TO: Library and Museum Service Organizations

FROM: IMLS Office of Public and Legislative Affairs

RE:  Prepared Statement For Dr. Robert S. Martin, Director, Institute of
Museum and Library Services (IMLS)

Hearing on Equipping Museums and Libraries for the 21st Century,Thursday,
February 14, 2002,
Before the House Subcommittee on Select Education

Good morning Mr. Chairman and members of the Subcommittee.  I am pleased to
be here to testify on behalf of the reauthorization of the Museum and
Library Services Act.  At the close of the 104th Congress this committee
counted among its accomplishments the creation of the Institute of Museum
and Library Services.  It is a pleasure to report to you now, five years
later, that your confidence was well founded - the Institute is indeed a
success.   This new agency draws together an unprecedented number and
variety of educational institutions.  IMLS programs serve all types of
libraries: public, school, academic, and research, as well as archives; and
a stunning array of museums:  IMLS supports the full range of museums
including aquariums, arboretums and botanical gardens, art museums, youth
museums, general museums, historic houses and sites, history museums, nature
centers, natural history and anthropology museums, planetariums, science and
technology centers, specialized museums, and zoological parks.  The agency
stimulates new thinking and supports core functions.  It encourages
innovation and leadership.  It promotes best practices and encourages
outreach to the widest possible public. And uniquely, it encourages
collaboration among and between libraries and museums and between these
institutions and other community groups.

The 21st century learner can expect a lot from their libraries and museums.

* They are vital to healthy communities.  Libraries and museums are part of
the solution when the challenges involve at-risk youth, literacy, economic
development, recreation, or cultural tourism.

* They are the allies of schools and universities, providing
curriculum-based resources, training educators, and enriching afterschool
and summer programs.

* They are critical research institutions, gaining new knowledge and
supporting scholars, researchers, historians, scientists, and physicians.

* They are partners with private enterprise, making our communities
attractive places for workers to live and visit, providing a focal point for
economic development and redevelopment projects, and providing research and
development resources for small business.

* They are partners with families that are preparing children for school,
seeking health or job information, or yearning for productive ways to spend
time together.

So I am here, because libraries and museums are singular and important
institutions with unique contributions to make to our nation.  But more
importantly I am here as an advocate for children and families, for healthy
communities, for economic development, for scholars and researchers, for
individuals who seek educational and informational resources throughout
their lives.

Libraries and museums are core institutions of support for schools and for a
lifetime of learning that neither stops nor starts at the schoolhouse door.
Research has repeatedly demonstrated that school age children spend only a
small part of their time in school.  On average, only nine percent of their
time from the point they reach school age until they reach their eighteenth
birthday is actually spent in the school.  For this reason it is important
to support the work of the school with other agencies of public education,
libraries, and museums.

Libraries and museums are essential partners in the schooling of the
American child.  Beyond that they are part of the powerful education system
in America, which is accessible to all of us throughout our lives.
Libraries and museums are part of the educational infrastructure of our
country.  They are active, civic-minded institutions helping to solve the
problems at hand.

Federal Role

Our nation has a proud history of support for libraries and museums.  This
program of federal support for libraries dates to 1956 [RSM1]and for museums
to 1976.  America's museums and libraries are the fruits of a great
democracy.  They are living evidence of the democratic values we cherish.
During this time of war we are looking at American society and holding close
the things that we cherish.  As the President said in his State of the Union
Address, "All fathers and mothers, in all societies, want their children to
be educated, and live free from poverty and violence."  He encouraged
skeptics to look to "Islam's own rich history, with its centuries of
learning, and tolerance and progress."  Our museums and libraries  embody
these democratic ideals.  They exist because we believe that memory and
truth are important and so we pass what we know from one generation to the
next.  They exist because we believe that information and knowledge are not
the exclusive domain of a certain type or class of person but rather the
province of all who seek to learn.   A democratic society holds these
institutions in high regard, and I am proud to lead an agency that seeks to
strengthen the role they play.

At the 1964 signing of the Library Services and Construction Act-a
forerunner of the Museum and Library Services Act- President Lyndon B.
Johnson said:

Good public libraries must be placed within the reach of all of our people.
Libraries are not just for the young and the curious about an exciting
world.  They are not just for our youth preparing for their careers.  They
are not just for busy people looking for information to do their jobs.
Libraries are for everyone and therein lies their real value.

