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Institute of Museum and Library Services Announces
20^th Anniversary of National Medal Program

Celebrating 20 Years of Outstanding Museums and Libraries

Washington, DC—The Institute of Museum and Library Services today announced the 20^th Anniversary of its National Medal for Museum and Library Service program. The award is the nation’s highest honor conferred on museums and libraries for service to the community. In the last twenty years, the Institute of Museum and Library Services has recognized 132 institutions for remarkable community programming and resources.

“We are delighted to celebrate this milestone and salute our previous National Medal-winning museums and libraries,” said Susan Hildreth, director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services. “In the last twenty years, we have seen institutions adapt and innovate to the shifting needs of their communities, helping us to create a nation of learners. We are proud of the role we have been able to play in recognizing and aiding these organizations’ service to the public.”

The goal of the National Medal Program is to support exceptional institutions whose commitment to their community goes beyond what one expects of a museum or library. To mark this twenty-year milestone, IMLS will spotlight previous winning institutions through a special Share Your Story Facebook campaign. Visit www.facebook.com/USIMLS to view and to share your own stories.

“At the upcoming Mayoral State of the City address, our National Medal will be one of the highlights of the address,” said Robert Karatsu, the library director of Rancho Cucamonga Public Library in California. “It is widely acknowledged that the library being awarded the National Medal was perhaps the pre-eminent achievement in the city for 2013.”

“This recognition was particularly humbling due to the award’s community focus, “ said Dennis Wint, director of The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, a 2008 winner. “Although The Franklin Institute already had a public image of being a great family destination and one of the best science museums in the country, receiving the National Medal not only drew public attention to the value of the Institute’s comprehensive and dynamic exhibits and program experiences – but also to our efforts to welcome our community.”

“The honor and endorsement of winning the 2009 National Medal for Museum and Library Services award was significant for Cincinnati Museum Center,” said Douglass W. McDonald, president and CEO of Cincinnati Museum Center.  “The National Medal award demonstrates a level of excellence and a point of pride our community shares with us as supporters, members and donors to the Cincinnati Museum Center.”

Below is a complete list of winners of the National Medal for Museum and Library Service. A searchable file of the list is available on the IMLS website (XLS, 89KB).

2013       Children's Museum (Boston, Mass.)

2013       Marshalltown Public Library (Marshalltown, Iowa)

2013       Columbus Museum of Art (Columbus, Ohio)

2013       Delta Blues Museum (Clarksdale, Miss.)

2013       Discovery Science Center of Orange County (Santa Ana, Calif.)

2013       National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library (Cedar Rapids, Iowa)

2013       Pierce County Library System (Tacoma, Wash.)

2013       Public Library of Cincinnati (Cincinnati, Ohio)

2013       Rancho Cucamonga Public Library (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.)

2013       Waukegan Public Library (Waukegan, Ill.)

2012       Contra Costa County Library (Pleasant Hill, Calif.)

2012       Bootheel Youth Museum (Malden, Mo.)

2012       Cumberland County Public Library & Information Center, County of Cumberland (Fayetteville, N.C.)

2012       Garfield Park Conservatory (Chicago, Ill.)

2012       Long Island Children's Museum (Garden City, N.Y.)

2012       Montrose Regional Library District (Montrose, Colo.)

2012       Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami (North Miami, Fla.)

2012       Pacific Science Center Foundation (Seattle, Wash.)

2012       Park View High School Library Media Center, Loudoun County Public School District (Sterling, Va.)

2012       Shaler North Hills Library, Township of Shaler (Glenshaw, Pa.)

2011       Alachua County Library District (Gainesville, Fla.)

2011       Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences (Brooklyn, N.Y.)

2011       Weippe Public Library (Weippe, Idaho)

2011       Columbus Metropolitan Library (Columbus, Ohio)

2011       EdVenture (Columbia, S.C.)

2011       Erie Art Museum (Erie, Pa.)

2011       Hill Museum & Manuscript Library, Order of St. Benedict (Collegeville, Minn.)

2011       Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden (Richmond, Va.)

2011       Madison Children's Museum (Madison, Wis.)

2011       San Jose Public Library (San Jose, Calif.)

2010       Conner Prairie (Fishers, Ind.)

2010       Explora Science Center & Children's Museum of Albuquerque (Albuquerque, N.M.)

2010       Japanese American National Museum (Los Angeles, Calif.)

2010       Mississippi Museum of Art (Jackson, Miss.)

2010       Nashville Public Library (Nashville, Tenn.)

2010       New York Botanical Garden (Bronx, N.Y.)

2010       Patchogue-Medford Library (Patchogue, N.Y.)

2010       Peter White Public Library (Marquette, Mich.)

2010       Rangeview Library District (Thornton, Colo.)

2010       West Bloomfield Township Public Library (West Bloomfield, Mich.)

2009       Braille Institute of America Library (Los Angeles, Calif.)

2009       Children's Museum of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, Pa.)

2009       Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal (Cincinnati, Ohio)

2009       Gail Borden Public Library (Elgin, Ill.)

2009       Indianapolis Museum of Art (Indianapolis, Ind.)

2009       Multnomah County Library (Portland, Ore.)

2009       Museum of Science & Industry (Tampa, Fla.)

2009       Pritzker Military Library (Chicago, Ill.)

2009       Stark County District Library (Canton, Ohio)

2009       Tennessee Aquarium (Chattanooga , Tenn.)

2008       Buffalo Bill Historical Center (Cody, Wyo.)

2008       The Franklin Institute (Philadelphia, Pa.)

2008       General Lew Wallace Study and Museum (Crawfordsville, Ind.)

2008       The Jane Stern Dorado Community Library (Dorado, Puerto Rico)

2008       Skokie Public Library (Skokie, Ill.)

2008       Skidompha Public Library (Damariscotta, Maine)

2008       Kansas City Public Library (Kansas City, Mo.)

2008       Lower East Side Tenement Museum (New York, N.Y.)

2008       Miami-Dade Public Library System (Miami, Fla.)

2008       Norton Museum of Art (West Palm Beach, Fla.)

2007       Kim Yerton Memorial Library (Hoopa, Calif.)

2007       Ocean County Library (Toms River, N.J.)

2007       Georgetown County Library (Georgetown, S.C.)

2007       "Memphis Public Library & Information Center (Memphis, Tenn.)

