SIMMONS SCHOOL OF LIBRARY AND INFORMATION SCIENCE RECEIVES MAJOR GRANT TO SUPPORT LIBRARIAN LEADERSHIP

BOSTON (July 25, 2008) –The Simmons College Graduate School of Library and Information Science (http://www.simmons.edu/gslis) has been awarded a grant of nearly $1.8 million from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to enhance the preparation of state and public librarians in senior-level leadership roles.

This grant will expand the current Simmons GSLIS Ph.D. concentration in managerial leadership by providing library and information managers in middle- to upper-level management the opportunity to study leadership in the context of public and state libraries, and giving them intensive interaction with current library leaders. Successful applicants will be awarded full tuition and a travel stipend.

Courses will allow students to customize their study and research to their career needs and the needs of their employers, and will be offered on a flexible schedule so that students may continue their full-time careers. The program will develop a body of scholarly and practice-based research that the Simmons GSLIS will disseminate to the profession, and will continually update and examine leadership issues in information-related organizations.

IMLS funded the establishment of the Simmons GSLIS's original managerial leadership Ph.D. concentration in 2005, under the guidance of GSLIS professors Peter Hernon and Candy Schwartz, both recognized leaders in their fields. For more information about the managerial leadership Ph.D. concentration, contact Jennifer Andrews, Program Manager, at phdml@simmons.edu or visit http://www.simmons.edu/gslis/academics/programs/doctoral/phdmlip/index.shtml.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s libraries and museums.

The nationally ranked Simmons Graduate School of Library and Information Science is one of the oldest and largest library and information science programs in the nation.