The federal role in supporting museums and libraries is acting as a catalyst
for leadership, supporting innovation and creativity, building institutional
capacity, and leveraging state, local, and private resources.  That is the
mission of IMLS.  The Museum and Library Services Act consists of General
Provisions, the Library Services and Technology Act and the Museum Services
Act.  The Library Services and Technology Act authorizes IMLS to provide
Grants to States, Support for Native American and Native Hawaiian Library
Services, and National Leadership Grants.  These grants help libraries use
technology to expand services and enhance resource sharing as well as serve
underserved audiences.  The Museum Services Act assists museums in their
educational role, conservation, and public service.  The combination of
local control and flexibility has served libraries and museums well.

Strengthening the Profession

IMLS also plays a role in supporting the museum and library professions.
Through National Leadership Grants, IMLS supports building professional
excellence through workshops and institutes for museums, both large and
small.

IMLS also supports the education and training of librarians.  Since 1997,
IMLS has been awarding National Leadership Grants that help to train new
librarians.  The President's Budget Request for FY 2003 calls for an
increased commitment to training the next generation of librarians.

More than 125,000 librarians now work in academic, school, and public
libraries across the country.  Based on Census data, we know that more than
one-quarter of all librarians with masters degrees will reach the age of 65
before 2009.  This data does not take into account early retirement, death,
or other reasons for leaving the profession before the age of 65.
The Monthly Labor Review estimates that the industry most affected by
baby-boomer retirements is educational services.  While the impact of
retirement varies depending on geography and library type, the crunch is
being felt across the country. Many librarians have come to the profession
as a second or third career.  This situation accounts in part for the high
median age of librarians.  With one of the highest median ages of any
occupation (47 years-old), librarianship is a profession with an urgent need
for replenishment.

Libraries are responsive to their communities.  There is need for diversity
in the profession that mirrors the diversity in our communities.  With the
support of Congress, and the engagement of the library community, IMLS will
recruit new library students, provide scholarships to graduate students in
library and information science, support distance learning for underserved
rural areas, and recruit librarians with diverse language skills.
Sustaining Our Heritage

The Museum Services Act charges the Institute "to assist museums conserving
cultural, historic, natural and scientific heritage of the United States."
Over the years IMLS has supported thousands of collections care projects.
An independent evaluation of the agency's conservation programs in 1994
reported that IMLS had made a phenomenal impact on how museums approach the
task of caring for collections.  IMLS maintains that collections care
requires a comprehensive, preventive approach.  Objects cannot receive
expensive treatment and then be placed in an uncontrolled environment that
can contribute to deterioration.  Instead IMLS encourages museums to assess
the condition of the collection and the storage environment and to
prioritize collections care needs in the most cost-effective way.

Now, IMLS, in partnership with the Getty Grant program is supporting
Heritage Preservation Incorporated's Heritage Health Index.  The Index will,
for the first time, measure the condition of the nation's collections. Data
will be gathered every four years on the condition of collections in
America's museums, libraries, archives, and historical societies.  At
present, no national survey is conducted regularly to produce credible
statistics regarding the condition of the nation's art, history, science and
natural history collections.  With support for grants to individual
institutions and for this national research IMLS will continue to care for
the nation's heritage.

Using Technology for Education and Outreach

Increasing use of technology has the potential to greatly expand library and
museum service.  State library agencies frequently use some of the funds
they receive in IMLS grants to states to purchase statewide licenses that
make high quality databases available in every library in the state.  These
databases help create a "virtual library" that can be accessed not only at
the library, but also at home or at work.  These databases often provide the
full text of journals, supplying health, job, community, government
information, and more.  One important characteristic of these online
resources is that they have been vetted by librarians who are adept at
identifying authentic, high-quality information resources.  These databases
make it possible for small rural libraries to access resources once
available only in large institutions.

Another growing use of information technology in libraries is for online
reference.  Using the Web, reference librarians can be available 24/7 to
serve individual patrons.  The online reference service provides expertise
that is often unaffordable for smaller, remote, or resource-poor libraries.
IMLS grants have supported development of these services.
A traditional form of sharing resources is the interlibrary loan, of sending
paper-based resources from one library to another.  Interlibrary loan
remains an effective way to serve library users.  Technology speeds the
service by providing instant access to collections catalogs at remote
libraries, helping librarians to identify needed resources, and enabling
automated loan requests.

Use of technology in museums is a catalyst for exciting educational
innovation.  An example is the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona,
that has developed a program to be used both at their museum and on the Web.
Users will be able to maneuver the Observatory telescope directly to examine
the heavens and use the data they collect to execute a large number of
digital science projects illustrating mathematics, physics, astronomy, or
computer scientific principles. These projects are designed to be completed
at any user-specified learning level, from grade school to adult, thus
giving teachers and visitors a tangible and personalized method of learning
scientific concepts.

