Embargoed until Oct. 22, 2007, 7 p.m.
Contact: Jeannine Mjoseth
IMLS Public Affairs
(202) 653-4632
Leo Murray
The Dilenschneider Group
(212) 922-0900
Million-Plus Workers Serving Nation's Libraries, Museums, Cultural
Centers Urged
To Be Smart About New Technologies or Atrophy
WASHINGTON, D.C., October 22, 2007 -- An urgent call to the million-plus
workers in museums, libraries, nature sanctuaries, historic homes, and
aquariums to protect, preserve, and enhance the nation's threatened
culture and heritage was sounded here today.
Presenting the inaugural Leadership Lecture of the Institute of Museum
and Library Services, Robert L. Dilenschneider, the nationally-known
communications strategist and author, told the assembled library and
museum leaders that "the paradigm is rapidly shifting in your world and
you must prepare for a great leap forward using technology as a teaching
tool."
Warning that libraries and museums dealing with the new technology and
multi-media applications "must accept, adapt, and accelerate, or simply
atrophy," Dilenschneider stressed that new technologies can also be an
invaluable tool in attracting new patrons and volunteers as well as
additional financial support.
Librarians, curators, and leaders of cultural institutions must find and
implement teaching applications for technologies as varied as You Tube,
podcasting, and virtual existence sites such as SecondLife.com, the
speaker noted.
"At one time, museums and libraries maintained the ability to control
and select what their patrons would have access to," he said, "but
technology and the shifting paradigms of power and influence are
changing these notions and challenging these institutions.
"With technology in the library, the patron can access much more than
the finite set of resources selected by librarians of the past, and for
museums the Internet has increased the public's expectation to be able
to see and use the whole collection - not just what the curator chose to
put on view."
Libraries and museums are no different from any other industry in
America, Dilenschneider argued. "To stay relevant and useful you must
remain true to their mission and reinvent yourself at the same time.
You must use new technologies wisely and identify the problems of
concern to your communities and to our nation that you are uniquely
positioned to solve."
Today, he said, libraries and museums can play a more critical role than
ever in:
* Closing the gap between information haves and have-nots
* Preserving cultural, scientific and historic heritage
* Improving people's ability to find and use information
* Heightening understanding of other customs and cultures,
* Participating in education reform, and
* Encouraging immigrants to succeed in the U.S.
Dilenschneider cited the late management consultant Peter Drucker, who
advised librarians and museum professionals "to run with the
opportunity, to learn and constantly refresh the knowledge base" in
order to help Americans develop the habit of life-long learning.
"The young people who will shape the new American century are just now
receiving their ideas and inspiration - and librarians and curators have
an obligation to help them reach higher and go farther," he concluded.
# # #
The Leadership Lecture will be delivered at 7 p.m., at the William G.
McGowan Theater, National Archives Building, on Constitution Avenue at
7th Street N.W., in Washington, DC.
For a transcript of Dilenschneider's remarks, contact Leo Murray at The
Dilenschneider Group, [log in to unmask] or call (212) 922-0900.
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 122,000 libraries and 17,500 museums.
The Institute's mission is to create strong libraries and museums that
connect people to information and ideas. The Institute works at the
national level and in coordination with state and local organizations to
sustain heritage, culture, and knowledge; enhance learning and
innovation; and support professional development. To learn more about
the Institute, please visit www.imls.gov.
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