• With Digital Technologies, Can School Libraries Help Transform Learning?

    March 13, 2013

    This blog was originally published on the REMAKE LEARNING blog. By Sarah Jackson This isn’t your mom’s high school library. At the Elizabeth Forward High School library in Elizabeth, PA, beanbag chairs have replaced study carrels, computers are everywhere, and instead of a cranky librarian telling kids to be quiet, there’s a new music studio.

  • Getting a Second Chance at 67

    March 13, 2013

    By Eleanor Greene Intern, IMLS After experiencing great success with Weight Watchers, Gladys Leeks tried to get a job working for the company but couldn’t because she couldn’t read. She found Project Second Chance at the Contra Costa County Library in Pleasant Hill, California. Through the help of a expert tutor, she learned to read and was able to get the job she wanted. In this video, library… Read more

  • Feeling at Home at Park View High School Starts in the Library

    March 7, 2013

    By Eleanor Greene Intern, IMLS You'll see some unexpected things if you visit the Park View High School Library Media Center in the morning before school starts. Students play instruments in a multicultural jam session as others finish projects and print papers for their morning classes. In this video, Media Library Specialist Candace Main Rush discusses how extended hours benefit the school and… Read more

  • AAHC Forum: Digital Preservation of Jazz Film Creates a Unique Internship Experience

    March 7, 2013

    This post is a part of the AAHC Forum. In the coming months we will invite current and past grantees to contribute their project experiences via blog posts on our UpNext Blog and then ask you to respond through the AAHC Virtual Forum. We hope you will add your voice and share your needs and opinions so that AAHC can continue to help African American museums thrive. Please visit the AAHC forum to… Read more

  • The Important Role of Libraries in the Hours After School

    March 5, 2013

    This blog was originally published on the Afterschool Snack blog. By Jen Rinehart Afterschool Alliance In my 10 years with the Afterschool Alliance, there hadn't really been any conferences that dealt specifically with how libraries are providing expanded learning opportunities for kids after school—but that seems to be changing.

  • Helping Develop a Visitor-Centered Museum

    March 4, 2013

    By Rod Cofield Acting Director, Historic London Town and Gardens On a late September morning in 2011 I learned that I would be in charge of a 3-year project consisting of 4 workshops per year for front-line museum volunteers and staff.

  • From Snakes to Chemistry, and Everything in Between

    February 27, 2013

    By Eleanor Greene Intern, IMLS Andrea never thought she’d be comfortable holding a snake, never mind speaking in front of a huge audience. After participating in the Discovery Corps program at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle, Wash., Andrea Rose Nichols finds herself doing these both of these often during live presentations.

  • AAHC Forum: African American Museum in Philadelphia Fellows Prepare Motown Exhibit

    February 21, 2013

    This post is a part of the AAHC Forum. In the coming months we will invite current and past grantees to contribute their project experiences via blog posts on our UpNext Blog and then ask you to respond through the AAHC Virtual Forum. We hope you will add your voice and share your needs and opinions so that AAHC can continue to help African American museums thrive.

  • Growing a Strong Middle Class

    February 20, 2013

    By Susan H. Hildreth Director, IMLS The President’s State of the Union address focused on growing a strong middle class and it struck me, once again, how U.S.

  • Taking the Challenge Out of Modern Art

    February 20, 2013

    By Eleanor Greene Intern, IMLS It isn’t just the art at the Museum of Contemporary Art that comes from different backgrounds. Its visitors do too, which is why MOCA in North Miami, Fla., aims to make its galleries and programming accessible to a wide audience. In this interview, Director Bonnie Clearwater explains how the museum’s goal led to the creation of the Junior Docents program. For this… Read more