White House Colloquium on Libraries, Museums, and Lifelong Learning

Laura Bush is working to encourage Americans to take advantage of the remarkable resources for lifelong learning available in our nation's libraries and museums. On October 29, 2002, the White House held the Colloquium on Libraries, Museums, and Lifelong Learning in conjunction with the Institute of Museum and Library Services' National Awards for Museum and Library Service, which honor outstanding museums and libraries that demonstrate an ongoing institutional commitment to public service.

Libraries and museums allow children and adults to ask questions about the world and to look for answers. Once a child learns to use a library or finds inspiration in works of art and pieces of history, the doors to learning are always open. As adults, we must remember these doors and find our way back through them.

Laura Bush recognizes the key role that continued learning and discovery play in the lives of both young people and adults. Through events such as this Colloquium on Libraries, Museums, and Lifelong Learning, the National Book Festival, her visits to our nation's cultural institutions, and literary dialogues at the White House, Mrs. Bush emphasizes the important role libraries and museums play in lifelong learning in our communities.

For More Information:
/firstlady/initiatives/librariesmuseums.html

Colloquium Program
/firstlady/initiatives/ml.pdf

Featured Speakers:

Jeffrey H. Patchen, D.M.E, President and CEO, The Children's Museum of Indianapolis, "Museums, Libraries, Schools, and Student Achievement" (PDF)

Peter C. Marzio, Ph.D., Director, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, "Supporting Early and Lifelong Free-Choice Learning" (PDF)

David Carr, Ph.D., Associate Professor, School of Library and Information Science, University of North Carolina, "Each Life: Cultural Institutions and Civic Engagement" (PDF)