Recipient: Wildlife Conservation Society/Central Park Zoo
Location: New York, NY
Grant: 2003 National Leadership Grant, Museum-Library Collaboration

The Challenge: The conservation message is challenging for zoos to present quickly and effectively. The Central Park Zoo, an innovator in interpretive concepts for zoos, has turned to poetry in its quest to portray the significance of the earth’s loss of biodiversity. The Wildlife Conservation Society, which runs the New York City’s aquarium and zoos, partnered with the Poets House to establish a poet residency at the Central Park Zoo. Learn more

I am so pleased that announcing grants for conservation to museums in the Gulf Coast area was one of my very first acts as Director of the Institute. These grants will help to sustain the cultural richness of this region; they underscore the President's commitment to help the Gulf Coast area recover from the hurricanes.

I plan to make emergency planning and the preservation of collections a top priority for my administration at the Institute. While it is clear that for many Gulf Coast cultural institutions no amount of emergency planning could have prevented damage and loss, this is not the case in most disasters. Emergency planning can make a real difference. However, a recent report released by Heritage Preservation and funded by IMLS says that 80 percent of our collecting institutions do not have emergency plans or the staff to carry them out. We need to do more.

To set this in a national context, there are 4.8 billion artifacts held by more than 30,000 archives, historical societies, libraries, museums, scientific research collections, and archaeological repositories in the United States. These institutions are visited by the public 2.5 billion times a year. Museums and libraries are stewards of our cultural heritage, entrusted with collections and resources that can connect every citizen to what it means to be an American and to understand the cultures of the world. They fuel advancement in intellectual, aesthetic, and scientific understanding. We have an important responsibility to care for them.

Anne-Imelda M. Radice, Director, IMLS

"After the History Wars" (panel), Marsha Semmel (panelist), IMLS Director for Strategic Partnerships, Organization of American Historians 2006 Annual Conference, Washington, DC, 4/22.

"If I Had to Do It All Over Again: Lessons for the Museums of the Future" (panel), Marsha Semmel (panelist), IMLS Director for Strategic Partnerships, American Association of Museums 2006 Annual Meeting, Boston, MA, 4/27.

Opening Remarks (general session), Dr. Anne-Imelda M. Radice, IMLS Director, American Association of Museums 2006 Annual Meeting, Boston, MA, 10:30 - 12:15, 4/28.

"Grant Funding from IMLS” (panel), Christine Henry (facilitator), Dan Lukash, Steve Shwartzman, Chris Reich, Sandra Narva, Senior Program Officers, Office of Museum Services, and Susan Malbin, Senior Program Officer, Office of Library Services, sponsored by the American Association of Museums Annual Conference, Boston, MA 4/29.

"Small Museums Walking on Water," (panel) Schroeder Cherry, Ed.D. IMLS Deputy Director for Museums, Small Museums Association at AAM, Boston, MA 4/29.

"Shall We Dance? The Basics of Partnership" (panel), Marsha Semmel (panel chair), IMLS Director for Strategic Partnerships, American Association of Museums 2006 Annual Meeting, Boston, MA, 4/29.

"Survey or Not To Survey: Why Is It Even a Question?" (panel) Steve Shwartzman, Senior Program Officer, Office of Museum Services, 10:30-11:45 4/29.

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