2007       The Newberry Library (Chicago, Ill.)

2007       Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (Birmingham, Ala.)

2007       Chicago Zoological Society (Brookfield, Ill.)

2007       National Museum of Women in the Arts (Washington, District of Columbia)

2007       Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (Portland, Ore.)

2007       Vermont Historical Society Museum (Barre, Vt.)

2006       San Antonio Public Library (San Antonio, Texas)

2006       Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County (Charlotte, N.C.)

2006       Lincoln Children’s Zoo (Lincoln, Neb.)

2006       John G. Shedd Aquarium (Chicago, Ill.)

2006       Frankfort Community Public Library (Frankfort, Ind.)

2006       Artrain USA (Ann Arbor, Mich.)

2005       Saint Paul Public Library (Saint Paul, Minn.)

2005       Pratt Museum (Homer, Alaska)

2005       Mathews Memorial Library (Mathews, Va.)

2005       Levine Museum of the New South (Charlotte, N.C.)

2005       Johnson County Library(Overland Park, Kan.)

2005       COSI Toledo (Toledo, Ohio)

2004       Zoological Society of San Diego (San Diego, Calif.)

2004       Western Folklife Center, Inc. (Elko, Nev.)

2004       The Regional Academic Health Center Medical Library of the University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio (San Antonio, Texas)

2004       Mayaguez Children's Library, Inc. (Mayagüez, Puerto Rico)

2004       Flint Public Library (Flint, Mich.)

2004       Chicago Botanic Garden (Glencoe, Ill.)

2003       Bozeman Public Library (Bozeman, Mont.)

2003       Free Library of Philadelphia (Philadelphia, Pa.)

2003       Pocahontas County Free Libraries (Marlinton, W.Va.)

2003       San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts (San Angelo, Texas)

2003       USS Constitution Museum (Charleston, Mass.)

2003       Carnegie Science Center (Pittsburgh, Pa.)

2002       The Bronx Zoo (Bronx, N.Y.)

2002       The Hartford Public Library (Hartford, Conn.)

2002       Please Touch Museum (Philadelphia, Pa.)

2002       Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art (Loretto, Pa.)

2002       Southwest Georgia Regional Library System (Bainbridge, Ga.)

2002       Boundary County District Library (Bonners Ferry, Idaho)

2001       Alaska Resources Library and Information Services (Anchorage, Alaska.)

2001       Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose (San Jose, Calif.)

2001       Hancock County Library System (Bay St. Louis, Miss.)

2001       Miami Museum of Science and Space Transit Planetarium (Miami, Fla.)

2001       The New England Aquarium (Boston, Mass.)

2001       Providence Public Library (Providence, R.I.)

2000       Albright-Knox Art Gallery (Buffalo, N.Y.)

2000       Alutiiq Museum & Archaeological Repository (Kodiak, Alaska)

2000       B.B. Comer Memorial Library (Sylacauga, Ala.)

2000       Queens Borough Public Library (Jamaica, N.Y.)

2000       Simon Wiesenthal Center Library and Archives (Los Angeles, Calif.)

2000       Urie Elementary School Library (Lyman,  Wyo.)

2000       Youth Museum of Southern West Virginia (Beckley, W.Va.)

1999       Lincoln Park Zoo (Chicago, Ill.)

1999       Nevada Museum of Art (Reno, Nev.)

1999       St. Simons Island Lighthouse Museum (St. Simons Island, Ga.)

1998       Belknap Mill Society (Laconia, N.H.)

1998       Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village (Dearborn, Mich.)

1998       New Jersey Historical Society (Newark, N.J.)

1997       The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis (Indianapolis, Ind.)

1997       The Museum of Fine Arts (Houston, Texas)

1997       National Aquarium in Baltimore (Baltimore, Md.)

1996       The Corcoran Gallery of Art (Washington, District of Columbia)

1996       The Field Museum (Chicago, Ill.)

1996       The Natural Science Center of Greensboro (Greensboro, N.C.)

1995       Brooklyn Children’s Museum (Brooklyn, N.Y.)

1995       The Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum (Chicago, Ill.)

1995       Montshire Museum of Science (Norwich, Vt.)

1995       The Wing Luke Asian Museum (Seattle, Wash.)

1994       Brukner Nature Center (Troy, Ohio)

1994       The Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens (Jacksonville, Fla.)

1994       The State Historical Society of Missouri (Columbia, Mo.)

Celebrating 20 Years
This year, IMLS celebrates the 20th anniversary of the National Medal for Museum and Library Service. For the past two decades, the National Medal has honored outstanding institutions that make significant and exceptional contributions to their communities. Including 2013 winners, 132 institutions have received this honor, and ten additional institutions will be awarded in 2014.

About the Institute of Museum and Library Services
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation's 123,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. Our mission is to inspire libraries and museums to advance innovation, lifelong learning, and cultural and civic engagement. Our grant making, policy development, and research help libraries and museums deliver valuable services that make it possible for communities and individuals to thrive. To learn more, visit www.imls.gov and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.