IMLS to Hold Next 21st Century Skills Workshop at the Miami-Dade Public Library

IMLS to Hold Next 21st Century Skills Workshop at the Miami-Dade Public
Library

IMLS's Making the Learning Connection Campaign Brings Together Leading
Local Institutions

Washington, DC-The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) has
announced that it will hold a workshop at the Miami-Dade Public Library
as part of a national campaign aimed at engaging museums, libraries, and
civic leaders in meeting the 21st century learning needs of their
communities. IMLS is co-hosting the event with the Miami-Dade Public
Library System and the Wolfsonian-Florida International University.

The national campaign, Making the Learning Connection, is intended to
assist communities as they build their capacity for helping individuals
of all ages acquire critical 21st century skills such as critical
thinking and problem solving, creativity and innovation, communication
and collaboration. The campaign includes a six-city workshop tour, a
national contest, new online tools and resources, and a series of
interactive webinars.

The six-city tour kicked off on June 21 at the Walters Art Museum in
Baltimore and continued with workshops at the Richland County Public
Library in Columbia, SC in August and the San Francisco Public Library
in San Francisco, CA in November. The tour provides an opportunity for
museum, library, and other community leaders to discuss the 21st century
learning landscape of their city and explore strategies for furthering
21st century learning goals.

"Libraries and museums are keenly focused on the challenges their
communities face and will create powerful foundations for implementing
and sustaining a community-wide vision for 21st century skills," said
Marsha L. Semmel, IMLS acting director. "At IMLS, we are pleased to
support institutions across the country that are focused on helping
learners of all ages acquire critical 21st century skills."

The Making the Learning Connection campaign is part of IMLS's continuing
initiative to engage libraries and museums, community stakeholders and
policymakers to meet the educational, economic, civic, and cultural
needs of communities. This campaign builds upon the release of Museums,
Libraries and 21st Century Skills
[http://www.imls.gov/pdf/21stCenturySkills.pdf](PDF, 2.0MB), which
provides an online self-assessment for libraries and museums to
encourage a strategic approach to 21st century learning and a report for
library and museum practitioners and policymakers.

Workshop participants leave each session with a better understanding of
the role museums and libraries play in the learning landscape.
Participants will also begin drafting a map that documents some of the
work currently being done in the community around 21st century skills.

In the coming months, IMLS will announce the other workshop tour stops,
dates for webinars, and contest details.

To learn more about 21st century skills, please listen to Semmel's
podcast [http://www.imls.gov/resources/podcasts_Aug10.shtm].