KSU grant will allow NE Ohio partnership

Staff report

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The School of Library and Information Science at Kent State University has received a federal grant for $552,908 to create an educational partnership between the school and the myriad educational, medical and cultural institutions in the University Circle area of Cleveland.

The grant, awarded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the primary source of federal funding for libraries and museums in the United States, will give 72 college undergraduates a hands-on introduction to the library profession, particularly in specialized areas with a shortage of qualified people such as art, health sciences and music.

Included in the partnership are the libraries and archives of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Cleveland Museum of Art, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland Botanical Garden, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland Institute of Music, Cleveland Orchestra, Siegal College of Judaic Studies and Case Western Reserve University’s nine affiliated libraries.

Greg Byerly, associate professor in Kent State’s School of Library and Information Science and director of the project, said it will have a national impact as the partners create a model recruitment plan for attracting undergraduate college students.

Initial recruitment efforts will target juniors and seniors at five Northeast Ohio colleges and universities, although additional institutions will be added later. Over the three years of the grant, four cohorts of undergraduate students will take two three-credit courses, one each sequentially over two semesters. The first course will introduce students to the profession, particularly academic and special libraries, and the second will include a 100-hour supervised internship in one of the 19 partner libraries.

The grant covers tuition costs for the courses, which will be provided online by Kent State’s School of Library and Information Science. Students will be able to transfer the six undergraduate credit hours from Kent State to their home institutions.

The partnership with University Circle museums and other institutions also will help boost Kent State’s new museum studies specialization in the School of Library and Information Science.

To help launch the museum studies program, the school hired Kiersten F. Latham, who received her Ph.D. in library and information management from Emporia State University and has more than 20 years of experience working in museums in various capacities.

Only four American Library Association (ALA)-accredited programs nationwide have a degree or certificate in museum studies or related areas. Kent State’s School of Library and Information Science, in the College of Communication and Information, is Ohio’s only ALA-accredited Master of Library and Information Science degree program.