Every year, international museum and library representatives visit the Institute in Washington, D.C.to learn how American libraries and museums are run and funded. On July 10, for example, we were honored by a visit from two Moroccan colleagues, Said El Moustafid, Chief of Projects of the National Telecommunication Regulation Agency (ANRT), in Rabat, and Dr. Mostafa Ezziyyani, Professor and Researcher at the School of Science and Techniques at Abdelmalek Essaadi University in Tetouan. Over the years, we have hosted visitors from Algeria, Argentina, Bangladesh, Burma, Croatia, Ghana, Hungary, Japan, Libya, Maldives, Mexico, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Palestinian Authority, Portugal, Slovak Republic, South Africa, Tanzania, and Turkey.

These visits, arranged by the State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program, provide us with an opportunity to share our knowledge and to dialogue with the wider world. Exchanges with international visitors broaden our world view and, so often, we learn as much from our visitors as they do from us.

At the meetings, our library and museum staffs typically provide an overview of our grant programs and address visitors’ specific items of interest. Visitors are interested in myriad topics, including copyright and intellectual property right issues, digital data management, how policies and funding are developed and supported by federal, state, and local governments, and the role of museums and libraries in a democratic society. They are also interested, like us, in the use of technology for preserving and providing access to historic collections.

Over the next year, we will be exploring how to foster collaboration between U.S. museums and libraries and their counterparts across the globe. We want to be a catalyst for information- and idea-sharing between our domestic networks and museums and libraries around the world.

I encourage international colleagues who are unable to travel to Washington, D.C. to visit our Web site, which contains a wealth of information on hundreds of IMLS projects and practices.

We live in a global community and we look forward to forming closer bonds with our international colleagues.

- Anne-Imelda M. Radice, Ph.D., Director, IMLS

“Working with Museums and Libraries in Your Community,” Mary Downs, Research Officer, National Council for Community and Education Partnerships/GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) Annual Conference, Washington, DC, July 20-23.

Center for Creative Community Development Colloquium, Marsha Semmel, Deputy Director for Museums and Director for Strategic Partnerships, Williams College, Williamston, MA, August 4.

State Programs Site Visit to New York, Robin Cabot, Senior Program Officer, Albany, NY, August 11-15.

State Programs Site Visit to Rhode Island, Terri Brown, Senior Program Officer, Providence, RI, August 17-21.

State Programs Site Visit to Missouri, Robin Cabot, Senior Program Officer, Jefferson City, MO, August 25-29.

“Investing in Professional Development to Build Institutional Capacity,” Christopher J. Reich, Senior Program Officer and Mary Estelle Kennelly, Associate Deputy Director for Museum Services; Association of African American Museums Annual Conference, Chicago, IL, August 27-30.

African American Museums Annual Conference, Dr. Schroeder Cherry, Counselor to the Director, Chicago, IL, August 27-30.

State Programs Site Visit to Ohio, Michele Farrell, Senior Program Officer, Columbus, OH, September 2-6.

“Connecting to Collections Care,” Nancy Rogers, Senior Project Coordinator, American Association for State and Local History Annual Meeting, Rochester, NY, September 11.

“IMLS Grant Opportunities That Help Transform Your Museum,” Mary Estelle Kennelly, Associate Deputy Director for Museums, AASLH conference, Rochester, NY, September 11.

Luncheon Keynote, Marsha Semmel, Deputy Director for Museums and Director for Strategic Partnerships, Florida Association of Museums, Annual Meeting, Miami, FL, September 8.

“Define Your Future with IMLS Grant Opportunities, ” Marsha Semmel, Deputy Director for Museums; Sandra Narva, Senior Program Officer, Western Museums Association annual meeting, Anchorage, AK, September 18.

“Funding Collections Care into the Future,” Sandra Narva, Senior Program Officer, Western Museums Association annual meeting, Anchorage, AK, September 18.

“Native Definitions: Sustaining Heritage Through IMLS,” Sandra Narva, Senior Program Officer, Western Museums Association annual meeting, Anchorage AK, September 20.