Schumer Announces $250,000 For Cornell University

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced $250,000 in federal funding has been awarded to Cornell Universitys Macaualy Library. These federal funds are being awarded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) under the National Leadership Grant program.

"This is great news for Cornell University, Schumer said. Making these interviews available to a wide variety of experts as well as the general public will provide an important research tool for those in this field of study. This funding will allow Cornell University to expand its influence in the academic world. The Macaulay Library of the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology will archive, index, and make Webaccessible more than 2,000 hours of wildlife sounds and scientist interview recordings, originally recorded for National Public Radios Radio Expeditions program. Until now, only one percent of this material has been publicly available as broadcast or archived programs. This set of recordings will be freely accessible online to scientists, wildlife management teams, museums and zoos, the media, nature product manufacturers, and the public. It will also be used to incorporate animal behavior and natural history into K12 educational science curricula. The field interviews will provide insights into the work of zoologists to interest young people considering careers in wildlife science.

National Leadership Grants help libraries and museums to advance learning, build digital resources, and conduct research and demonstration projects. Projects will enable libraries and museums to address current problems in creative ways, develop and test innovative solutions, and expand the boundaries within which cultural heritage institutions operate. Projects will provide creative solutions to issues of national importance and provide leadership for other organizations. The institutions selected to receive National Leadership grants have shown that their projects will have national impact and generate results that can be widely replicated, extending the benefit of this federal support. In 2006, over $11 million dollars were awarded by the IMLS to thirtyseven projects under this grant program.