Information Institute Receives Award for the Florida Memory Project

The Information Use Management and Policy Institute (Information Institute) of Florida State University, College of Communication and Information, School of Library and Information Studies has been awarded a $24,999 grant from the State Library and Archives of Florida to prepare a written report providing a long-range plan for the Florida Memory Project. Dr. Paul F. Marty and Dr. Charles R. McClure are Co-Principal Investigators on the project. The Florida Memory Project provides a valuable service to researchers, educators, citizens, and students across the state and the nation. The development of this report provides the School of Library and Information Studies with an exciting opportunity to meet the needs of the users and information professionals at the State Library and Archives of Florida.

Project activities will take place between December 1, 2009, and June 15, 2010. The successful completion of the project will result in a long-range plan for the Florida Memory Project that matches proven technology solutions with the specific needs of the State Library and Archives of Florida.

Further information about the project can be found on the Information Institute’s website located at http://ii.fsu.edu/Research/Projects/All

Information Institute Receives Award for Further Assessments of the Florida Electronic Library (FEL)

Since 2002, the Information Use Management and Policy Institute (Information Institute) of Florida State University, College of Communication and Information, School of Library and Information Studies has engaged in multiple evaluations of the Florida Electronic Library (FEL). For this current project the Information Institute will engage in a number of activities to accomplish specific tasks that include an evaluation of Gale’s marketing plan for the FEL and its effect on awareness of FEL-Gale resources, measuring the usage of FEL-Gale resources, and assessing the effect of the Gale training program on library staff’s ability to be self-sufficient users of FEL-Gale resources. Dr. Charles R. McClure is Principal Investigator on the project.

These current assessments build on prior assessments of the FEL conducted by the Information Institute for the State Library & Archives of Florida. The current project's evaluation efforts will continue to assist the State Library & Archives of Florida in the development and implementation of the FEL.

Further information about the project can be found on the Information Institute’s website located at http://ii.fsu.edu/Research/Projects/All

Information Institute Receives Award for Development of a Catastrophic Finance and Insurance Web Portal

The Information Use Management and Policy Institute (Information Institute) of Florida State University, College of Communication & Information, School of Library & Information Studies, has been awarded $47,098 to develop a beta version of a Catastrophic Finance and Insurance Information Web portal (CFIIW). Dr. Charles R. McClure and Dr. Charles Christopher Hinnant are the Co-Principal Investigators of the project. The purpose of this web portal is to identify, organize, and disseminate a range of information resources in one searchable and easy-to-use web portal. The project will result in a beta version of a web portal that brings together a range of financial and insurance information specifically related to catastrophic events, focusing initially on hurricanes. The project will run from December 23, 2009 to May 7, 2010 and will produce various proof-of-concept reports that can be used as a basis for writing proposals to obtain external funding to complete and expand the CFIIW.

This project is important to local, state, and federal policy makers; researchers in academia, government, and the private sector; practitioners and emergency responders in organizations using catastrophic finance and insurance information; and others, to help control costs associated with hurricanes and other disasters. Also, the project may help these groups and others to better understand how financial and insurance information can be utilized to better plan for and respond to financial aspects of hurricanes and other disasters.

Further information about the project can be found on the Information Institute’s website located at http://ii.fsu.edu/Research/Projects/All