Posts Tagged of education
The Science Education Belief In America
Posted by in Uncategorized on January 17, 2010
Political leaders, tech executives, and academics often claim that the U.S. is falling behind in math and science education. They cite poor test results, declining international rankings, and decreasing enrollment in the hard sciences. They urge us to improve our education system and to graduate more engineers and scientists to keep pace with countries such as India and China.
Yet a new report by the Urban Institute, a nonpartisan think tank, tells a different story. The report disproves many confident pronouncements about the alleged weaknesses and failures of the U.S. education system. This data will certainly be examined by both sides in the debate over highly skilled workers and immigration. The argument by Microsoft, Google, Intel, and others is that there are not enough tech workers in the U.S.
The authors of the report, the Urban Institute’s Hal Salzman and Georgetown University professor Lindsay Lowell, show that math, science, and reading test scores at the primary and secondary level have increased over the past two decades, and U.S. students are now close to the top of international rankings. Perhaps just as surprising, the report finds that our education system actually produces more science and engineering graduates than the market demands.
These findings go against what has been the dominant position about our education system and our science and engineering workforce. Consider reports on national competitiveness that policymakers often turn to, such reports as the 2005 “Rising Above the Gathering Storm” by the National Academy of Sciences. This report says the U.S. is in dire straits because of poor math and science preparation.
The report points to declining test scores, fewer students taking math and science courses, and low-quality curriculums and teacher preparation in K-12 education compared to other countries.
The call has been taken up by some of the most prominent people in business and politics. Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft, said at an education summit in 2005, “In the international competition to have the biggest and best supply of knowledge workers, America is falling behind.” President George W. Bush addressed the issue in his 2006 State of the Union address. “We need to encourage children to take more math and science, and to make sure those courses are rigorous enough to compete with other nations,” he said.
Salzman and Lowell found the reverse was true. Their report shows U.S. student performance has steadily improved over time in math, science, and reading. It also found enrollment in math and science courses is actually up. For example, in 1982 high school graduates earned 2.6 math credits and 2.2 science credits on average.
By 1998, the average number of credits increased to 3.5 math and 3.2 science credits. The percent of students taking chemistry increased from 45% in 1990 to 55% in 1996 and 60% in 2004. Scores in national tests such as the National Assessment of Educational Progress, the SAT, and the ACT have also shown increases in math scores over the past two decades.
And the new report again went against the grain when it compared the U.S. to other countries. It found that over the past decade the U.S. has ranked a consistent second place in science. It also was far ahead of other nations in reading and literacy and other academic areas. In fact, the report found that the U.S. is one of only a few nations that has consistently shown improvement over time.
Why the sharp discrepancy? Salzman says that reports citing low U.S. international rankings often misinterpret the data. Review of the international rankings, which he says are all based on one of two tests, the Trends in International Mathematics & Science Study (TIMMS) or the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), show the U.S. is in a second-ranked group, not trailing the leading economies of the world as is commonly reported.
In fact, the few countries that place higher than the U.S. are generally small nations, and few of these rank consistently high across all grades, subjects, and years tested. Moreover, he says, serious methodological flaws, such as different test populations, and other limitations preclude drawing any meaningful comparison of school systems between countries.
As far as our workforce is concerned, the new report showed that from 1985 to 2000 about 435,000 U.S. citizens and permanent residents a year graduated with bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in science and engineering. Over the same period, there were about 150,000 jobs added annually to the science and engineering workforce.
These numbers don’t include those retiring or leaving a profession but do indicate the size of the available talent pool. It seems that nearly two-thirds of bachelor’s graduates and about a third of master’s graduates take jobs in fields other than science and engineering.
Michael Teitelbaum, vice-president of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, which, among other things, works to improve science education, says this research highlights the troubling weaknesses in many conventional policy prescriptions.
Proposals to increase the supply of scientists and engineers rapidly, without any objective evidence of comparably rapid growth in attractive career opportunities for such professionals, might actually be doing harm.
