Free Choice Learning
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.