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Before you apply to attend the Better Together conference, listen to this partnership podcast featuring Janet Crowther and Barry Trott from the Williamsburg (VA) Regional Library, authors of Partnering with Purpose: A Guide to Strategic Partnership Development for Libraries and Other Organizations. Be sure to download the partnership overview and guidelines PDF for additional information.
MP3 File
Since a major focus of the Better Together Conference is on providing additional opportunities for “free-choice learning,” you may wish to read more about this topic.
For specifics about libraries, partnerships and free-choice learning, see the Urban Institute and Urban Libraries Council 2003 publication, Partnerships for Free Choice Learning: Public Libraries, Museums and Public Broadcasters Working Together
For a good general overview and examples of activities for both families and older adults, see the website of the Institute for Learning Innovation.
For ideas about children and youth, see the executive summary of Optimizing Out-of-School Time: The Role of Free-Choice Learning by Lynn D. Dierking and John H. Falk, co-founders of the Institute for Learning Innovation.
If you want in-depth information, check out Dierking and Falk's book, Lessons Without Limit: How Free-Choice Learning is Transforming Education.
The Better Together Conference focus is based in large part on the premise showcased in The Urban Conference and Urban Libraries Council 2003 publication, Partnerships for Free Choice Learning: Public Libraries, Museums and Public Broadcasters Working Together — that libraries need to
1) expand offerings to current users and/or broaden their appeal to reach new users
2) foster creative opportunities for “free-choice learning” in their communities through partnerships with museums and public broadcasters
The Better Together Conference concept was determined as a response to expressed concerns of both community and library leaders in interviews and recent reports emphasizing the need for learning as an invaluable coping skill in today’s complex society.
At the same time that the need is so great for increased skills, recent statistics published in Reading At Risk: A Survey of Literary Reading in America, a 2004 publication of the National Endowment for the Arts, show that essential skills and knowledge of all Americans are at risk due to declining participation in literary and arts activities.
The goal of the Better Together Conference is to assist California public library teams in providing “free-choice learning”opportunities for their communities.
“Free-choice learning”opportunities are those opportunities—not connected with formal education—that individuals seek either to educate themselves or express themselves culturally.
These opportunities should be geared to their specific needs, thus allowing them to gain skills and knowledge essential to maintain and/or improve the quality of their lives.
Please let us know what you would like to have us add at the Better Together Conference website.
Our plans include:
• topical resource pages on topics such as developing partnerships and using interactive technologies
• podcasts of participant team members as well as speakers