FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 17, 2007

IMLS Press Contacts
202-653-4632
Jeannine Mjoseth, jmjoseth@imls.gov
Mamie Bittner, mbittner@imls.gov

Threshold Magazine Explores Informal Learning at Museums and Libraries

WASHINGTON, DC—The Winter 2008 issue of Threshold: Exploring the Future of Education features articles on the informal learning opportunities at local museums and libraries. The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and Cable in the Classroom (CIC), the cable industry’s education foundation, partnered on the issue to underscore the organizations’ long-standing commitment to education and literacy. Threshold Magazine - More Than a Field Trip Winter 2008 includes:

• "The Sparks, the Skills, and the Pathways" -- Eric J. Jolly discusses why informal learning is an essential ingredient for academic success.
• "Outside the Box" -- Dennie Palmer Wolf looks at how districts and communities can support informal-learning opportunities at home, in the field, and at school.
• " Informal Learning: A Threshold Forum" -- Marsha L. Semmel, Michael DiMaggio, Alan J. Friedman, Martín J. Gómez, and Beverly K. Sheppard discuss how museums and libraries work best with schools.
• "Building Bridges for Learning" -- How one community’s museums and libraries leverage on-site field trips and distance-learning technology to provide a wide range of informal-learning options to area schools.
• "Surviving in the Information Age" -- Ruth V. Small explores what it means to be literate in the 21st century and looks at how libraries are leading the way by providing critical educational services to help people become independent consumers of information.
• "New Models, Merging Missions" -- Pamela Carter-Birken discusses how schools are using technology and innovative programming to bridge and support formal- and informal-learning opportunities with the nation’s museums and libraries.
• "Strengthening Connections Among Schools, Libraries, and Museums" -- Cable in the Classroom’s Helen Soulé and the Institute of Media and Library Services’ Anne-Imelda M. Radice on the challenges and opportunities of bridging formal and informal learning.

At www.ciconline.org/threshold, every Threshold article is posted in PDF format for free browsing or downloading. To read the most recent publication, go to www.ciconline.org/thresholdwinter08.

About the Institute of Museum and Library Services
The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 122,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. The Institute's mission is to create strong libraries and museums that connect people to information and ideas. The Institute works at the national level and in coordination with state and local organizations to sustain heritage, culture, and knowledge; enhance learning and innovation; and support professional development. To learn more about the Institute, please visit www.imls.gov.