Public Libraries in Actionin the Digital Age

Joyce Ray University College London Johns Hopkins University

European Congress on E-inclusion 2011

Institute of Museum & Library Services

Primary source of federal support for the 123,000 libraries and 17,500 museums in the US, through research, convening and grant-making

http://www.imls.gov/

IMLS Library Grant Programs• Grants to States (formula funding)

• National Competitive Grant Programs

http://www.imls.gov/

New York Public Library

Staff blogs engage

audiences

http://www.nypl.org/voices

Chicago Public Library YOU media Lab

Learning Labs in libraries and museums supportstudents as creators

Partnership of IMLS and The MacArthur Foundation

Project Compass: Lifeline for the Unemployed

http://www.webjunction.org/workforce-resources

Librarians learn online how to partner with community service organizations to provide comprehensive support services to the unemployed

The Learner Web: Web-based Adult Learning

http://www.learnerweb.org/infosite/index.html

Framework for Digital Inclusion

• National Broadband Plan issued by the Federal Communications Commission in March 2010, called on IMLS to provide leadership to libraries and community-based organizations

• IMLS Framework for Digitally Inclusive Communities establishes principles of digital inclusion to help communities assess their needs (partnership with University of Washington and International City/County Management Association)

http://www.broadband.gov/

Principles of Digital Inclusion

Foundational Principles:• Availability and affordability• Public access• Accessibility• Adoption and digital literacy• Consumer education and protection

http://www.imls.gov/pdf/DIC-FrameworkGuide.pdf

Principles of Digital InclusionTargeted Principles:• Education• Economic and workforce development• Civic engagement• Public safety and emergency services• Health care• Quality of life

http://www.imls.gov/pdf/DIC-FrameworkGuide.pdf

Next Steps in Digital Inclusion

• Roll-out events with community & leadership forums (Los Angeles, Oklahoma City, & Bangor, Maine) in September and October

• Online survey• Final plan released January 2012• Possible certification program for digitally

inclusive communities

Digital Public Library of America

http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/

Connecting Content Thru a New National Resource

Large-Scale Aggregation

IMLS Digital Collections and Content Registry

University of Illinois Urbana Champaign

http://imlsdcc.grainger.uiuc.edu/

Libraries and Museums in the Digital Age

http://www.imls.gov/

Convening Communities