[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 51 (Thursday, March 18, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14770-14771]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-05567]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

NATIONAL FOUNDATION FOR THE ARTS AND THE HUMANITIES

Institute of Museum and Library Services


Submission for OMB Review, Comment Request, Proposed Collection: 
Evaluation of the Reopening Archives, Libraries, and Museums (REALM) 
Project

AGENCY: Institute of Museum and Library Services, National Foundation 
for the Arts and the Humanities.

ACTION: Submission for OMB Review, comment request.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Institute of Museum and Library Services announces that 
the following information collection has been submitted to the Office 
of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance 
with the Paperwork Reduction Act. This program helps to ensure that 
requested data can be provided in the desired format, reporting burden 
(time and financial resources) is minimized, collection instruments are 
clearly understood, and the impact of collection requirements on 
respondents can be properly assessed. This Notice proposes the 
clearance of the Evaluation of the Reopening Archives, Libraries, and 
Museums (REALM) Project research study, comprising archive and museums 
focus groups and libraries/archives/museums audience surveys. A copy of 
the proposed information collection request can be obtained by 
contacting the individual listed below in the ADDRESSES section of this 
Notice.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section below on or before April 15, 
2021.
    OMB is particularly interested in comments that help the agency to:
     Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility;
     Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the 
burden of the proposed collection of information, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
     Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
     Minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate 
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology (e.g., permitting 
electronic submission of responses).

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for proposed 
information collection requests should be sent within 30 days of 
publication of this Notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find 
this particular information collection request by selecting ``Institute 
of Museum and Library Services'' under ``Currently Under Review;'' then 
check ``Only Show ICR for Public Comment'' checkbox. Once you have 
found this information collection request, select ``Comment,'' and 
enter or upload your comment and information. Alternatively, please 
mail your written comments to Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs, Attn.: OMB Desk Officer for Education, Office of Management 
and Budget, Room 10235, Washington, DC 20503, or call (202) 395-7316.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matthew Birnbaum, Ph.D., Supervisory 
Social Scientist, Office of Impact Assessment and Learning, Institute 
of Museum and Library Services, 955 L'Enfant Plaza North SW, Suite 
4000, Washington, DC 20024-2135. Dr. Birnbaum can be reached by 
telephone at 202-653-4760, or by email at [email protected]. Persons 
who are deaf or hard of hearing (TTY users) can contact IMLS at 202-
207-7858 via 711 for TTY-Based Telecommunications Relay Service.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Institute of Museum and Library Services 
is the primary source of federal support for the nation's libraries and 
museums. We advance, support, and empower America's museums, libraries, 
and related organizations through grant making, research, and policy 
development. Our vision is a nation where museums and libraries work 
together to work together to transform the lives of individuals and 
communities. To learn more, visit www.imls.gov.
    Current Actions: This Notice proposes the clearance of Evaluation 
of the Reopening Archives, Libraries, and Museums (REALM) Project 
research study. The 60-day Notice was published in the Federal Register 
on October 16, 2020 (85 FR 65878). The agency received one comment in 
response to this Notice.
    The REALM Project is convening individuals from Institute of Museum 
and Library Services (IMLS), OCLC Inc. (OCLC), Battelle, and several 
key actors in the libraries, archives, and museums (LAM) fields to 
bring their expertise and on-the-ground experience together to develop 
science-based information about how materials can be handled to 
mitigate COVID-19 exposure to staff and visitors of LAM institutions as 
COVID-19 restrictions begin lifting across the country. This project 
extends the guidance available from the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention (CDC) by providing information that is specifically relevant 
to LAM institutions. Given that LAM institutions work with physical 
materials that are often circulated among the public, LAM institutions 
have unique concerns about how they can optimize their operations while 
minimizing the potential for spreading the Coronavirus. This evaluation 
will be focused on understanding the extent to which the professionals 
from LAM institutions have found that the REALM Project's research test 
results and toolkit resources have met their needs. Data will be 
collected through a survey of organizations that have used the test 
results and toolkit developed by the REALM project and focus groups 
representing members of the museum and archive community who have not 
been engaged with the project. The evaluation is intended to provide 
information to OCLC and IMLS around the usefulness of the scientific 
information shared to the LAM community as well as the effectiveness of 
its distribution. The evaluation has

[[Page 14771]]

not been designed to be a retrospective consideration of the REALM 
Project, but rather to inform decision-makers at OCLC and IMLS, in near 
real-time, as to what is working and what is not enabling them to 
modify the efforts of the project's Working Groups and Steering 
Committee as well as to adjust methods of distribution of information 
to the larger LAM community.
    Agency: Institute of Museum and Library Services.
    Title: Evaluation of the Reopening Archives, Libraries, and Museums 
(REALM) Project.
    OMB Control Number: 3137-NEW.
    Agency Number: 3137.
    Affected Public: Staff from library, archive, and museum sectors.
    Total Number of Respondents: 8,036.
    Frequency of Response: Once.
    Average Hours per Response: 0.5.
    Total Burden Hours: 4,036.
    Total Annualized Capital/Startup Costs: n/a.
    Total Annual Cost Burden: $121,080.
    Total Annual Federal Costs: $92,056.

    Dated: March 12, 2021.
Amanda M.F. Bakale,
Assistant General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2021-05567 Filed 3-17-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7036-01-P