Long-Term Learning from Museums and Libraries

This report by Institute of Museum and Library Services issues a call to action: now is the time for policy makers and practitioners to fully use the capacity of libraries and museums in their early learning efforts. Libraries and museums reach millions of children each year. The authors state how the purpose of this report is to bring that capacity into focus so that libraries and museums can more effectively engage in early learning strategies at the community, state, and national levels. The report explains how there is a long history of identifying and funding innovative approaches that put young learners at the center and help social, civic, cultural, and educational organizations work in partnership in communities and at the state and national levels. One example stated in this report is the partnership with the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading that is making this report possible. The Campaign—a collaborative effort among foundations, nonprofit partners, states, and communities—has made early literacy a key focus of its efforts to increase the number of low-income students reading proficiently by the end of third grade.

Howard, M. L. (2013). Growing young minds: How museums and libraries create lifelong learners. Washington, D. C.: Institute of Museum and Library Services. https://www.imls.gov/assets/1/AssetManager/GrowingYoungMinds.pdf

Study: Digitization of special collections

The nearly 200 page report looks closely at how academic, public and special libraries and museums are digitizing special and other collections. The study is based on detailed data on costs, equipment use, staffing, cataloging, marketing, licensing revenue and other facets of digitization projects from nearly 100 libraries and museums in the United States, the UK, continental Europe, Canada, and Australia. The study covers and presents data separately for digitizers of photographs, film and video, music and audio, text and re-digitization of existing digital mediums. Data is also broken out by budget size, region of the world, type of institution and other factors. Data presented separately for academic libraries, public and government libraries, special libraries and museums.

Research and Markets ltd, 2010, The Survey of Library & Museum Digitization Projects 2011 Edition
http://www.researchandmarkets.com/product/26199f/the_survey_of_library_and_museum_digitization

Information-seeking study

This new report offers insight into the ways people search for information in the online age, and how this affects the ways they interact with public libraries and museums, both online and in person. Findings include:
* Libraries and museums are the most trusted sources of online information among adults of all ages, education levels, races, and ethnicities. Libraries and museums rank higher in trustworthiness than all other information sources including government, commercial, and private Web sites. The study shows that the public trust of museums and libraries migrates to the online environment.
* The explosive growth of information available in the “Information Age” actually whets Americans’ appetite for more information. People search for information in many places and since the use of one source leads to others, museums, public libraries, and the Internet complement each other in this information-rich environment.
* The Internet is not replacing in-person visits to libraries and museums and may actually increase onsite use of libraries and museums. There is a positive relationship between Internet use and in-person visits to museums and public libraries.

Institute of Museum and Library Services. (2008). InterConnections: A National Study of Users and Potential Users of Online Information. Washington, DC: Author.
http://www.interconnectionsreport.org

Museums, libraries and youth

IMLS has published Nine to Nineteen, the second installment in the Museums and Libraries Engaging America's Youth series. Based on the information gathered in the Final Report of a Study of IMLS Youth Programs, 1998-2003, Nine to Nineteen includes examples of outstanding youth programs from a variety of institutions, as well as strategies for instituting or improving youth programming in your museum or library.
Institute for Museum and Library Science. (2008). Nine to Nineteen: Youth in Museums and Libraries; A Practitioner’s Guide. Washington, DC: Author.
http://www.imls.gov/pdf/YouthGuide.pdf

Public libraries and museums study

"Public libraries and museums are thriving in the Internet Age as trusted providers of information to people of all ages,” according to the IMLS. Beyond that, libraries and museums remain more trusted than other sources, the Internet is not replacing in-person visits to libraries and museums and may actually increase them, and museums, libraries, and the Internet serve to complement each other.
Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). 2008. InterConnections: A National Study of Users and Potential Users of Online Information. Washington, DC: Author.
http://interconnectionsreport.org/

Library youth programs study

This ILMS-sponsored study focuses on understanding informal learning.
"Young people respond to appropriate structure, positive relationships,
and a sense of accomplishment - and they need more than schools alone
can offer. Libraries and museums help fill the gaps through
complementary leadership, rich resources, and effective programs."
Museums and libraries bring unique assets to youth development,
according to the study. They include dedicated, knowledgeable staff;
authentic objects, artifacts, and information resources; opportunities
for personalized, hands-on learning; support for cognitive and social
development; and experiences to help parents, families, and caregivers
make learning fun and rewarding. According to the study, the most
effective youth programs:
*include long-term, trusting, supportive relationships between and among youth,
staff, and other adults;
*partner with community-based organizations and other cultural institutions;
*substantively involve youth in program design and decision making; and,
*regularly assess or evaluate, using what's learned to improve the program and
strengthen other youth development efforts
Institute of Museum and Library Services. (2007). Engaging America's Youth:
Final Report of a Study of IMLS Youth Programs, 1998-2003. Washington, DC: Author.
http://www.imls.gov/pdf/YouthReport.pdf