Supporting Pratt Pratt School of Information and Library Science and Brooklyn Museum Receive $750,000
diana pau
diana pau
Grant from Institute for Museum and Library Services to Support Training of Museum Librarians
Alumna Quinn Lai, Project M-LEAD liaison to Brooklyn Museum, left, with TulaGiannini, Pratt-SILS dean and M-LEAD project director; right, alumna Deirdre Lawrence, principal librarian at the Brooklyn Museum
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ratt’s School of Information and Library Science (SILS) has received $756,324 from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to collaborate with the Brooklyn Museum on a program titled “Museum Library Education and Digitization (M-LEAD),” created to prepare information professionals for museum libraries in the digital age. Funded by the IMLS as part of the 2008 Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program, Pratt will recruit 30 highly diverse master’s degree students over the next three academic years to receive specialized education and training in museum librarianship for the digital age. Students will take classes at Pratt, intern at the Brooklyn Museum, and will graduate with their master’s degree and an advanced certificate in museum libraries. The partners will also produce and widely disseminate a study on a new vision for library museum education. “We are truly excited about this most generous IMLS award for the important educational opportunities that it brings to Pratt-SILS and the Brooklyn Museum,” said Tula Giannini, dean of Pratt-SILS and project director. “Project MLEAD prepares our students for careers as museum librarians and archivists and also advances a new model for museum library education for the 21st century, incorporating digital collections and services across the museum so that graduates are prepared to meet the challenges of museums in our global networked information environment.” 50
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Internships at the Brooklyn Museum offer students handson experience at a world-class art museum with its extensive libraries, archives, and digital-imaging program. The Brooklyn Museum has one of the largest art museum libraries in the nation with approximately 300,000 volumes and over 1,600 linear feet of archival collections. Guided by the Brooklyn Museum staff, Pratt-SILS interns will have the opportunity to expand their knowledge and skills in the context of the latest developments in the field. Beginning in fall 2008, 10 students per academic year will embark on internships at the Brooklyn Museum in projects related to cataloging, processing, and scanning the collections under close supervision and mentoring of the professional staff and the M-LEAD education and assessment coordinator. “The Brooklyn Museum is delighted to collaborate with Pratt Institute on this program that will bring Pratt’s SILS students to the Museum Libraries and Archives and the Digital Lab,” said Deirdre Lawrence, Pratt SILS alumna and principal librarian at the Brooklyn Museum. “We look forward to being a training ground for Pratt’s students who will be the nation’s future museum librarians and archivists.” Additional information on the M-LEAD project can be found at http://pratt.edu/~infosils/museum-lead.html. Additional information on ILMS can be found at http://www.imls.gov.