Roll-In Video Script
The Institute of Museum and Library Services honors ten of the nation's museums and libraries
for their extraordinary contributions to the communities they serve.
IMLS is the nation's primary source of federal support for museums and libraries, working
toward achieving a democratic society where communities and individuals thrive with broad
public access to knowledge, cultural heritage, and lifelong learning.
This year, IMLS celebrates the 20th anniversary of the National Medal for Museum and Library
Service.
Including the 2014 winners, 142 museums and libraries have received this honor.
We congratulate the winners of the 2014 National Medal for Museum and Library Service.
Brooklyn Botanic Garden is a green sanctuary in the heart of a densely-populated community
of over two and a half million residents.
It inspires the next generation of environmental stewards and leaders through educational programs
in the Garden, hands-on lessons with local schools to help students meet national, state
and city science standards, and its partnership with the Brooklyn Academy of Science and the
Environment.
It is a critical entry point where the community can gain a deeper understanding about the
importance of plants and the environment.
The Chicago Public Library serves a city of 2.7 million residents, and offers dynamic,
hands-on programs to promote lifelong learning and skills development for all ages.
Its Maker Lab is designed to promote critical thinking and offers patrons an introduction
to the latest technology.
The library's Summer Learning Challenge goes beyond books to encouraging early learners,
teens, and even parents to advance their creativity through art, engineering, and interactive
experiences.
Step through the doors of The Children's Museum of Indianapolis and you'll quickly realize
what 1.2 million visitors already know—it is an extraordinary place for intergenerational
learning and fun.
With five floors of premier exhibits, a planetarium and a professional children's theater, it
is the world's largest children's museum.
Here, children and family members of all ages can discover immersive hands-on learning in
the sciences, arts and humanities while exploring ancient cultures and new worlds with the help
of professional actor-interpreters who bring each of the museum's galleries to life.
The Las Vegas Clark County Library District is committed to helping people come together
to pursue their individual and group aspirations.
A web-based community assessment tool, CommunityConnect, allows the library to target neighborhoods
in need and tailor services to combat illiteracy and remove barriers to education.
The library's Teen TechArt Studios program introduces fun, digital technology to youth
in workshops, and inspires new career pathways.
Mid-Continent Public Library is the largest public library system in the state of Missouri
and serves a diverse mix of communities spanning three counties and neighborhoods both urban
and rural.
The library focuses on providing access to all though digital delivery systems, and its
summer reading program stimulates young residents' imaginations while preparing them to read
at grade level.
Adults take part in learning too, in 2012 they hosted a year-long reading challenge
called 6-in-12 that encouraged adults to read six books in 12 months.
Mystic Aquarium in Mystic, Connecticut is home to one of the nation's largest outdoor
beluga whale habitats and maintains a diverse collection of more than 4,000 aquatic animals.
The aquarium aims to inspire its 700,000 annual visitors to care for and protect the ocean
planet.
Community based youth initiatives at Mystic Aquarium offer hands-on and technology-rich
STEM learning and training to meet workforce demands.
Live feeds of exhibits provide access to virtual visitors from all over world.
The North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences is the state's most visited museum and the
largest institution of its type in the southeastern region of the U.S.. Visitors can observe real
scientists at work through floor-to ceiling glass walls, and take part in an extensive
range of exciting programs.
Each year, more than 35,000 visitors attend the museum's BugFest, the nation's largest
family-friendly event exploring the world of insects and other arthropods.
The Octavia Fellin Public Library in Gallup, New Mexico is a bastion for free access in
its region.
The library provides services to meet the unique needs of its community, which is 75%
Native American.
It provides strong education and cultural programs for preschoolers and school children
, Native American history speakers and artisans, teens and adults.
The library also provides the tools necessary to empower visitors through computer access
and training and workforce skills development programs.
The Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History offers learning experiences that inspire visitors
to better understand the world.
Its exhibits reflect the biological, cultural, paleontological and geological history of
Oklahoma.
Programs such as ExplorOlogy partner students with scientists to experience real science
in the field while Native American language programs aid in the preservation and education
of indigenous languages.
The Yiddish Book Center in Amherst, Massachusetts rescues, translates and disseminates Yiddish
books and broadens understanding of modern Jewish literature and culture.
The Center has saved more than one million Yiddish volumes, often recovered at the last
minute from homes, demolition sites and dumpsters, and it has made its collection available online
at no cost.
This valuable resource, together with innovative educational programs for students of all ages,
is helping to introduce this once endangered literature and culture to new generations.
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is proud to honor the outstanding winners
of the 2014 National Medal for Museum and Library Service.
This presentation was created for the Institute of Museum and Library Services by HISTORY.