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LSU’s School of Library and Information Science Awarded Prestigious National Leadership Grant
from the Institute of Museum and Library Services

Drs. Lisl Zach and Michelynn McKnight have been awarded $166,285 from the Institute of Museum and Library Services for a two-year research project to identify and document how information professionals have responded to the needs of users in the aftermath of community-based disasters such as the 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes.  Their project is one of 25 selected from a pool of 109 applications.

Previous disaster planning in libraries has focused largely on the preservation of physical plant, collections, and staff rather than on the provision of services.  However, as was seen in the wake of the Gulf Coast hurricanes, information professionals are in a position to be important “first responders” during community-based disasters.  Drawing on first-hand accounts of practitioners’ responses to a range of such disasters, the researchers will develop approaches to disaster planning that could help information professionals nation-wide identify potential information needs and develop strategies for providing essential information services in the event of similar disasters.

"Today’s grants will not only make tens of thousands of items from America's museums, libraries, and archives accessible to the public on the internet, they will also foster community economic development and improve disaster planning so that the delivery of vital information services remains available during times of crisis," said IMLS Director Dr. Anne-Imelda M. Radice.

Dr. Zach (principal investigator) is in her fourth year as an assistant professor at SLIS, where she teaches in the areas of knowledge management and organization of information.  She recently received the Special Libraries Association’s President’s Award for her work with libraries in Louisiana after Hurricane’s Katrina and Rita.  Dr. McKnight (co-investigator) is in her third year as an assistant professor at SLIS; she teaches Information Services and courses related to medical, science, and technology libraries.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 122,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. Its mission is to grow and sustain a “Nation of Learners” because life-long learning is essential to a democratic society and individual success. Through its grant making, convenings, research and publications, the Institute empowers museums and libraries nationwide to provide leadership and services to enhance learning in families and communities, sustain cultural heritage, build twenty-first-century skills, and increase civic participation. To learn more about the Institute, please visit: http://www.imls.gov.