In previous columns, I have written about research my team at Duke University completed that shattered common myths about India and China graduating 12 times as many engineers as the U.S. We found that the U.S. graduated comparable numbers and was far ahead in quality. Our research also showed there were no engineer shortages in the U.S., and companies weren’t going offshore because of any deficiencies in U.S. workers.
So, there isn’t a lack of interest in science and engineering in the U.S., or a deficiency in the supply of engineers. However, there may sometimes be short-term shortages of engineers with specific technical skills in certain industry segments or in various parts of the country.
The National Science Foundation data show that of the students who graduated from 1993 to 2001, 20% of the bachelor’s holders went on to complete master’s degrees in fields other than science and engineering and an additional 45% were working in other fields. Of those who completed master’s degrees, 7% continued their education and 31% were working in fields other than science and engineering.
There isn’t a problem with the capability of U.S. children. Even if there were a deficiency in math and science education, there are so many graduates today that there would be enough who are above average and fully qualified for the relatively small number of science and engineering jobs. Science and engineering graduates just don’t see enough opportunity in these professions to continue further study or to take employment.
With U.S. competitiveness at stake, we need to get our priorities straight. Education is really important, and a well-educated workforce is what will help the U.S. keep its global edge. But emphasizing math and science education over humanities and social sciences may not be the best prescription for the U.S. We need our children to receive a balanced and broad education.
Perhaps we should focus on creating demand for the many scientists and engineers we graduate. There are many problems, from global warming to the development of alternative fuels to cures for infectious diseases, that need to be solved. Rather than blaming our schools, let’s create exciting national programs that motivate our children to help solve these problems.
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Curricular Changes in Teacher Education
Posted by in Uncategorized on January 13, 2010
Curricular Changes in Teacher Education
India is a developing country. We have thousand years of Tradition and Culture. Different types of people are living in India. In olden days the educational institutions were called as ‘Ashramam’ and teacher was called as ‘Guru’. Guru is a respectable person in the society after mother and father. According to our Vedas Guru is a third God. In olden days they were given importance for shravana, Dhyana and Asana. All types of information are there in Vedas. Yoga is a greatest gift of India to the world. Yoga has its origin in the Vedas, texts that were heard by ancient sages in their state of meditation, and hence are known as srutis. The great sage Vyasa organized the Vedas in a systematic manner. Hence he is known as Veda Vyasa.
Now we are living in the technological world. Vast changes are occurring in day to day life of human being. The effect of Television, Telephone, Radio, Computer, Internet and Mobile is very much in our daily life. Even today also teacher is a role model for the students in the society. Teaching profession is a respectable job in the society. But there are enormous changes were occurred in the system of education.
Western culture is increased. Because of globalization we see everything in the form of commercial. But it is not good. Teacher is a nation builder. The development of any country depends upon its educational system. Any type of development is possible through education.
The concept of curriculum can be perceived as a connective link between teacher and student, organized in such a way to achieve goals previously set by the teacher, the learning organization or by the curriculum specialists.
Curriculum is a means to the education. While education is learning, curriculum signifies situations for learning. While education deals with ‘how’ and ‘when’, Curriculum deals with ‘what’ education is a product, curriculum is the plan.
Teacher Education
Teacher education is an integral component of the educational system. It is intimately connected with society and is conditioned by the ethos, culture and character of a nation. The constitutional goals, the directive principles of the state policy, the socio-economic problems and the growth of knowledge, the emerging expectations and the changes operating in education, etc. call for an appropriate response from a futuristic education system and provide the perspective within which teacher education programmes need to be viewed.
When India attained freedom, the then existing educational system was accepted as such because it was thought that an abrupt departure from the same would be disturbing and destabilizing. Thus a predisposition to retain the system acquired preponderance and all that was envisaged by way of changes was its rearrangement. Consequently, education including teacher education largely remained isolated from the needs and aspirations of the people. During the last five decades certain efforts have been made to indigenize the system. The gaps, however, are still wide and visible. The imperatives for building the bridges may be as follows:
- To build a national system of teacher education based on India’s cultural ethos, its unity and diversity synchronizing with change and continuity.
