Dear XX,
The world of publishing and the process of disseminating research
data and results have changed dramatically and continue to evolve at a
rapid pace. Libraries and library services in astronomy must and do
progress concurrently. Traditional collections and services have been
supplemented and even eclipsed by a variety of electronic materials and
corresponding services.
Astronomy librarians are constantly scrambling just to
keep up with these and other changes and they work hard to learn the
new skills and techniques needed for new models of service
In order to help them do this, the Fourth Library and Information Services
in Astronomy conference (LISA IV) is being held at the Astronomical
Institute, Charles University, Prague in July 2002.
Very successful and productive LISA conferences have been held previously
in 1988, 1995 and 1998.
We hope to assist astronomy librarians in resource-poor countries to
attend this conference by collecting sufficient funds to cover their
housing, a small per diem, and, in some cases, travel expenses. To do
that we need help and are asking <> to make a donation to Friends
of LISA IV. Donations will benefit both the librarians who would not
otherwise be able to attend without this financial assistance, and the
other librarians who will reap the rewards of a richer and more diverse
conference.
The [generous] contribution[s] to Friends of LISA [II
and Friends of LISA III]of [XXX] and others helped sponsor dozens
of librarians at
previous LISA meetings. Those librarians thus assisted were both grateful and
enriched by the conference experience and upon their return home were
able to share their newly acquired knowledge with other colleagues.
So we look forward to receiving your
assistance towards achieving similar results at the 2002 meeting.
Thank you in advance for your contribution. [XXX's] name will
of course appear in conference materials as a donor. If you
wish to discuss this further please call me at (416) 978-4268 or
email me at library@astro.utoronto.ca.
Please make checks payable to Friends of LISA and mail to
Ellen N. Bouton, National Radio Astronomy Observatory, 520
Edgemont Rd., Charlottesville VA 22903-2475 USA.
Sincerely,
Marlene Cummins
for the Friends of LISA IV Committee
(change contact info in second last paragraph also)
Ellen Bouton
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
Brenda Corbin
United States Naval Observatory
Marlene Cummins
Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Toronto
[I am going to use a small font to put these ACROSS my document at the bottom.
And a bold font for F..LISA in the 'payable to' line]
"Yes" letter to grant applicant
FRIENDS OF LISA IV COMMITTEE
Library and Information Services in Astronomy IV
July 2-5 2002, Prague, Czech Republic
date 2002
[address- institution and country ok]
Dear xxx
We are very pleased to inform you that we are able to provide you with
financial assistance in attending LISA IV in July.
Friends of LISA IV will pay for your lodging in the Charles University
dormitory for up to 5 nights, will provide a per diem allowance of 400 CZK
per day for up to 5 days and will pay your registration fee.
In addition, a grant of up to $xxx will be provided for your travel costs.
***OR ****
We understand that your institution will be funding your travel costs.
***OR ****
We understand that you will be covering your travel costs yourself.
We will tell you soon how to arrange your accomodation. (Accomodation
is double occupancy. If you have a preferred roommate among FOL grant
recipients, please let us know.)
You must fill out the LISA IV registration form which will appear soon
in the second announcement and on the LISA IV web site http://lisa4.cuni.cz/.
The Local Organizing Committee will have a list of FOL IV grant recipients
and you will not need to pay the registration fee.
Your lodging will be paid directly to Charles University by FOL IV and the
per diem will be given to you at registration.
*** optional- choose ONE of the following if travel is being paid for***
Please inform us as soon as you have a definite travel ticket amount
and we will then arrange to have the funds wired to you using the bank
information given on your application form.
Please be prepared to show us your travel receipts in Prague.
Please inform us as soon as you have a definite travel ticket amount, and
we will then arrange the best method of reimbursement. FOL would like
to save the cost of a wire transfer by reimbursing you at the meeting.
However, if this is a problem for you, please let us know and we will
certainly wire the funds to you in advance.
Please be prepared to show us your travel receipts in Prague.
Please inform us as soon as you have a definite travel ticket amount
and we will then arrange the best method of reimbursement.
Please be prepared to show us your travel receipts in Prague.
**************
We hope that this assistance enables you to attend LISA IV, and we
look forward to seeing you in Prague.
Please acknowledge receipt of this message, and confirm that you will
be able to attend.
With best wishes from
Marlene
for the FOL IV Committee,
Ellen Bouton, National Radio Astronomy Observatory, library@nrao.edu
Brenda Corbin, U.S. Naval Observatory, bgc@usno.navy.mil
Marlene Cummins, Astronomy and Astrophysics Library, Univ. of Toronto,
library@astro.utoronto.ca
"No" letter to grant applicant
FRIENDS OF LISA IV COMMITTEE
Library and Information Services in Astronomy IV
July 2-5 2002, Prague, Czech Republic
22 March 2002
[address- just institution and country ok]
Dear xxx
It is with regret that we must inform you that we do not have sufficient
funds to assist you in attending LISA IV. We received many
applications for financial aid and although many publishers, vendors,
and individuals contributed to the Friends of LISA IV fund, it was not
possible to raise enough money to cover everyone's needs.
We are very sorry we are unable to offer you any assistance.
With best wishes,
somebody
for
Friends of LISA IV
Ellen Bouton, National Radio Astronomy Observatory
Brenda Corbin, United States Naval Observatory
Marlene Cummins, Astronomy and Astrophysics Library, University of Toronto
No, but maybe...
FRIENDS OF LISA IV COMMITTEE
Library and Information Services in Astronomy IV
July 2-5 2002, Prague, Czech Republic
26 March 2002
[address- just institution and country ok]
Dear xxx
It is with regret that we must inform you that we currently do not have
sufficient funds to assist you in attending LISA IV. We received many
applications for financial aid and although many publishers, vendors,
and individuals contributed to the Friends of LISA IV fund, it was not
possible to raise enough money to cover everyone's needs.
Although we have contacted you because today is the deadline for informing
applicants, and we have allocated all our funds, we do not yet have a final
accounting of all the funds available to us. We do not know, for example,
whether all of the grant recipients will actually be attending LISA IV.
If we have any funds left over we may be able to pay your registration
fee.
With best wishes,
Marlene
for
Friends of LISA IV
Marlene Cummins, Astronomy and Astrophysics Library, University of Toronto
library@astro.utoronto.ca
Ellen Bouton, National Radio Astronomy Observatory
Brenda Corbin, United States Naval Observatory