Contact:
Eileen Maxwell (202) 606-8339
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                                For Immediate Release
August 16, 1999

                                THE INSTITUTE OF MUSEUM AND LIBRARY SERVICE
                                RESPONDS TO CHALLENGE TO HELP CHILDREN LEARN

                                Washington, D.C.-Museums and libraries
across the country are welcoming America's students back to school.  With
increasing frequency, schools and school districts are tapping museums and
libraries to help teach and enrich the K-12 curriculum.  Some students whose
schools link their curricula with nearby museums and libraries are even
reporting scoring higher on standardized tests.  Launching his annual
America Goes Back to School effort, U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W.
Riley is calling for greater community involvement in education:  "America
Goes Back to School is a special time for communities to reaffirm their
commitment to learning and education."  By providing crucial Federal support
(grants and technical assistance) to the nation's museums and libraries to
carry out their educational mission, the Institute of Museum and Library
Services (IMLS) reaffirms its commitment to learning.

                                Museums and libraries are natural partners
in education.  IMLS recently funded a nationwide survey, "True Needs, True
Partners," which found that 88 percent of museums provide K-12 educational
programming.  Seventy percent have at least one full-time paid staff member
who administers K-12 educational programs.  Museums report substantial use
of school curriculum standards in shaping educational programs for a variety
of school subjects.  IMLS grants for museum-school partnerships have
involved 82,000 students, 228 schools, and 82 museums.

                                IMLS funds libraries that provide curriculum
study programs, homework centers, and after-school programs.  Perhaps most
important, IMLS supports libraries which often provide the only Internet
access to students without home computers. According to the U.S. Department
of Commerce report on the "Digital Divide," libraries are the number one
point of access to the Internet for minorities, low-income families,
children of single parents, and children of the unemployed, especially those
who reside in rural areas or central cities.

                                (more)




Some IMLS-supported museum/library school partnerships are:

Mint Museum of Art and Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools, NC
The Mint Museum of Art has partnered with the Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools
in developing a program for fifth graders called D.I.G.S (Deciphering &
Investigating Great Societies).   This program integrates the Museum's
collections of pre-Columbian and Spanish Colonial art into the fifth grade
social studies curriculum on Latin America.  Designed with a team of 50
classroom teachers and the social studies curriculum specialist, the program
meets North Carolina Standards of Performance in social studies and visual
art.  The program combines technology, teacher in-service workshops,
hands-on museum lessons for students, and a pass to all fifth graders to
encourage return visits with their families.  About 11,000 fifth graders are
served by the D.I.G.S. program annually.  In its first year, students
testing at or above grade level in social studies rose by 5 percent.

Colorado State Library and Colorado School Library Media Centers, CO
Information technology in school libraries plays a valuable role in helping
students meet  standards under Colorado's standards-based education system.
An IMLS funded study, The Impact of School Library Media Centers on Academic
Achievement, demonstrated that high test scores were a direct result of
library media specialists and classroom teachers working together, ruling
out demographics, economics, and teacher-pupil ratios.  The result of this
study, The Power Libraries project of the Colorado State Library, focuses on
developing school library media centers to help students achieve high
academic standards.   Fifteen Colorado school library media centers were
identified as models, to be replicated throughout the state under the Power
Libraries program.

Arizona Science Center and Phoenix Preparatory Academy, AZ
The Arizona Science Center partners with the Phoenix Preparatory Academy and
the local Big Brothers-Sisters for the Computer Connections Club
after-school program.  Held in a technology and multimedia lab based at the
Science Center, the project offers technology training to students and
teachers.  Students work on a series of computer related projects in
technology, art, science, robotics, and music.  The Computer Connections
Clubs helps students and their teachers become comfortable with technology
and applied science.

Muncie Public Library Cybermobile, Muncie, IN
The public library cooperated with several local organizations - including
Ball State University and the area schools - to expand technology access for
those who are unable to travel easily to their local library.  A high
technology van was outfitted to offer computer training and on-line
resources through regularly scheduled stops throughout the community.  The
Cybermobile makes a special effort to visit inner-city and rural residents,
students, and the disabled.  This project was developed as a logical
offshoot of the traditional Bookmobile, and demonstrated to the library
world the need to expand technology access.
(more)

Chatanooga Museums, County Library, and Public Schools, TN
Three area museums (the Tennessee Aquarium, Hunter Museum of Art, and the
Warner Park Zoo) are pooling their resources with the Chattanooga-Hamilton
County Library and the City of Tennessee for an after-school program.  This
long-term project brings science, art, literacy, and library use to children
living in local public housing complexes.

National Aquarium and Maryland Schools, Baltimore, MD
From its beginning, the National Aquarium in Baltimore has been committed to
serving the diverse needs of the Baltimore community.  Programs such as Deaf
Awareness Day, AccessAquarium, and First Saturdays and Sundays offer
exclusive access and activities for physically and mentally challenged
visitors.  Unique educational opportunities - on-site tours, gallery and
classroom activities - are available to 200,000 Maryland students and
teachers.  The Aquarium also offers free teacher training and classroom
materials, the training of teen-age "ocean ambassadors", and undergraduate
and graduate internships for local youth.

Hanson Public Library, Hanson, MA
In Hanson, Massachusetts, a total of 47 homework centers have been
established since 1992. All are still in existence.  Each site has a core
package of CD-ROMS:  Animal Planet, Chronicle of the 20th Century, Encarta
97 Encyclopedia, Encarta 97 World Atlas, and Science on File.  All are
backed up with printed reference materials.  Each homework center receives
10 - 12 students per day during the school year, primarily 3rd to 5th
graders from the area schools.

Jasper Public Library and Jasper Elementary Schools, TN
A grant used for Children Living in Poverty developed into one of the best
Young Adult Reading programs in Tennessee. 51.8% of Jasper Elementary School
families are at or below poverty level.  Through YARC, the Jasper Public
Library's Young Adult Reading Council, 31 students from the Jasper Middle
and High Schools help these children with classroom work and after-school
tutoring.  These teenage volunteers learn the value of an education and the
dramatic difference community volunteerism makes in the lives of other-the
number of At Risk Students at Jasper Elementary dropped by as much as 70% in
some classes.

For a copy of the Department of Education's America Goes Back to School
organizers kit, call 1-877-4ED-PUBS.  For a copy of IMLS' museum-school
survey, True Needs True Partners, call 1-202-606-8339.   For more
information about libraries and the Digital Divide, visit our website at
www.imls.gov.

About the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) -  IMLS is an
independent Federal grant making agency operating under authority of the
Museum and Library Services Act of 1996, P.L. 104-208.  IMLS, which has an
annual budget of approximately $190 million, serves the public by supporting
the nation's 8,000 museums and 122,000 libraries.  IMLS consists of an
Office of the Director, Office of Museum Services, Office of Library
Services, and Office of Research and Technology.  For more information,
including grant guidelines, contact:  Institute of Museum and Library
Services, 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20506, (202)
606-8536, or http://www.imls.gov.

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