- To facilitate the realization of the constitutional goals and emergence of the new social order.
- To prepare professionally competent teachers to perform their roles effectively as per needs of the society.
- To upgrade the standard of teacher education, enhance the professional and social status of teachers and develop amongst them a sense of commitment.
Scenario of Teacher Education
The need for improved levels of educational participation for overall progress is well recognised. The key role of educational institutions in realising it is reflected in a variety of initiatives taken to transform the nature and function of education — both formal as well as non-formal. Universal accessibility to quality education is considered essential for development. This has necessitated improvement in the system of teacher education so as to prepare quality teachers.
Various Commissions and Committees, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Commission (1948), Secondary Education Commission (1953), Kothari Commission (1964-66) etc., are appointed by the Central and the State Governments in recent decades have invariably emphasised the need for quality teacher education suited to the needs of the educational system. The Secondary Education Commission (1953) observed that a major factor responsible for the educational reconstruction at the secondary stage is teachers’ professional training. The Education Commission (1964-66) stressed that ‘in a world based on science and technology it is education that determines the level of prosperity, welfare and security of the people’ and that ‘a sound programme of professional education of teachers is essential for the qualitative improvement of education.’
India has a large system of education. There are nearly 5.98 lakh Primary Schools, 1.76 lakh Elementary Schools and 98 thousand High / Higher Secondary Schools in the country, about 1300 teacher education institutions for elementary teachers and nearly 700 colleges of education / university departments preparing teachers for secondary and higher secondary schools. Out of about 4.52 million teachers in the country nearly 3 million are teaching at the primary/ elementary level. A sizeable number of them are untrained or under-trained. In certain regions, like the North-East, there are even under- qualified teachers. As far as in-service education is concerned the situation is not very encouraging. It is estimated that on an average 40% of the teachers are provided in-service teacher education once over a period of five years. Regarding non-formal education, though a number of models are in vogue in various states in the country, much more needs to be done to prepare teachers and other functionaries for the system.
The National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) as a non-statutory body (1973-1993) took several steps as regards quality improvement in teacher education. Its major contribution was to prepare Teacher Education Curriculum Framework in 1978. Consequently, teacher education curricula witnessed changes in teacher preparation programmes in various universities and boards in the country. A similar effort was made in 1988.
During the last decade, new thrusts have been posed due to rapid changes in the educational, political, social and economic contexts at the national and international levels. Curriculum reconstruction has also become imperative in the light of some perceptible gaps in teacher education. Teacher education by and large, is conventional in its nature and purpose. The integration of theory and practice and consequent curricular response to the requirements of the school system still remains inadequate. Teachers are prepared in competencies and skills which do not necessarily equip them for becoming professionally effective. Their familiarity with latest educational developments remains insufficient. Organised and stipulatory learning experiences whenever available, rarely contribute to enhancing teachers’ capacities for self-directed life long learning. The system still prepares teachers who do not necessarily become professionally competent and committed at the completion of initial teacher preparation programmes. A large number of teacher training institutions do not practice what they preach. Several of the skills acquired and methodologies learnt are seldom.
Definitions of curriculum, from Oliva (1997).
Curriculum is:
That which is taught in schools
A set of subjects.
Content
A program of studies.
A set of materials
A sequence of courses.
A set of performance objectives
A course of study
Is everything that goes on within the school, including extra-class activities, guidance, and interpersonal relationships.
Everything that is planned by school personnel.
A series of experiences undergone by learners in a school.
That which an individual learner experiences as a result of schooling.
Flexibility of the Curriculum
In India there are large number of communities living in the hilly area, the plateau area, the dessert area, plain area and costal area all having their own peculiar individuality, environment customs and needs. There fore, the same curriculum can’t be forced upon all, irrespective of their needs and environment. It must differ from locality to locality and from society to society.
“The destiny of India now being shaped in her class rooms”. In the world based on science and technology it is education that determines the level of prosperity, security and welfare of the people (Education Commission 1964-66).
