founded in 1837, Knox is an independent, four-year, liberal arts college in Galesburg, Illinois, with 1,220 students from 47 states and 41 nations. Knox's "Old Main" is a National Historic Landmark and the only building remaining from the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates.
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