ALAWON: American Library Association Washington Office Newsline Volume 8, Number 17 February 19, 1999 In this issue: Diane Frankel, Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, To Step Down Note: The following is a February 18 press release from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. For more information, please contact Mamie Bittner at 202-606-8339. Washington, DC -- Diane Frankel announced today that she will be stepping down as Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services at the end of March 1999. Originally appointed by President William Clinton to be the Director of the Institute of Museum Services, Frankel led the agency through its transition to include federal library as well as museum programs. President Clinton said, "Diane Frankel's outstanding leadership skills have expertly guided the Institute of Museum and Library Services through a period of growth and change. Hillary and I are indeed grateful for her five and one half years of dedicated service." Frankel said, "As Director of the Institute I have had an unparalleled opportunity to see the work of our museums and libraries nationwide. They have incredible power to offer connections. They link people to ideas, to their communities, to the past and to the future. As a nation of learners, we depend on the resources of museums and libraries throughout our lives. It has been a great privilege to serve the American people in such a wonderful way - making museum and library resources more accessible to people across the country." During her five and one half years of federal service, Frankel established a record of achievement that has helped bring museum and library service to millions of Americans nationwide. On November 17, 1993, when Frankel was sworn into office by Secretary of Education Richard Riley, she announced her vision to "raise everyone's understanding about the vital role museums play as lifelong educational institutions, as places where families, friends, school children and communities can explore and discover together." She said that, "not one institution could afford to remain on the sidelines when so many important issues face our communities." One of her first acts was to establish an annual National Award for Museum Service to recognize museums that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to serve their entire communities. These museums make an impact by helping communities to use the museum to address the educational, environmental and social challenges they face. To date, nineteen museums of all types have met with First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton to receive this prestigious award. In 1994, when all federal spending for small programs was undergoing congressional review, Frankel was an excellent spokesperson for the importance of a federal role in leveraging other public and private support. Her outstanding leadership skill was a key factor in maintaining federal support for museums. By 1996, Congress expressed its confidence in the agency by expanding its mission to include administration of federal library programs. This action increased the Institute's annual budget from $20,000,000 to more than $180,000,000. An able manager, Frankel impressed the library community by overseeing a smooth transition to a new set of programs, free of burdensome regulations, resulting in more flexibility to use funds to address high priority library needs and allowing federal library staff to substantially improve customer service. She convened the first joint meetings of the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science and the National Museum Services Board to provide policy advice. She worked with leaders in the library field to develop the guidelines for the new federal library competitive grant program known as National Leadership Grants. At the time the new National Leadership Grant guidelines were released, Frankel said "There were many issues to consider: the history of federal funding for libraries, the new opportunity to support collaboration, recognition of the potential of technology to expand services, the need to establish a home for activities of national significance, and above all, how to best serve the public to whom we are ultimately responsible. Through our joint efforts, I believe that this program will support projects of national significance to enhance the quality of services nationwide and provide an important opportunity for collaboration between museums and libraries." As part of the creation of the new agency combining both museum and library programs in 1996, Frankel reorganized the agency and initiated a new Office of Research and Technology. With the strong support of museum and library grantees she has begun efforts that will have long-term impact improving program evaluation and outcome reporting. Also in that year, the twentieth anniversary of the Institute of Museum Services, the agency published To Listen and To Lead, a leadership guide for federal support of museums. The result of a year-long series of town meetings about the role of museums and of the agency, this publication is a blueprint for the future which will guide federal support for museums into the 21st century. In FY 1998, Frankel announced the first grants under the new Library Services and Technology Act. These awards help libraries to use technology to bring information to people in new and interesting ways and to assure that library service is accessible to all - especially those that have difficulty using the library. These awards also offer an opportunity for libraries and museums to work together and form innovative partnerships. Frankel believes strongly in the power of partnership. She recognizes the important responsibility museums, libraries and other community organizations have to enter into creative collaborations. Together they can be resources for life-long learning and active partners with formal education. To expand museums' involvement in their communities Frankel launched a series of