For Immediate Release

February 11, 2002
Press Contacts:
860-757-6665
Sharon Brettschneider Sharon.Brett@ct.gov
888-256-1222
William Sullivan William.F.Sullivan@ct.gov 

Hartford, CT - The Governor's Midterm Budget Adjustments for FY 2002-2003 released to the General Assembly today restores $618,229 for continued funding of the Connecticut Digital Library (iCONN.org). State Librarian Kendall Wiggin said, "The strong support of both Governor Rowland and Lt. Governor Rell for the Digital Library will ensure that students and citizens throughout the state will continue to benefit from the wide array of online databases available through the Digital Library." Between September and December 2001 more than 2 million searches had been conducted on iCONN.org.

iCONN.org is part of the Education Technology Plan that has been championed by Lt. Governor M. Jodi Rell. This plan is designed to equip the state's educational institutions and libraries with the tools necessary to train tomorrow's workforce. iCONN is part of the Connecticut Education Network, iCONN.org provides all students, faculty and residents with online access to essential library and information resources. It is administered by the Connecticut State Library in conjunction with the Department of Higher Education. Through iCONN, a core level of information resources including secured access to licensed databases is available to every citizen in Connecticut. In addition, specialized research information is available to college students and faculty.