Syracuse University School of Information Studies (iSchool) Dean and Trustee Professor Elizabeth D. Liddy has agreed to provide additional funds for the SU iSchool Costa Rica internship in Monteverde, Costa Rica.
The internship, started in 2008 by Laurie Kutner G’98, associate professor at the University of Vermont, brings state-of-the-art iSchool librarianship to the forests of Costa Rica. This year, Kutner, a local Monteverde Institute librarian, a current iSchool intern, and a returning iSchool intern will focus on tropical ecology.
“I’m really excited about what our internship offers,” Kutner remarked, “both in terms of the end product which provides access to community-based information that has been previously largely inaccessible, and the process that involves the hard work of the SU iSchool interns.”
Kutner has joined forces with the Monteverde Institute, the University of Vermont, the Syracuse iSchool, and the University of South Florida to create two bilingual digital library collections. The Monteverde Institute sponsors the project, the iSchool provides student interns, and the University of South Florida donates digital libraries software and server space.
In previous years, the iSchool has contributed funds for room and board in Costa Rica. This year, the school will provide additional funds to cover travel expenses to ensure the internship will continue.