The Institute of Museum and Library Services is proud to announce the release of Museums and Libraries Engaging America’s Youth: Final Report of a Study of IMLS Youth Programs, 1998-2003. The study, which is part of IMLS’s initiative, Museums and Libraries Engaging America’s Youth, examined Institute-funded programs for youth aged 9-19 and surveyed nearly 400 museum and library programs about their goals, strategies, impact, and outcomes.
The year-long study was conducted for IMLS by the Institute for Learning Innovation (ILI), a nonprofit learning research organization based in Edgewater, MD, that focuses on understanding informal learning. Workshops were held at IMLS offices with a Youth Action Committee and representatives of select grants to develop a set of case studies to illustrate effective practices. Companion publications in the Nine to Nineteen: Youth in Museums and Libraries series include a practitioners’ guide and a policy brief set for release in 2008.
According to the study, the most effective youth programs:
* include long-term, trusting, supportive relationships between and among youth,
staff, and other adults;
* partner with community-based organizations and other cultural institutions;
* substantively involve youth in program design and decision making; and,
* regularly assess or evaluate, using what’s learned to improve the program and
strengthen other youth development efforts
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