Different types of Curricula
There are eleven types of curricula
1. Overt, explicit, or written curriculum
2. Societal curriculum
3. The hidden or covert curriculum
4. The null curriculum
5. Phantom curriculum
6. Concomitant curriculum
7. Rhetorical curriculum
8. Curriculum-in-use
9. Received curriculum
10. The internal curriculum
11. The electronic curriculum
Teacher Education Curriculum at Different Stages – NCTE
Teacher Education at the Pre-Primary Stage
Objectives
· Enabling student teachers to inculcate among children a desire to know their immediate natural environment, to love and respect it;
· Preparing student teachers to use local resources and local contexts.
Curriculum Content and Transaction
Teacher education curriculum at this stage need to develop awareness about literacy programmes, community dynamics, national and local customs, fairs and festivals and community mode of social living. It may also develop awareness of forces affecting environment including pollution, appreciation of places of historical and cultural significance and special educational features and developmental tasks contained in policies and programmes.
Teacher Education at the Primary Stage
Objectives
· Developing among student teachers skills for teaching integrated environmental studies, integrated social sciences and integrated science and technology;
· Enabling student teachers to inculcate among children a desire to know their immediate natural environment, to love and respect it;
Implications for Pre-service Teacher Education
Curriculum Content and Transaction
It is necessary that student teachers be sensitised to the need for reducing curriculum load, organise appropriate learning experiences which are joyful in nature and related to immediate environment of the learner and help them develop and imbibe desirable values.
Teacher education programmes at this stage shall have to provide subject based orientation. Teaching and learning of mathematics would be woven around the environment of the learners so that environmental concerns are properly integrated. The activities would focus on local culture and environment using the local specific contexts and resources. Student teachers shall have to be provided with experiences to help children develop socio-emotional and cultural aspects. A realistic awareness and perspective of the phenomena occurring in the environment will have to be linked with social or scientific events. This may be accomplished by emphasizing observation, classification, comparison and drawing of inferences, conducted within and outside the classroom.
Teacher Education at the Secondary Stage& Higher Secondary Stage
Objectives
· Developing among student teachers awareness and sensitivity towards environment concern and promoting skills for meeting environmental challenges;
Implications for Pre-service Teacher Education
Academic Stream
In addition, concerns like ecological imbalances, environmental degradation also have to be studied in their socio-cultural-economic context.
Addressing Special Educational Needs of Learners
Education of the Gifted and Talented: Major Thrusts
Objectives
· Enabling student teachers to develop among the gifted and talented students social responsibility and commitment to the society and the environment;
In-Service Education of Teachers
Objectives
· Enabling teachers to be sensitive to gender and environment-related issues.
Need of Curriculum Changes in Teacher Education
India has thousand years of tradition and culture. Educational institutions were called as Ashramam and teacher was called as Guru. A tremendous change was occurred in our daily life. Due to globalization now the educational system is affected totally. Now the educational institutions give importance for technical education. Teacher is a national builder. He has a capacity to change the society. By knowing the importance of technology, communication skills, National Council of Teacher Education (NCTE) introduced a separate subject on technology known as ‘Educational Technology’ at both B.Ed and M.Ed levels. Computer Education, Communicative English, Personality Development are also introduced at B.Ed. level. Now we are facing so many problems like terrorism, poverty and high-population. We want such type of curriculum which improves peace, non-violence, positive attitude and values in the society. By inculcating these things in teacher education curriculum, we will get positive change in the society. Our National Education Policy (1986) and other Education Committees and Commissions were also given importance for quality teacher education. But it is our duty that to follow such type of curriculum. By conducting national seminars, workshops and conferences it is important to collect eminent scholars attitude towards importance of curricular change in the present scenario. There are many recommendations about curriculum change, but they are not in practice.
