Radice Confirmed as IMLS Head; NCLIS Considers Consolidation

-- Library Journal, 3/28/2006

The U.S. Senate on March 13 confirmed Anne-Imelda Radice, Ph.D., a veteran administrator, art historian, and museum professional, to be director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Radice was most recently acting assistant chair for programs at the National Endowment for the Humanities. Michael Gorman, president of the American Library Association, congratulated her, saying, "Her commitment to museums is paired with a deep understanding of the importance of America's libraries. Under Dr. Radice's directorship, a library was created at the National Museum of Women in the Arts—the library has extended the mission of the museum, bringing information about the contributions of women to the visual arts to the public."

Members of the U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS), faced with a plan to fold the commission's functions into the IMLS by FY08, met recently in Ann Arbor, MI, to discuss the future. "At its meeting, the commission affirmed its commitment to ensuring that the level of public service provided under the current system will not be diminished and that all benefits to the American people will be maximized," stated an NCLIS press release. NCLIS will work with IMLS and the National Center for Education Statistics—which has also been proposed to be merged into IMLS—to evaluate models of consolidation.