leadership initiatives. The first initiative -- grants to strengthen museum partnerships with schools -- involved 82,000 students, 228 schools and 82 museums over a three- year period, 1993-1996. To promote promising practices the agency held a national conference and published a case study workbook titled True Needs True Partners. The agency recently released the first national survey of the status of museum school partnerships in the U.S. This survey will serve as a baseline for years to come. Similarly, a leadership initiative begun in 1997 -- grants to help museums enhance the quality of civic life -- has impacted thousands of people in all age groups. New partners include programs for the aging, regional Head Start programs, neighborhood housing groups, urban leagues, mental health facilities and public health nursing associations, churches, libraries and economic development. A national conference in St. Louis, Missouri brought together museums and their community partners from throughout the nation. Through testimony to Congress, countless speeches, travel throughout the United States, interviews, meetings with library and museum leaders and disseminating promising practices, Frankel has demonstrated a persuasive energy and enthusiasm for the importance of learning throughout one's lifetime. She is an articulate advocate for the public benefit of strong museums and libraries. Frankel leaves the agency with an Administration budget request for FY 2000 that is the highest in the Institute's history. The $188,500,000 request to Congress includes a $10 million increase in museum programs, which will support the first federal program specifically designed to address the technology needs of all types of museums. Frankel said, "This funding is critical to assure that as we enter the 21st century the public has the ability to access museum collections for lifelong learning and in classrooms throughout the world." The budget includes a $4 million increase in library competitive grants and grants to states. These grants help libraries use technology to improve library service and bring service to underserved populations. Frankel will join the James Irvine Foundation. She has been appointed Program Director in Children, Youth and Families. In addition to managing that portfolio, Frankel will be responsible for the development of a multi-year initiative to create and support networks of organizations, institutions and coalitions committed to advancing the educational development of school-aged children in California communities. Frankel will provide leadership to a team of program directors, associates, project managers and consultants in the development of this new initiative. She will be responsible for developing the program's conceptual framework, its goals and objectives and the grantmaking strategies that will support capacity building of community organization, community mobilization, parent involvement, media engagement and project evaluation. The James Irvine Foundation is a private, nonprofit grantmaking foundation dedicated to enhancing the social, economic, and physical quality of life throughout California, and to enriching the State's intellectual and cultural environment. The foundation was established in 1937 by James Irvine, the California pioneer whose 110,000-acre ranch in Southern California was among the largest privately owned land holding in the State. With assets of $1.2 billion, the foundation makes grants of approximately $48 million annually for the people of California. Frankel previously served as Executive Director of the Bay Area Discovery Museum, located in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area; the museum is dedicated to bringing nature, art, science, theater, and dance to children and their families. From 1985 to 1986, she served as Dean of the School of Liberal and Professional Arts at the John F. Kennedy University and from 1980 to 1985, as Director of the Center for Museum Studies. She was Assistant Director of Education at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art from 1976 to 1980. From 1972 to 1973, she was Outreach Educator at the University of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland. She served on the Council of the Association of Youth Museums. She is currently Chairperson of ArtTable's Washington D.C. Chapter, a member of The Women's Forum of Washington, D.C., a member of The Getty Information Institute Visiting Committee, and a member of the Smithsonian Council. In 1996, she received the Museum Education Committee award for Outstanding Leadership on behalf of education reform and strengthening museum-school partnerships. Ms. Frankel holds a B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley and an M.A. in Museum Education from the George Washington University. Until the President nominates and the Senate confirms a new director, an acting director will administer the day-to-day operations of the agency. The Museum and Library Services Act (P.L. 104-208) provides that the Presidentially appointed Senate confirmed director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services shall rotate between an individual with library and information science expertise and an individual with museum service expertise. The next Presidential appointee to be Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services will have expertise in library and information services and will be appointed for a four year term. ****** ALAWON (ISSN 1069-7799) is a free, irregular publication of the American Library Association Washington Office. All materials subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. To subscribe to ALAWON, send the message: subscribe ala-wo [your_firstname] [your_lastname] to listproc@ala.org or go to http://www.ala.org/washoff/alawon. To unsubscribe to ALAWON, send the message: unsubscribe ala-wo to listproc@ala.org or go to http://www.ala.org/washoff/alawon. ALAWON archives at http://www.ala.org/washoff/alawon. 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