Smithsonian Gets Dedicated Funds for Digitization and New Media, Will Spend $8.7 Million In FY 2012

From Federal Computer Week:

The Smithsonian Institution expects to spend $8.7 million to engage in digitization, social media, mobile and Web efforts in fiscal 2012, according to an agency official.
That represents roughly a $500,000 increase to be spent on those efforts this fiscal year, in comparison to fiscal 2011, Linda St. Thomas, a Smithsonian spokeswoman, said on Jan. 12 in an interview with Federal Computer Week.
This is the first year that the Smithsonian’s budget report to the Office of Management and Budget has created a line item for digitization, which shows an increase to $8.7 million, from $8.2 million in fiscal 2011. Comparisons to additional prior years are not available, she said.
“We have been digitizing for years, but now we are putting it in a separate category,” St. Thomas said. Most of the funding goes for salaries, she added.

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