Congressman Geoff Davis announces that Northern Kentucky University has been awarded a $999,558 grant from the Institute for Museum and Library Services’ Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program.
Northern Kentucky University, in partnership with Bluegrass Community and Technical College (BCTC) and the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives, will use the funds to provide scholarships for undergraduate degrees to fifty library staff members working in the high-poverty rural sections of Western and Eastern Appalachian Kentucky.
The partners will also develop existing online programs, including the State’s compulsory online public library certification program, the online associate’s degree in library technology at BCTC, and a new "completer’s program" in library informatics at Northern Kentucky University, which is designed to provide a bachelor’s degree to those who already have an appropriate associate’s degree.
Congressman Davis stated, "We need to do more to provide educational opportunities in areas of the Commonwealth that suffer from severe poverty. In both Western Kentucky and Eastern Appalachian Kentucky, few library services are available and many counties in these regions have disproportionately high illiteracy rates. I was pleased to support Northern Kentucky University in pursuit of this grant, which will increase educational opportunities, improve library services and promote increased literacy throughout rural Kentucky."
"We are extremely excited to be awarded this funding," said Arne J. Almquist, Associate Provost for Library Services at Northern Kentucky University’s W. Frank Steely Library.
"The project will help to build the skills and knowledge of those working in public libraries in Kentucky, primarily in libraries serving rural populations. Better trained and educated librarians will result in better access to information, a better educated and informed public, and improved economic opportunity."
The Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program supports efforts to recruit and educate the next generation of librarians and the faculty who will prepare them for careers in library science. The program also supports grants for research related to library education and library staffing needs, curriculum development, and continuing education and training.
