Why Work Together & the Benefits of Doing So

Reasons Why Museums & Libraries Work Together

-Many museums and libraries are facing huge cuts in funding and they need to find ways of getting additional money.

-To begin with, they need to increase the number of people that attend their facilities, as well as, prove that they are pertinant assets to their community.

-When attendence increases and a cultural institution proves its essentialness to its citizens, very often grants are given by the government and educational and cultural foundations.

-The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is a federal government agency that provides grants for museums and libraries that work together and therefore, it is a big reason why many museums and libraries do form partnerships.

-Museums and libraries with small collections will often collaborate with another one so that they are able to provide a wider service to the public.

-To avoid competiton and save time, many museums and libraries that serve similar populations will form an alliance.

-Technological advances have made it easier for museums and libraries to reach out and serve the public and to connect them to services from related cultural institutions.

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Benefits For the Institutions

-The staff of the museums and libraries are able to learn new skills and gain invaluable experience from the professionals that they are working with.

-A new dialogue can be established between the institutions that allows for an exchange of knowledge and understanding of one anothers' organization.

-Through the sharing of resources, each institution is able to expand the reach of their programs and better meet the needs of their patrons by providing a higher quality of exhibits and service.

-By expanding resources and service options, museums and libraries are able to bring people back to their institutions, as well as, now being able to access a new audience by working in conjunction with other institutions

-Higher attendance numbers result from collaborations and then more money is brought in from addmission charges, new memberships, and new government and private funding.

-When museums and libraries work together on projects there is a huge savings in time and money for both.

-When there is adequate funding and enhanced services, the museum or library is then better able to fulfill their missions of education, collecting, preservation...

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Benefits For the Community

-When museums and libraries are located in the same building, they save the patron time and trouble of traveling.

-The patrons are able to acquire meaningful knowledge and develop critical inquiry skills through a sense of wonder and serious study.

-The quality of life of all members of society is improved through the enriched exhibits and services.

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-To learn more about the benefits of museum-library collaborations, check out:

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Brown, Karen, and Miriam Pollack. "Illinois Libraries and Museums: Connecting & Collaborating for the Future." Illinois Libraries 82 (2000): 209-215.

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Dilevko, Juris, and Lisa Gottlieb. "Resurrecting a Neglected Idea: The Reintroduction of Library-Museum Hybrids." Library Quarterly 73 (2003): 160-198.

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Matthews, Julia. "From Archaeology to Zoology: The ROM Library." Canadian Library Journal 43 (1986): 187-190.