Illinois State Part of Library of Congress Training Program

The Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources program at Illinois State University’s Milner Library has been selected as one of four sites to pilot test a regional model for training teachers to effectively utilize more than 10 million digitized primary sources available through the Library of Congress.    

The 15-month pilot program will provide free or low-cost professional development opportunities for teachers in the 11 Midwest states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, and Wisconsin. 

In the early 1990s, the Library of Congress began digitizing its primary sources (e.g., maps, books, photographs, audio recordings, and movies) and created a searchable website to hold this vast collection. The value of that resource for educational purposes was realized and the Library of Congress initiated The Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources professional development program. The program’s goal is to train K-16 educators to find and integrate the free digital primary sources found at the Library of Congress, the world’s largest library.

The Midwest Regional Center for Teaching with Primary Sources at Milner Library expands the Library of Congress’ professional development program to the Midwest.  The Center at Milner Library will provide sub-awards to interested individuals, institutions of higher education, professional development initiatives, library systems, and school districts in the 11 state region to provide professional development opportunities in the various states. Training will be provided at Illinois State University in the spring of 2008 and then, in the summer of 2008, teachers and library information specialists will be trained throughout the Midwest.

The pilot program at Milner Library will provide feedback and data to the Library of Congress to inform its decision to continue or modify its efforts to provide professional development to a wide and varied audience. Additional pilot sites are located in Colorado and Pennsylvania.  For more information visit http://www.mlb.ilstu.edu/tps