ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries J u n e 1 9 9 2 / 4 1 3 Grants aw arded to research libraries to provide national access to resources O n August 21, 1991, the U.S. D epartm ent o f Education aw arded $5,854,924 in grants to 33 major research libraries in 19 states the Strengthening Research Library Resources Program, H igher Education Act Title II-C. A dm inistered b y the D epartm ent’s Office of Library Program s w ithin the Office o f Educa­ tional Research an d Im provem ent, th e II-C p ro ­ gram aw ards funds to research libraries to m ake accessible collections that are rare, exclusively held, an d o f interest to a na­ tio n a l r e s e a r c h a u d ie n c e . P r o g r a m p u r p o s e s a re achieved b y funding the p ro ­ duction o f m achine-readable catalog records for contribu­ tion to national databases; by fu n d in g c o n s e r v a tio n a n d preservation o f th e research resources; an d by funding the acquisition o f rare an d unique research m aterials to fill in gaps an d strengthen existing collections. Taking into account joint p r o j e c ts , t h e p r o g r a m un aw arded funds to 33 differ­ ent research libraries. T hese projects will benefit th e m ore than 12,000 m em ber libraries of th e tw o national bibliographic utilities, OCLC (O nline Library C om puter C enter) a n d RLIN (Research Libraries Inform ation N etw ork), and the thou san d s o f m em bers o f the local an d re­ gional netw orks in w hich th e grantees partici­ pate. An exam ple o f an HEA II-C project contain­ ing b o th preservation an d bibliographic con­ trol activities is u n derw ay at the University o f Hawaii, M anoa (UHM). The UHM library w as aw arded $148,779 to create a digitized data­ base o f p h o to g rap h s from th e Trust Territory Archives. This project will give scholars access to visual im ages linked to catalog records, al­ low ing com prehensive u se o f this un iq u e re­ search material for the first time. Utilizing new ly available technology, UHM will create a digitized pho to g rap h database by A Palauan b ai bu ilt b y th e Mele- k eok com m u nity, Palau Islands. scanning 12,000 pho to g rap h s an d linking these im ages to the existing MARC (m achine read­ daebrl e catalog) records. T he MARC records will b e en h a n c e d a n d edited to provide detailed inform ation regarding the content o f the p h o ­ tographs including nam es o f individuals, loca­ tions, a n d historical events. This database will b e available to research ers via UMH’s local online catalog an d to any library o r individual via CARL (C olorado Alliance o f R esearch Li­ b raries), an in d e p e n d e n t, regional, autom ated library netw o rk available to over 80 libraries nationally. CARL is a ls o a v a ila b le v ia th e Internet, o p en in g access to the system to anyone w ith a m odem . In addition, a published guide will b e dis­ trib u te d to in te re s te d r e ­ search institutions an d or­ ganizations w orldw ide. T h e T r u s t T e r r i to r y Photo Collection is a unique resource that docum ents the history o f the American p e ­ riod in M icronesia (1947- 1988), an d includes invalu­ a b le r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s o f island cultures. It contains photo g rap h s created for the Public Affairs D e­ partm ent, for Trust Territory publications such as Highlights an d the M icronesian Reporter, and for th e Trust Territory D epartm ent o f Educa­ tion. A pplications for these aw ards are en co u r­ aged. W atch the Ju n e Federal Register for the an n o u n cem en t of deadlines for the fiscal year 1993 aw ards. Tentative deadlines are O ctober 1992 fo r eligibility a n d N o v em b er 1992 for project applications. For further information about funded projects or to obtain application materials, contact Linda Loeb o r Louise Sutherland at th e U.S. D epart­ m ent o f Education, Library Programs, (202) 219- 1315— L in d a Loeb, program officer, library p r o ­ gram s, U.S. D epartm ent o f Education; bitnet: l3o@NLHCU. ■