The Andrew W. Mellon & Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have awarded grants totaling $694,000 for Digital Public Library of America research and training.
First, news from Digital Public Library of America in Boston:
The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) announced today $594,000 in new funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to research potential sustainability models and to pursue the most promising option (or options). This two-year grant will allow DPLA to expand its staff to target opportunities for further development and revenue, without compromising its mission of open access to the riches of America’s libraries, archives, and museums.
Next, a Grant Awarded to the Digital Library of Georgia
The Digital Library of Georgia, based at the University of Georgia Libraries, is receiving $100,000 from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Digital Public Library of America to provide digital skills training for public librarians to aid in exhibiting cultural heritage content.
This training is designed to reach public librarians in libraries with special collections that want to share their content with a broader audience but may not have the resources to do so.
“The Gates funds will allow the Digital Library of Georgia to initiate new digitization projects with the public libraries and update the Georgia HomePLACE survey to bring a better understanding of the digitization needs of the state’s public libraries,” said Sheila McAlister, director of the Digital Library of Georgia. “The funding will also provide the public libraries with ways to connect their community history to the larger national narrative through easy-to-create online exhibits and expose the rich local history collections of the public libraries on a national scale via inclusion in the Digital Public Library of America.”
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