Another example is The North Carolina Zoological Park.  The Zoo, in
continuing partnership with the World Wildlife Fund and three public school
districts in North Carolina, is creating a Web site that focuses on several
conservation field researchers working on unique species in a variety of
ecosystems. Using photos, video, and narrative the Web site places the
researchers in a larger ecological context.  This highly interactive site
increases student awareness of resource conservation and the complexity of
environmental problems and helps teachers provide in-depth learning on
larger conservation and biodiversity concerns.
Research on how best to use educational technology and distance learning is
also supported by IMLS.  The Minneapolis Institute of Arts is already a
leader in providing information online.  Using IMLS funds, the museum is
conducting an intensive audience research and product evaluation study. The
results will help museums nationwide learn how to improve their digital
products, including exhibitions, lesson plans, and image databases, and how
to increase their accessibility and use by the public.

To further the body of knowledge about libraries and museums in the digital
world, IMLS hosts an annual conference called "Web Wise."  Together,
scientists, engineers, educators, historians, archivists, curators, and
librarians from around the country share their latest research and newest
inventions in digital technology with the nation's universities, museums,
and libraries.  Conference participants have seen how distance learning can
bring museum exhibitions and experts into the classroom, and enable people
to share the latest research on Internet use and its role in the public
library, and share standards for digital resource development.

Supporting Student Achievement

IMLS helps libraries and museums contribute to student achievement.
Research funded by IMLS in Colorado and Pennsylvania demonstrates that
well-supported school libraries play an important role in student
achievement.  The Colorado Study reports that student scores on standardized
tests are ten to eighteen percent higher at schools with outstanding library
media programs and staff.  Beyond the school library, public libraries are
also partners with schools, sharing electronic networks and resources and
offering tutoring programs and homework help centers stocked with reference
material and software.

Museums also have a long history of support for schools.  And today that
role is changing and intensifying.  The days of the one-shot field trip are
fading away in favor of sustained interactions that are directly related to
teaching curriculum.  IMLS supported research to assess the status of the
museum-school partnership in 1996 and again in 2000.  We found that museums
spend a minimum of $193 million each year in support of school programs and
contribute 3.9 million instructional hours. Seventy-one percent of museums
are working with schools or school districts to develop educational
programs, up 10 percent from 1996.  Yet sustaining these programs is
difficult due to the unpredictability of funding and to scheduling and
transportation issues.

Leveraging Capacity

Many states report that IMLS library grants allowed them to make technology
investments that prepared them to take full advantage of the E-rate and
Gates Foundation library programs.  According to recent research, the
combination of these three programs has made a tremendous difference in
library use of technology and that, had any of the three not been available,
the result would have been diminished.  Indeed studies show that 99 percent
of public libraries have public Internet connections.  In fact, people
without Internet connections at home or at work most often turn to the
public library when they want to go online.
What does all of this connectivity do?  Does it mean that everything the
library has is online so we don't need the library anymore?  Certainly not.
It means that libraries have new responsibilities, to train library users
and staff to use technology, and to use technology in innovative ways to
share high quality resources.  Technology expands the reach of the library
and draws in new users, not only for the digital resources, but for the
traditional resources and services as well.   It means that libraries have
to do more, not less.  People still come to the library for reference
assistance, programs like story hours and community meetings, and just to
check out a book.  Now they expect high quality Internet connections and
digital resources too.

Comparative data shows that libraries are, on the whole, much further ahead
of museums in use of technology, digitization projects, and distance
learning.  As a result, the high quality educational content of museums is
still out of reach for many Americans.  IMLS will be working to refocus and
redirect its funding to begin to address this lag.
This year, IMLS is proposing to refocus its long-standing General Operating
Support program for museums.   Two clear themes have surfaced in
conversations with the museum community about a redesign of this program:
technology and education.  They seek to develop new strategies to use their
collections and services to strengthen learning in schools, in homes, and in
partnership with other community organizations.  They also need tools to
assess technological readiness, encourage digital networks, and support
learning partnerships in the digital environment as well as in the
classroom.   The revised program will be developed in close consultation
with museum professionals and other stakeholders, including Congress, in the
coming year.

Collaboration

One of the most important collaborative activities for IMLS is its
partnership with the National Science Foundation.  This collaboration grows
out of a 1999 Presidential Memorandum instructing IMLS, NSF, and other
agencies to work on the development of a National Digital Library.

 Bringing computer scientists together with the content-rich resources of
libraries and museums is a catalyst for discussions that will  foster the
development of digital resources.  Through this dialogue, important
questions about the development of a shared vocabulary and standards are
arising.   Answering these questions is key to realizing the promise of
seamless access that is necessary if this content is to be useful to a wide
variety of users including teachers and students, researchers, scientists,
historians, public broadcasting, and universities.