Guidelines/Suggestions
Ø The present curriculum format of teacher education at different levels, pre-primary, elementary and secondary education is generally based, apart from others on Foundation Courses, which includes philosophical, sociological and psychological perspectives of education. The intention is that the teacher must have a conceptual understanding of the field of education, its significant concerns which are relevant for political, social and cultural development of the nation so that the teacher is just not responsible only for performing “knick knacks” of the task of teaching but is also imbued with the perspectives of creating individuals who can apply their minds to the diverse situations that obtain in the field of education. It is the Foundation Courses which provide a lot of scope for being recast to lay focus on discussion on the issues listed in the preceding chapters. Apart from others, it can re-look at the existing curriculum and divide it into appropriate cluster of topics which include the core elements of the NPE and the Constitutional concerns related to non-discrimination. Other areas of equal relevance for development of the ideas are the internship in teaching and working with the community.
Ø The type of exercises for developing the values related to non-discrimination as given in the chapters on sex/gender, caste/tribe, disability, etc. could become the central themes of co-curricular and extra-curricular activities of the teacher education institutions. It is not the intention to repeat the listing of those activities here in this chapter; a reference can be made to these activities in the appropriate chapters in which they have been listed.
Ø It could also be helpful to plan orientation programme on teacher education on this theme. The seminars could familiarize the teacher educators with strategies for operationalizing the teaching-learning dimensions relevant to the theme. An effective way to institutionalize the concept is to incorporate it in the elementary and secondary pre-service teacher education curriculum. This could be supplemented by a suitable co-curricular programme which should aim at offsetting some of the shortcomings in the curricular approach especially in terms of attitude and value development.
Ø What is needed is a vigorous advocacy with state educational agencies, teacher education institutions and university departments of education for conscious inclusion of such components in the curricula.
Ø In order to overcome the disadvantage of fragmented treatment of the theme, it is suggested that an independent comprehensive unit comprising familiarization with the Constitution of India and its concerns as impinge on education should be incorporated in the elementary and secondary teacher education courses.
Ø In India, evaluation system influences the educational process especially the quality of classroom teaching significantly, and as such a separate unit of educational imperatives of Constitution will ensure due importance and weightage to the theme in the classroom teaching.
Ø A great deal depends on the ingenuity and dedication of teachers and teacher educators in achieving anything substantial through education. If the concerns are handled with sincerity and purpose, they could definitely bring about the desired transformation in the educational system through teacher education.
Conclusion
Today we are in a technological world where things are happening fast. Parents and teachers would like to be getting results fast. India has kept pace in science and technology with forward nations but we have shown slower pace in our value system even when we have a strong heritage of human values.
An overview of the context and concerns as discussed earlier, teacher’s profile and general and specific objectives would define the boundaries of a curriculum framework. The perceived characteristics of the envisaged curriculum framework would include the following:
- Reflects the Indian heritage, acts as an instrument in the realization of national goals and fulfills aspirations of people.
- Responds to the latest developments in the field of education.
- Establishes integration of theory and practice of education.
- Provides multiple educational experiences to teachers.
- Enables teachers to experiment with new ideas.
- Ensures inseparability of pre-service and in-service education of teachers.
- Sets achievable goals for various stages of teacher education.
According to Swami Vivekananda Teacher gives knowledge and bright future to his students. He always trying to help students and encourages good habits not only in the students but also in the society. Teacher is a backbone for country’s development. The influence of teacher is more in the student life. Any type of social development depends upon its educational system. So it is very important to give prime priority for Teacher Education Curriculum. It is very important to give place to science and technology in Teacher Education Curriculum. Then surely India will become powerful and rich country in the world.
References
1. Saxena N.R., Mishra B.K., Mohanthy R.K. ‘Teacher Education’, Surya Publications, Near Govt. Inter College, Meerut, First Edition, 1998.
2. http://www.ncte-in.org/
3. http://www.aponline.gov.in/
4. http://www.ncert.nic.in/
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How public libraries can overcome budget cuts through cultural, educational, and business partnerships
Posted by in Uncategorized on January 6, 2010
How public libraries can overcome budget cuts through cultural, educational, and business partnerships
By Thomas Badgett
In the current difficult economic times, libraries of all sizes and types face budget cuts, often quite severe. At the same time the need and demand for library services surges. In order to minimize cutbacks libraries need to play to their strengths and promote how much value they offer to anyone who chooses to use them. They need to inform the public that they are available and promote what they offer in the way of services and alternatives to paid entertainment. As the public becomes more aware of libraries and what they offer, they may come to their support and demand more funding from politicians and bureaucrats.
