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New Digital Library on Civil Rights Movement
Launches on Brown v. Board of Education Anniversary

Washington, DC—The Institute of Museum and Library Services is proud to announce its support of the Teacher’s Domain Civil Rights Special Collection launched today in honor of the 50^th anniversary of  the Supreme Court’s “Brown v. Board of Education ruling.  Produced by WGBH Boston in partnership with the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute of Alabama, and the libraries of Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, the free multi-media online collection includes dramatic archival news footage, first-hand accounts of civil rights activists, oral histories, and primary source images and documents.

Designed as a resource for classroom use and independent study, the Civil Rights Special Collection gives teachers and independent learners rich digital tools to present this important part of our nation’s history in engaging and interactive ways.  “This is a grand alliance,” remarked Dr. Robert Martin, Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services.  “The power of public broadcasting, museums, libraries, and technology combines to create a vibrant learning experience.”

Along with the multimedia resources, the collection includes media-rich lesson plans and correlations to standards.  To help teachers get the most out of the digital library, there are valuable resource management tools for making specific content available to different groups of students.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services awarded a $499,133 National Leadership Grant to WGBH and its partners in 2003 for the project.  The resulting Civil Rights Special Collection will continue to expand over time as part of Teacher’s Domain—a digital library of multimedia resources for the classroom. Visit the collection at:http://www.teachersdomain.org/special/civil/

To explore other African American Civil Rights/History projects supported by IMLS grants, please access: http://www.imls.gov/grants/civilrightsprojects.htm

About the Institute of Museum and Library Services:  The Institute is an independent federal grant-making agency dedicated to creating and sustaining a nation of learners by helping libraries and museums serve their communities.  The Institute fosters leadership, innovation, and a lifetime of learning by supporting the nation's 15,000 museums and 122,000 libraries. The Institute also encourages partnerships to expand the educational benefit of libraries and museums.  To learn more about the Institute, please log onto: http://www.imls.gov.

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