Libraries and museums in communities across the country are expanding learning opportunities that prepare our youngest children for a lifetime of learning and success.
Museums
Museums On Call: How Museums Are Addressing Health Issues
This report showcase some of the important ways that museums are contributing to healthcare, helping patients, training medical professionals, and educating the public about health and wellness issues.
Case Study on Museums: Gallery Interpreters
As public institutions, museums have the mission and responsibility to create meaningful and educational experiences for its visitors. With diverse visitors and different learning styles, museums can use in-gallery staff to help facilitate connections between visitors and the museum beyond the gallery experience. At the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Gallery Interpreters are full-time, paid staff members who are certified by the National Association for Interpretation. This case study will take a closer look on why gallery interpreters play a critical role in creating meaningful museum connections and the Natural History Museum’s philosophy and professional approach toward in-gallery staff and the role they play.
Phantoms of Asia: Contemporary Awakens the Past, The Rebirth of the Asian Art Museum
In less than two years the Asian Art Museum has gone from being on the brink of bankruptcy to catapulting itself as prominent institution for contemporary Asian art. The presentation was made at the California Association of Museums’ annual conference to serve as an example for other institutions.
Museums and the American Economy in 2011
In 2011, American museums reflected the overall state of the U.S. economy, with a high level of economic stress and continued belt-tightening but also the signs of potential recovery. For the third year in a row, a majority of museums report increased attendance but moderate to very severe economic stress. Yet budgets are shrinking at a slower pace, museums are starting to hire new workers, and spending on K-12 education remains a high priority. Museum leaders are optimistic that economic conditions will improve in 2012, while recognizing that the field continues to face serious economic challenges.
Libraries & museums in an era of participatory culture
FOR THE WORLD’S LIBRARIES AND MUSEUMS, AN ERA OF PARTICIPATORY CULTURE DEMANDS THAT WE:
- Recognize the importance of cultural, economic, and social diversity in our communities.
- Accept the principle of democratic access.
- Acknowledge the need for new language and vocabulary to describe our work, reflecting the changing realities and expectations for our institutions.
- Create innovative partnerships with the community and community organizations.
- Accept new obligations, accountability, and responsibilities within our institutions.
- Place a major emphasis on public value and impact.
- Embrace the changing nature of authority, allowing for co-creation of content and input from both on-site and virtual visitors as an accepted part of our work.
- Recognize the blurring of distinctions between in-school and out-of-school learning.
- Embrace early and lifelong learning as key to our mission.
- Accept the need for changes in the internal culture of our organizations and practice participatory culture internally as well as externally.
- Recognize that technology is a tool and that authentic participation depends upon people, not merely upon technology.
- Incorporate social media into our mission and strategic thinking.
- Join a new wave of collaboration with other cultural institutions via sharing of staff and collections and other means.
- Open our walls, break down boundaries, and orient ourselves outwardly, becoming the modern equivalent of the agora as a hub of communication.
- Change the curriculum for the training of museum and library professionals in order to address the demands and realities of participatory culture.
- Act with passion and creativity as agents of permanent change.
