----------------------------Original message----------------------------

AMERITECH RELEASE: Monday, July 8, 1996

Contact:
Guy Lamolinara, Library of Congress 202-707-9217;
Rick Lanesey, Ameritech 312-364-3616 or [log in to unmask]

GUIDELINES UNVEILED FOR LIBRARY OF
CONGRESS/AMERITECH COMPETITION TO PLACE HISTORICAL
COLLECTIONS ON INTERNET

 --Three More Unique Collections Added to World Wide Web--


NEW YORK, JULY 8, 1996 -- The National Digital Library on the
Internet is a step closer to being truly national, with the unveiling of
official guidelines for the $2 million Library of Congress / Ameritech
National Digital Library Competition.

In addition, Library of Congress James Billington has announced the
addition of three new American Memory collections to the World
Wide Web-based National Digital Library, and the appointment of Dr.
Deanna Marcum, president, the Council on Library Resources, to chair
a prestigious committee of library industry professionals to make final
selections of competition entries.

Made possible by a $2 million grant from Ameritech Corp. announced
April 18, the Library of Congress/Ameritech competition will allow all
libraries, archives, historical societies and other repositories in the
United States (except federal libraries) that hold primary source
materials in American history and culture to apply for grants to digitize
their collections. These electronic collections will become part of the
National Digital Library.

Formal grant applications will be available nationwide by Aug. 19, and
all entries must be postmarked no later than Nov. 1, 1996.
Announcement of the first year's grant recipients will be made in
March 1997.

Complete details on the entire Library of Congress/Ameritech
competition, including the guidelines, are available on the World
Wide Web at lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/award/; www.ameritech.com/;
or www.amlibs.com/. The Web sites also contain a request form
through which interested parties can be added to the automatic
distribution of application forms when they are available on Aug. 19.

"Making collections of other institutions available from the National
Digital Library helps fulfill the promise of the collaborative nature of
this project," said Dr. Billings. "With Ameritech's help, the National
Digital Library becomes truly national in scope."

Tom Quarton, president of Ameritech Library Services, said, "This is
an unprecedented opportunity for libraries throughout the nation to
share their unique historical treasures. Students, researchers, library
patrons - people across the country - will soon be able to access this vast
wealth of American history."

The goal of the Library's National Digital Library Program is to make
freely available millions of items on the Internet by the year 2000. The
Library's home page at http://www.loc.gov/ will offer access to the
American Memory collections, which will house collections digitized
by the competition's winners as well as collections already available
from the Library of Congress.

For the first year of the competition, preference will be given to
collections that illuminate the period 1850-1920, as this is already a
focus of many of the Library's electronic collections. Applicants are
advised to view these American Memory collections at
http://www.loc.gov/ to determine ways in which their holdings
complement or augment what is currently available.

To request applications and instructions in printed form (available
Aug. 19), contact Barbara Paulson at the Library of Congress at (202) 707-
1087; fax (202) 707-3566; e-mail [log in to unmask]

All entries will be evaluated by a blue-ribbon panel of library industry
professionals, headed by Dr. Deanna Marcum, president, the Council
on Library Resources, an operating foundation that makes grants to
assist libraries in solving their most pressing problems. Dr. Marcum is
also president of the Commission on Preservation and Access, which
concentrates on cooperative solutions to assure the preservation of
intellectual and cultural heritage.

Meanwhile, three new collections have been added to the American
Memory collections of the Library's National Digital Library Program,
bringing to 16 the number of collections available on-line. The
multimedia collections include photographs, pamphlets,
daguerreotypes, manuscripts, sound recordings and films.

The new collections are:

The Evolution of the Conservation Movement, 1850-1920. This
collection of 60 books,  548 congressional and presidential documents,
170 prints and photographs, manuscripts and one motion picture
documents the formation and cultural foundations of the movement
to conserve and protect America's natural heritage.

Gottscho-Schleisner Photographs, 1932-1960. The 29,300 photographs in
this collection offer many images from the work of architectural
photographers Samuel Gottscho and William Schleisner. The
photographs document building styles and trends throughout
America. Unique images also include scenes from the 1939 New York
World's Fair.

Theodor Horydczal Photographs, 1920-1950. These 14,350 photographs
primarily feature images of Washington as a developing urban center,
chronicling the city's social and cultural life through its events,
organizations, embassies, museums and libraries.


The Library of Congress is the world's largest library, with more than
110 million items, including the papers of 23 U.S. presidents. Its
collections are in nearly every language and format -- from Chinese
woodblock prints to compact disks. Founded in 1800 to serve the
reference needs of Congress, the Library has grown into an
unparalleled treasure house of knowledge and creativity.

A worldwide leader in making communications easy, Ameritech
serves millions of customers in 50 states and 40 countries. Ameritech
provides a full range of communications services, including local and
long distance telephone, cellular, paging, security monitoring, cable
TV, electronic commerce, on-line services and more. One of the
world's 100 largest companies, Ameritech has 65,000 employees, 1
million shareowners and $22 billion in assets.

Ameritech Library Services develops and distributes library
management systems and infomation access products worldwide. With
headquarters in Provo, Utah, an affiliate office in Evanston, Ill., and
offices in 18 countries, the company serves 3,500 client libraries in 34
countries and is the world's leading provider of library automation
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