Internet Public Library Press Release

[Patricia Memmott]

INTERNET PUBLIC LIBRARY CELEBRATES SEVENTH ANNIVERSARY

For Immediate Release

Contact:

David S. Carter
304 West Hall
550 E. University
Ann Arbor, MI
48109-1092
(734) 764-4386
ipl at ipl.org

March 13, 2002

ANN ARBOR, MI -- The Internet Public Library (IPL) is pleased to
announce that we will be celebrating our web site's 7th birthday on
March 17, 2002!

The IPL was one of the first web sites to offer free library
services to any Internet visitor.  Seven years later, the IPL is
still going strong, and has become one of the most popular library
web sites -- with over 1.5 million visitors per month.  Visitors to
the IPL site (www.ipl.org) engage in many activities, including
reading on-line books, magazines, or newspapers, browsing our links
of carefully selected web sites for children and teens, and receving
personalized assistance from our award-winning team of volunteer
librarian and library school student researchers.

The IPL is looking forward to serving the Internet for many more
years, with future plans that include the unveiling of a new look
for the IPL web site this summer.  Along with our host institution,
the University of Michigan School of Information, the IPL is
strongly committed to its mission of bringing the values and
principles of the profession of librarianship to the Internet.  The
education of students entering the library and information science
profession also continues to play an important role in the IPL's
mission.  Originally created in 1995 by faculty and students at the
School of Information, the IPL still serves as a unique learning
laboratory where information professionals and students can prepare
to work in an increasingly digital environment. "The IPL started as
an important experiment and it remains an important experiment,
exploring the future of on-line information access," said School of
Information Dean John L. King. "We are proud to be at the forefront
with the IPL."

The Internet Public Library is an educational initiative of the
University of Michigan School of Information.


[/|\]  Patricia Memmott, Reference Coordinator
|-+-|  Internet Public Library - http://www.ipl.org/
[\|/]  "the Day Begins at Midnight"