Susan Hildreth

Do you know how many museums and libraries there are in the United States? Susan Hildreth does, and she's committed to making them as open and accessible as possible. Hlldreth is Director IMLS, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, which is the primary source of federal support for the nation's museums and libraries.

"There are 17,500 museums and123,000 libraries in the country, and I would love to see them all registered in the Project Access database. Then Americans in every community could easily find and take advantage of all that they offer. The IMLS mission is to create strong libraries and museums that connect people to information and ideas.

We believe that our nation's museums and libraries play a critical role in helping all citizens with 21st century skills in communication and technical literacy, creativity, and global awareness. Project Access can help people find those skills, wherever they live, and so it's a wonderful match with the IMLS initiative Museums, Libraries, and 21st Century Skills.

Listen to an excerpt from an audio podcast about the initiative by Marsha Semmel, IMLS Director of Strategic Partnerships (:40 seconds long…text of audio below)

(Where do libraries and museums fit in the 21st Century Skills movement? Libraries and museums have always been about education and learning. They have always provided important collections, powerful experiences and sources of knowledge and information. So libraries and museums have been evolving and changing to meet changing learning needs. They've been evolving from places that simply present knowledge and information to places that share knowledge and engage their communities and work with their communities to co-create experiences.)

TWEET: I'm a Project Access Champion and you can be too!