During economic downturns, people cut back on unnecessary spending and seek value on what they do spend funds for. There is no better value than free. Public libraries provide services and materials to users that no competitor can beat because they are usually free. Families seek activities and places they can go to interact, be entertained, and spend quality time together. Libraries provide all this plus educational value, whether it be for self-help, school homework help, free choice learning for lifelong learners, or reference help. Also, libraries can preserve a community’s identity by recording oral histories, housing artifacts, and staging programs informing users of the history and culture of their community as it has evolved. Libraries should play to their strengths as educational and cultural institutions while also promoting their value as free and family friendly social centers.
Ways in which libraries might promote themselves as family-friendly centers include advertising at other family gathering venues such as bowling alleys, movie theaters, ice ream shops, and dining establishments. Libraries could establish booths for self-promotion at special events such as sporting events (soccer and baseball games), festivals (wine, music, crafts), concerts (classical, country, jazz, rock), and baseball card and toy shows. Perhaps the IMLS or ALA would sponsor a NASCAR team? To get the attention of young readers a library could sponsor comic book shows at one of their meeting rooms or have a kiosk/booth at a comic book convention. Cooperation with local booksellers and comic book stores or newsstands would be another way to publicize library services. The library could advertise certain businesses in its lobby and perhaps have signage donated by other businesses (in a manner like sports stadiums are doing). Even bookstores and libraries could refer users to each other in a sense of cooperation since both have a vested interest in the printed word. Libraries could also build relationships with hobby and craft stores and sponsor craft fairs or model kit shows in their community. In addition, the library could build a dialogue with local community members who are craftspeople or model collectors or any other collector. Card games could be sponsored at the library – a cribbage tournament, for example – or a poker tournament (with no gambling). There are innumerable ways for libraries to build relationships and get their message out to the public in addition to the Internet.
Scheduling and management skills on the part of librarians are now more important than ever since less money for staff translates into fewer man-hours for service. Library hours of operation should be based on peak demand times in the library’s community and not traditional banking hours. This is especially critical if the library intends to promote itself as a family or social center. Libraries need to be open when families can use them, not necessarily when it is most convenient for staff to be there. There may be no faster way to render libraries defunct than to cling to traditional banker-style hours Monday through Friday as in the past – unless a library tax is created. Weekends may become a peak demand time in some communities and library staff will have to adapt or face career extinction. In the short-term, at least, certain non-traditional skills (like scheduling in order to meet demand) should gain importance. As libraries continue to evolve additional new skills and a blurring of departments may occur in public libraries. For instance, reference may play a smaller role and customer service skills will be much more in demand. Every library, now more than ever, must focus on what services and materials are needed to provide service to its users.
The IMLS, whose mission is to create strong libraries and museums that connect people to information and ideas, is dedicated to serving a nation of learners. In addition to the NLG program, an International Strategic Partnership Initiative is in place to connect educational and cultural institutions from all over the world. The NLG program fosters collaboration between educational and cultural institutions on various projects, especially digitalization projects, in order for them to reach a broader range of users and make access easier for these users. Collaborations are both short-term and long-term in length, ranging from rotating exhibits between institutions to the multi-state Colorado Digitalization Program. Cultural heritage and educational institutions like libraries, museums, archives, and historical societies are good fits for partnerships through IMLS grants. However, schools and private sector businesses are also potential partners as the cultural/educational network expands.
One major goal of the IMLS is to preserve culture, whether it is local, regional, national, or international in nature. Through digitalization and the spreading of information this goal may be realized. Partnerships between cultural and educational institutions may help to ensure their survival through this severe recession, the longest in post-war history. Not only should partnerships result in more users, they may eliminate duplication of positions and result in streamlining of staff in these institutions, thereby placing them in an advantageous position for growth when the economy recovers. Collaboration projects enable libraries and museums to explore common issues and challenges, build networks for collaboration, share information and best practices, and further develop their institutions.
