[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 190 (Monday, September 30, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51130-51131]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-24879]
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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
[Docket No. 96-3]
Notice of Competition and Request for Applications
AGENCY: Library of Congress.
ACTION: Notice of competition.
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SUMMARY: This Notice of Competition announces that the Library of
Congress, with a gift from Ameritech, is sponsoring an open competition
to enable United States public, research, and academic libraries,
museums, historical societies and archival institutions (except Federal
institutions) to create digital collections of primary resource
material for distribution on the Internet. In the 1996-97 competition,
applications will be limited to collections of textual and graphic
materials that illuminate the period 1850-1920 and that complement and
enhance the American Memory collections already mounted in the National
Digital Library.
DATES: Applications must be postmarked by November 1, 1996.
ADDRESSES: Applications should be submitted as follows: If sent by
mail: Library of Congress, Scholarly Programs Office, Washington DC
20540-4860. If delivered by hand: Library of Congress Scholarly
Programs Office, James Madison Memorial Building, Room LM 225 M, First
and Independence Avenue, S.E., Washington, DC 20540-4860.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Barbara A. Paulson. Tel: (202) 707-
1087. Fax: (202) 707-6336. E-mail: bpau@loc.gov. Http://lcweb2.loc.gov/
ammem/award/
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The National Digital Library is conceived as
a distributed collection of converted
[[Page 51131]]
library materials and digital originals to which many American
institutions will contribute. The Library of Congress' contribution to
this World Wide Web-based virtual library is called American Memory and
is created by the Library's National Digital Library Program.
Notice of Competition and Request for Applications
Repositories in the United States with collections of primary
resource material that are significant for education and research in
United States history and culture are encouraged to apply to the
Library of Congress/Ameritech National Digital Library competition.
Awards will range from $50,000 to $75,000 for projects that can be
accomplished in twelve to eighteen months. Each award will result in a
cooperative agreement with the Library of Congress based upon the
representations in the applications. The intention of the competition
is to solicit applications from a variety of institutions, large and
small, public and private. In the final selection among meritorious
projects some consideration will be given to the type and size of
institution and its geographical location. The Library of Congress will
acknowledge the receipt of each application no later than December 1,
1996.
The principal criteria will be:
The historical significance of the collection's content,
as well as its breadth of interest and utility to students and the
general public.
The availability and usability of aids to intellectual
access.
The technical and administrative viability of the
project's plan of work.
Applications will be evaluated in a three-stage process. They will
first be reviewed for the historical significance of the collection's
content, as well as its breadth of interest and utility to students and
the general public. The second stage of review will be directed to the
bibliographic, technical, and administrative viability of the project's
plan of work. Evaluators for these two phases of the competition will
be convened by the Division of Preservation and Access of the National
Endowment for the Humanities. There will be a final panel convened in
the third stage of the review by Dr. Deanna Marcum, which will evaluate
the most highly recommended projects and make a final selection.
While the Library of Congress is aware that a number of critical
activities are necessary to ready a collection for digitization and to
ensure the quality and future maintenance of digital files, in this
competition the award may be used only for the process of digitization.
The Library has designed the competition to provide an impetus to
projects that will enhance the collections of a distributed National
Digital Library, while realizing that there will be a substantial
contribution on the part of institutions that receive awards. Detailed
Guidelines and Application Instructions are available, upon request,
from the contact person listed above.
Dated: September 23, 1996.
Approved by:
James H. Billington,
Librarian of Congress.
[FR Doc. 96-24879 Filed 9-27-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 1410-04-P
