On any given day, hundreds of thousands of individuals, groups, and families visit libraries, parks, zoos, museums, and arboretums. Although quite diverse in their holdings, these places are linked together as institutions that focus on collecting, preserving, and/or presenting a body of knowledge (e.g., manuscripts, artifacts, documents, animals,…

Arts education has been a low priority in the nation's public schools for more than 30 years. In some communities, a countermovement to this dwindling presence of arts education in the schools has developed in the form of initiatives aimed at coordinating schools, cultural institutions, community-based organizations, foundations, and/or…

A comparative case study of two cultural institutions, Henry Street Settlement and El Museo del Barrio, founded almost eighty years apart, were involved in social justice causes and community arts. Although both of these institutions participated in the political activism of their time, they also demonstrated an important adaptability. They were…

On June 15-16, 2010, California State Librarian Stacey A. Aldrich, initiated a strategic planning summit in Sacramento, California. The purpose of the summit was to build the future pathways for the California State Library (CSL)--one of California's oldest cultural institutions. This was accomplished by developing a CSL strategic plan (values,…

This article features Paul Robeson Cultural Center (PRCC) at Pennsylvania State University, which uses a model of cultural education and engagement to design and deliver programs and services committed to enhancing the university's cultural climate. This article shares a cultural programming framework that was used to steward change and growth in…

As community colleges rely on part-time faculty and offer more online courses, faculty teaching in those capacities may not be as connected to the college as their full-time, on-campus counterparts. They may know very little about the library; in turn their students may not learn what the library has to offer. This article provides suggestions for…

This article explores Australia and New Zealand's libraries. Both countries offer vast resources related to their colonial and indigenous histories and heritage. Each nation's libraries have a wealth of material about their contemporary cultures. Immigration is rapidly making both countries more multicultural, and both are very active in the…

Debates typically invoke an image of individuals arguing over the merits of opposing viewpoints. However, the term has a softer, more deliberative sense that connotes reflection, discussion, and consideration. The 2009 WebWise conference, titled "Digital Debates," was conducted in this spirit, with panelists and attendees engaged in…

The Samoan culture is instituted and organized in part through the daily use of respectful behavior and words. These words carry the essence of "Gagana Faaaloalo," the Samoan Language of Respect (SLR). "Gagana Faaaloalo" is a way of speaking that combines linguistic and non-linguistic elements as a more elaborate and careful…

"Learnscapes" are places where learning has been designed in ways that enhance the interaction with an environment (Tyas-Tunggal, 1997). A small rural primary school has creatively adopted a "Learnscape" as a significant focus to engage with its community. Within the school the Learnscapes Program works from the classroom to…

According to the American Association of Community Colleges (2010), more than 40% of all African American students enrolled in postsecondary education are enrolled in two-year colleges. A review of the literature indicated that improving persistence and completion rates for African American students is a challenge that two-year colleges face. This…

In March 1940 the U.S. National Resources Planning Board established the Committee on Conservation of Cultural Resources to plan for the protection of federal cultural institutions during national emergencies. The committee provided a mechanism to bring officials together to consider protective measures for and evacuation of valuable books,…

The study of adult education has much to offer museum education, particularly from the lens of nonformal education--education that takes place outside formal educational settings. Through analysis of two case studies of nonformal education at museums (parks, historical sites, and cultural institutions), findings reveal a much more complex picture…

The author presents reviews that identify success factors in music and arts education partnerships between cultural institutions and K-12 schools. She incorporates the evaluation of one Massachusetts partnership, Arts Can Teach (ACT), to examine the connection between partnerships and K-12 arts-program policy decisions. ACT is a collaborative…

The number of farmers in China has been more than 900 million since the mid 1990s. According to the China Villages Statistical Yearbook 2006, by the end of 2005 the number of farmers in China had reached 949.075 million, or 72.6 per cent of China's total population. The "three-dimensional rural issues" concerning agriculture, the…