Museums today are active partners with libraries, archives, historical societies, and others in building digital libraries in order to emphasize their role as educational institutions. Museums have had a long and productive relationship with academic and special libraries and are now collaborating more often with public libraries. Two important considerations for producing digital resources are good cataloging (library strength) and accurate, knowledgeable description according to appropriate standards (museum strength). A broader, more diverse audience may be reached through collaboration and digitalization because the institutions complement each other. Also, the wear and tear on parts of the museum collection may be reduced once digital reproductions are created for Web consumption. Library web-sites should be interactive and participatory, much like many museum web-sites are. This interactive/participatory model lends itself well to free choice learning, which represents half of all learning (after formal schooling and work). In free choice learning the individual is the entry point in the framework of learning. The individual user decides what participation method, learning style, learning venue, and content they wish to engage in.
Library-museum partnerships may also collaborate with educators. In Illinois, the Illinois Library Association (ILA) noticed that school visits to museums and libraries were on the rise once collaboration projects began. Home school educators use museum and library resources also. Ways educators and museum staff can work together is through professional development workshops and training sessions at museums. Also, students can create their own museums in schools. Museums and museum web-sites can be excellent resources for teachers to use for the curriculum. NC ECHO is creating online curriculum resources for K-12 educators in North Carolina.
In addition to educators, government can play a role in library-museum partnerships. The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is an agency within the Executive Branch charged with the mission of funding collaboration between cultural institutions like libraries and museums. Libraries were moved out of the Department of Education in the FY 1998 federal budget and placed under the umbrella of the IMLS. According to Diane Frankel, IMLS Director in 1997, museums are starting to understand that they need to serve a more diverse audience – while librarians have always realized that. Frankel describes libraries and museums as being “community anchors” and social places to spend time together, as well as educational institutions. These functions make these entities natural partners and the IMLS intends to facilitate more collaborations and partnerships through grant funding with the National Leadership Grant (NLG) program.
Dilevko criticizes some library-museum collaboration efforts, describing exhibits as “edutainment” since many museum exhibits shown at libraries have nothing to do with the library collection or community. Instead he recommends a library-museum hybrid that can be based on one of two models. The first model is the cabinet of curiosities – where books and objects are co-located to enhance investigation and learning. This model is often found in academic libraries. The second model is the popular collections model in which public libraries use individuals’ popular collections of objects to design exhibits that heighten the interconnections among libraries, information, and user communities.
Originally a phenomenon of private collectors, the cabinet of curiosities displays (or cabinets) of rare and curious pieces –using deaccessioned and stored museum objects – can have a bearing on learning. These artifacts, along with books from the library collection create an interdisciplinary environment to be explored by the user. The popular collections model utilizes objects that are affordable and appealing to the majority of people in order to connect to an audience of users. Corporate sponsorship may play a role in the blurring of the educational and entertainment functions of museums, raising concerns regarding control over the content of displays and exhibits (either at the museum itself or at a library partner). Museums seem to be making a shift from emphasizing “authentic objects” to “authentic experiences” in order to attract more users to the museum experience. This could lead to a problem in that the museum provides services and facilities that don’t relate to the museum’s collection. Libraries may fall into the same trap by hosting museum displays/exhibits that have nothing to do with the library community or collection.
Dilevko and Gottlieb contend that libraries will have a more difficult time asserting their importance to a community if they act and look like so many other places – an obvious swipe at bookstores. They also mention that the digital age has created the notion of re-establishing the museum as a physical space – a place where people would want to gather. Libraries and museums, they add, should avoid the situation where the experience-based concepts used to bring people to the library/museum do not translate into meaningful experiences that meet the scope of their mandates. Libraries must make the distinction between the goal of simply attracting visitors and of attracting library users. Libraries lack rare or impressive artifacts that draw people to them for study. They are partnering with museums often on collaborative digitalization projects for educational use. Also, libraries host traveling museum exhibits – which may erode the importance of the library’s own resources in the community. Many times these exhibits have little to do with the library’s permanent collection. The creation of virtual museum-libraries conflicts with the library’s need to reestablish itself as a physical space and presence in the community. A Catch 22 situation exists whereby the library expands its access electronically and loses physical users. One solution is to develop their own exhibitions that combine museum objects and artifacts with the library’s own collection.
