Institute of Museum and Library Services 1100 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Washington, DC 20506

The University of the Virgin Islands libraries, in partnership with the University of Pittsburgh, was awarded $952,000 from the Institute of Museums and Library Services, (IMLS) to train 25 new librarians over the next three years.  The grant will cover tuition and fees for two cohorts in the University of Pittsburghs' two year FastTrack MLIS program, an online distance learning program.  The first cohort will begin May 2006 and the second May 2007.

$952,000 grant funding from the IMLS allows the University of the Virgin Islands libraries to collaborate with the University of Pittsburgh in the recruitment, education and retention of librarians and information specialists for the territory.

From as early as the 1980's the Virgin Islands has had a difficult time hiring and retaining professional librarians and information specialists for the more than 50 professional positions in the territory's public, school, academic and special libraries. In more recent years, this has become even more challenging. With thousands of librarians nationally retiring with in the next 10 years, the Virgin Islands can no longer depend on recruitment from the mainland US to fill its library positions. Additionally, the tendency of most local agencies to freeze and remove funding from positions when they remain unfilled for longer than six months that has usually resulted in hat the libraries being unable to compete for mainland professionals has now placed libraries in an even more disadvantageous position with respect to recruitment.

The University of the Virgin Islands understands the critical connection between student academic attainment and quality libraries, for which professionally trained librarians are essential. Reading comprehension and functional literacy directly correlate to a young person's exposure to quality literature.