Initial E-Mail to respondents

In 2002 the Institute of Museum and Library Services awarded the University of Illinois a research and demonstration National Leadership Grant (NLG) to implement a collection registry and metadata repository for digital content created or developed as part of past, present, and future NLG programs. As part of this effort IMLS has given us permission to survey NLG projects that include a significant digitization or digital content component. Your project, (AAAA), IMLS Grant Number (BBBB), has been identified by IMLS as belonging to this category.

We are asking you to help by completing a brief online survey at:

<http://imlsdcc.grainger.uiuc.edu/survey/>http://imlsdcc.grainger.uiuc.edu/survey/.

You will be asked to log in. Your log in information is below:

Login: XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Password: XXXXXXXXX

The survey will help us verify, update, and augment key administrative, content, and technical information about the digital collection associated with your project. Selected of this information will appear in our IMLS NLG Collection Registry, which is located at <http://imlsdcc.grainger.uiuc.edu/collections/>http://imlsdcc.grainger.uiuc.edu/collections/. (You will be given a further opportunity to vet and edit as needed the record describing your project’s collection before it is added to the publicly available portion of the IMLS NLG Collection Registry.)

The IMLS NLG Collection Registry is intended as a resource for both end users and current and future IMLS grantees. It went public in February 2005 at Web-Wise. Since then, the registry has received media attention in several blogs, including Diglet and Librarian in Black. It was also “Resource of the Week” recently on the blog Resource Shelf. This publicity has brought attention to NLG project collections through the Collection Registry, and including your project will help a broader audience become aware of your project’s collection.

The introduction to the survey provides more detail about why we are requesting the information and how data collected will be used and safeguarded. Your participation in the survey is completely voluntary, and you should feel free to leave blank any questions you do not wish to answer. You may also contact the University of Illinois Institutional Review Board (IRB) office (email: [email protected], voice: 217.333.2670) for information about your rights in University of Illinois approved research.

You are welcome to call IRB collect if you identify yourself as a research participant.

For more information about our project, including the text of our grant proposal, please see our website at <http://imlsdcc.grainger.uiuc.edu/>http://imlsdcc.grainger.uiuc.edu. If you have questions, don_' hesitate to contact our project coordinator, Amy Jackson (e-mail: [email protected], voice: 217-244-7809).

Again, you can access the survey here:

<http://imlsdcc.grainger.uiuc.edu/survey/>http://imlsdcc.grainger.uiuc.edu/survey/.

We estimate total time for completing the survey will be approximately 30 minutes. Thank you for participating in this important effort!

Sincerely,

Timothy W. Cole

Professor of Library Administration

Principal Investigator, IMLS Digital Collections and Content Project

Amy Jackson

Project Coordinator, IMLS Digital Collections and Content Project

OMB NO. 3137-0051, EXPIRATION DATE: 09/30/2006

IMLS Digital Collections and Content Project ­ Email Cover Letter for Survey

P.S. You have been contacted because you are listed as the Principal

Investigator on this grant project. If you are no longer in this position,

or there is someone else you think would be a more appropriate contact,

please let us know.