[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: [email protected]. 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