Museums have recently begun to recognize what Dana practiced nearly a century ago – the value of local collectors in connecting to their communities. Some museums have a “collector in residence scheme” and in England, museums sponsor “People’s Shows” – collective displays in a museum environment of a number of private collections that range from pencil erasers to pulp fiction. Popular collections models based on users in a library community could be supplemented with objects from the library collection serving as a form of community outreach. An example would be a model collector proposing an exhibit based on his/her plastic kit collection of World War Two aircraft and the library adding books and magazines about aircraft and World War Two from its own collection and perhaps sponsoring a community plastic model kit-building contest (or show). Both the cabinet of curiosities model and the popular collections model can provide experiences to draw people to an educational institution. The library-museums can maintain control over how the information is presented (without corporate sponsorship). The library-museum hybrid is another method of these two cultural/educational institutions partnering together as places where people gather together.
According to McCook, libraries of the future will follow four main trends. First, they need to provide a sense of place – a third place (not home and not work) – where people gather. This is where being perceived as family-friendly falls and also helps communities retain their character. Second, there will be a convergence of cultural heritage institutions – digitalization is the main manifestation of this trend currently. An example is NC ECHO. Third, libraries follow inclusive service mandates along with a commitment to social justice. This is the struggle to supply equal access to all users. Lastly, libraries must sustain the public sphere – act as a public commons where citizens can meet and voice interests and concerns. In this sense the library can serve as an unofficial, informal town hall and news center, much as commons did in New England towns during colonial times. Combined together these trends support lifelong learning.
If the IMLS is renewed past 2009 library and museum collaborations or partnerships will probably increase due to two factors. One being that the IMLS represents both types of institutions coupled with the harsh reality of reduced funding (both public and private). Those institutions that would normally be an island may be forced to find a partner/partners. In the future one may expect to see multiple partners in collaborations, not just two, because of lack of funding and the publicity and public relations advantages. In addition, corporate sponsorships may be combined with grants and partnerships in a hybrid partnership. However, for this to work to best effect the public sector and the private sector should be co-equal partners. IMLS research shows that working together libraries and museums can increase access to information in their communities and enhance education. Also, they can attract new audiences and expand and complement the reach of their programs. Libraries and museums share common educational goals and the preservation of culture as common bonds. As more collaborations/partnerships have taken place the “rules of engagement” and protocols have been established between the two institutions in order for them to share expertise. Many staff members from the two organizations have developed a dialog due to previous collaboration efforts. The possibility of future regional and state conferences that would unite library and museum decision makers is more likely because of past successful collaborations between these and other cultural institutions. This base of support could be expanded to include educational organizations (schools) and the private sector (businesses), as well as government at the local, state, and national level. Finally, library-museum partnerships could be used in order to promote tourism in certain areas of the nation and therefore, economically benefit their communities.
The fate of libraries and other cultural institutions are in their own hands and may well be decided by how quickly they adapt to ever-changing technology, educational and cultural needs, and public perceptions. Librarians need no longer be passive and hope the powers that fund them will “do the right thing.” They must aggressively promote themselves in new ways and partner with other organizations and businesses that share at least some common goals and that can be mutually beneficial to them. New library skills needed in the twenty-first century include technological aptitude, business-type management skills for scheduling and prioritizing, and shameless self-promotion as well as the ability to broker and negotiate deals/prices (haggling). The ideal Century Twenty-One Librarian might be part techno-geek, part bookworm, part used-car salesman, part entrepreneur, part teacher, and part activist. This combination may be what is needed in order for libraries and librarians to survive into the twenty-second century.