Sharing educational resources and creating learning communities was the
topic of a conference sponsored by IMLS in the fall.  Together, libraries,
museums, and public broadcasting explored how they could best serve the 21st
century learner.  Participants saw how Wisconsin Public Television and the
Wisconsin State Historical Society are joining forces to form Wisconsin
Collections, an on-going and comprehensive magazine-style television series
to explore the state's rich history.  Another successful collaboration is
the "Colorado Digitization Project."  This is a model partnership that
brings together Colorado's archives, historical societies, libraries, and
museums, to provide the people of Colorado with access to the visual and
oral record of Colorado's history, culture, government, and industry.  The
"collection" includes a wide range of resources including letters, diaries,
government documents, manuscripts, photographs, maps, digital versions of
exhibits, artifacts, and oral histories.

Other museum and library collaborations further research and development of
digital collections, and explore conservation and preservation issues.

Serving Communities

Not all collaborations are high-tech.  Some of the most effective ways to
meet the needs of underserved audiences is through collaborations with
community organizations.  Both libraries and museums are adept at reading
communities' needs and responding.  Libraries throughout the nation
collaborate with each other, with Boys and Girls Clubs, local businesses,
and schools to launch highly creative summer reading programs.  Research
demonstrates that participation in summer reading programs at the library
helps students maintain the reading levels that they attain during the
school year.

Community outreach programs are as diverse as the American landscape. In
Wisconsin, a cybervan visits teens in housing projects, Boy's and Girl's
Clubs and other community organizations.  Teens can get a library card,
check out books, and use a laptop computer.  In Tennessee, reading centers
with free take-away materials can be found in the county health and human
services departments.  The project has been a success in creating new
library and reading fans.  In towns as diverse as Oceanside, California, and
Minnetonka, Minnesota, libraries offer local Spanish speaking populations
storytelling and free training in the use of computers and online resources.
At the Lower East Side Tenement Museum in New York City, new immigrants
learn English through the letters and diaries of immigrants of an earlier
century.  They are inspired by stories so similar to their own.  At the
Indianapolis Children's Museum children visit "Rex" the lending library.
Visitors can check books and other resources out of the museum and return
them to any library in the state.

Outreach extends to all, from the very young to senior citizens. In Hayward,
Wisconsin, the Lac Courte Orelles Tribe provides library services to
Headstart and senior centers.   The Albany Institute of History and Art in
New York works with the Albany County Nursing Home in a project called
"Remembering Together."  The museum has developed kits that can be checked
out and used by families during visits to relatives.  The resources and
guided activities about the art and history of the region often trigger
memories that enrich family visits.  Strengthening families is also the
focus of The New Jersey Historical Society's partnership with a childcare
center, young fathers program, the University of Medicine and Dentistry of
New Jersey, and the Urban League. The project enhances parenting skills for
teen parents by providing them with an opportunity to bring their children
to museums and other cultural organizations.  Teens learn how to use museum
resources in teaching their children.  The "Never too Early to Learn"
program in Maryland provides effective early childhood resources and
strategies based on the latest research to public libraries throughout the
state.
Highlighting the role that libraries and museums play in serving their
communities is a priority for IMLS.  Each year IMLS awards National Awards
for Library Service and National Awards for Museum Service to institutions
that are central to the life of their communities.  Representatives from
institutions as diverse as the Bruckner Nature Center in Ohio and the Urie
Elementary School Library in Lyman, Wyoming, to the Queens Borough Public
Library in New York and the Houston Museum of Fine Art in Texas have visited
the White House to receive this prestigious award.

Evaluation

IMLS also is strengthening library and museum service by developing tools
and training to help evaluate programs. This work will help support programs
that make a difference and can be shared with other communities.  It also
helps libraries and museums report on the benefits of their work.  IMLS has
offered dozens of workshops to train grantees in the use of outcome-based
evaluation. Twenty-nine State Library Administrative Agencies have
participated in the agencies outcome training.  As a direct result, State
Library Agencies in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, New Jersey,
Maryland, and Mississippi have incorporated outcomes concepts in sub-grant
or agency-level programs.  Texas and New York are planning outcomes training
for sub-grantees. State Library Agencies are beginning to have the tools to
better describe the benefit of IMLS funding.

I thank the Chairman and members of the Subcommittee for their continued
support of this effective federal program.  We are proud of the
accomplishments of the Museum and Library Services Act and look forward to
continuing to work with the nation's libraries and museums to help equip
them to serve the 21st century learner.  I would be happy to answer any
questions that you have.

Eileen Maxwell
Public Affairs Specialist
Institute of Museum and Library Services
1100 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Suite 510
Washington, DC  20506
202-606-8339
202-606-8591 (fax)
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