CIL2012: Keynote by Susan Hildreth, Director of IMLS

Hildreth's topic is "Creating Innovative Libraries."

I don't have Internet access during this, so I was unable to look up and include links.
There is a lot on her slides that I was unable to capture.  And her font size was a little hard to read.

IMLS provides grants (it's biggest activity) and analyzes trends, shares best practices, provides policy advice, and partners with other federal agency.  Grants to state agencies (state libraries) are based on the state population. The focus on research and policy development is new.

2013 budget from the proposed Presidential budget:
$232 million for IMLS- divided into the following:

• $185m of library programs
• $31m for museum programs
• $2m for research and data collection
• $14m for administration

Funding streams:

• Laura Bush 21sy Century Librarian Program
• National Leadership Grants
• Digitization
• Data management
• Metadata development
• Sparks! Ignition Grants

21st century societal shifts
She noted things that we know and that have been documented by the Dept. of Labor

The 21st century museum/library
Embedded in the community
Engage the learners
Partnerships are the key to success Multi-directional
Tangible and digital assets
Combination of audience and content driven

Used "ideal scale" in order to rank and discuss their priorities as they developed their new strategic plan.

IMLS' key clients are institutions: libraries and museums.  Congress wants to know what is happening to the individual.

2012-2013 Key Goals

1. Engaging, empowering learning experiences - support communities of practice. Moves libraries from a nice to have institution to a need to have institution.

• 24/7 anytime, anywhere
• Motivation, curiosity self directed
• Learning is a life-time process
• 21st Century Skills - report, self-assessment tools
• The four C's not the three R's
• Growing DIY and maker culture - libraries can support this. 
• Repurpose existing spaces
• IMLS may begin to give grants for maker spaces
• New research about learning and reading

IMLS-MacAurhur Foundation: Learning Labs

• Creating 30 learning labs - new media centers across the country
• Chicago Public Library YOUmedia Center

2. Community anchors

• Increase in mobile technology means that all services must be provided virtually
• Libraries and the workforce
• Gates Foundation Study "Opportunities for All"
• Partnership with the Department of Labor
• Project Compass - in partnership with WebJunction and State Library of North Carolina
• To help the unemployed in a community and do workforce development
• Support the National Broadband Plan (which is now 2 years old)
• "Building Digital Communities: A Framework for Action"
• "Connect to Compete" - a digital literacy effort by the FCC

3. Content

• Access to content
• Care of our nation's collections
• "Connecting to Collections"- including digital and those unique documents that are part of the long tail.
• Digging into Data Challenge - Big data
• Digital Public Library of America - two year planning project

4. Equitable access to knowledge

• Making sure that Congress is aware of service issues with libraries and museums
• Provide a baseline of data about how information is being accessed
• Document ongoing activities and trends

5.  Public management excellence

• Evidence-based practice
• They support prudent risk taking. (It may be too cautious for some of us!)
• Libraries have been too hesitant to take risks.  Sometimes libraries wait too long to try new things. 
• If you don't take risks, you don't grow.  Be willing to try, fail and learn.

IMLS have developed its own performance improvement model.

Rationale for the Digital Public Library of America

• In a proof of feasibility stage. 
• Create an aggregated platform for much of the digital content in the U.S.
• Broad public access on a "free for all" basis.
• Focusing on a future when everything is in the cloud.
• Already developed in other countries.  The U.S. is behind in this.
• Being managed by the Harvard Berkman Center for Internet and Society and supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
• Goal is to develop a workplan and a prototype.
• Over 8 volunteers and an online community of 1000+ people.  Many well-known organizations are involved.

Elements of the DPLA (http://dp.la)
Open source code
Link metadata system
Looking for content
Developing tools and services
Build a strong community

Econtent debate is over in-copyright materials.  It is critical to the survival of our public libraries.  The DPLA mandate is broader than just ebooks. 

Formal launch was October 2011.
Has a collaboration with Europeana.