ALA Announces Ingenta Research Award

The Library Research Round Table (LRRT) of the American Library Association (ALA) and Ingenta are pleased to announce the creation of the Ingenta Research Award. The grant has been created to support research projects about acquiring, using, and preserving digital information. The first Ingenta Research Award will be presented at the American Library Association’s Annual Conference in Chicago in June 2005.

The award is for up to $6,000 to support research and up to $1,000 for travel to a national or international conference where findings will be presented. The Library Research Round Table will issue a call for proposals in early February 2005, and proposals will be due on April 4, 2005. Applications are welcome from practising librarians, faculty and students at schools of library and information science, and independent scholars.

“In a time of rapid change, librarians have an increasing need to understand all aspects of digital information, including how it is used and how it is best presented and preserved,” said LRRT Chair Stephen Wiberley. “The Library Research Round Table is pleased to work with Ingenta to provide support for research that will increase our knowledge of digital information.”

“Ingenta’s long involvement with our library customers, as well as past research from the Ingenta Institute, have highlighted to us the need for ongoing studies in areas such as usage patterns, researchers’ preferences, preservation and archiving of digital content,” said Douglas Wright, Vice President for Library Services at Ingenta. “As an intermediary, we help to bridge the gaps between publisher and library, and we recognized that we could assist all our customers by funding an independent study that would help each attain a clearer understanding of the other’s interests.”

LRRT was founded in 1968 to contribute toward the extension and improvement of library research. LRRT organizes activities that support and recognize research and it provides public programs that inform and educate ALA members about the theoretical base of the field and about research methods and findings that improve library services and administration.

For more information visit http://www.ala.org/ala/ors/orsawards/ ingentaresearchaward/ingentaresaward.htm.