The Libraries at Florida International University, the University of the Virgin Islands, and the University of Florida have received an award for their initiative in creating dLOC, the Digital Library of the Caribbean.

The Albertina Pérez de Rosa Information Units Alliances and Collaborative Projects in the Caribbean Award was given to dLOC members at the 35th Association of Caribbean University, Research and Institutional Libraries (ACURIL) Conference in Martinique on June 10, 2005.

The Albertina Pérez de Rosa Award recognizes and honors excellence in collaborative efforts and the implementation of successful projects for the benefit of their clienteles in the Caribbean. Dr. Albertina Pérez de Rosa, of the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus, was a key founding member of ACURIL, in charge of the coordination of the first Caribbean Librarians meeting in Puerto Rico, June 14-17, 1969, which led to the formation of ACURIL.

dLOC is a multifaceted and collaborative international digital library initiative that will preserve and increase access to valuable resources for the study of the Caribbean and the advancement of Caribbean Studies. This digital library will comprise collections that examine the similarities and differences in histories, cultures, languages and governmental systems throughout the Caribbean and circum-Caribbean.

Five Caribbean and four US institutions were recently awarded a four-year U.S. Department of Education Technological Innovation and Cooperation for Foreign Information Access (TICFIA) grant to build dLOC. The partners include the Archives Nationales d’Haiti, Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Fundación Global Desarrollo y Democracia (Dominican Republic), National Library of Jamaica, Universidad de Oriente (Venezuela), Florida International University, the University of Central Florida, University of Florida and the University of the Virgin Islands.