Keynote
Address
Mississippi State Library Commission
Headquarters Building Grand Opening
Mary L. Chute
Acting Director, Institute of Museum and Library Services
Jackson, Mississippi
January 9, 2006
It is a great pleasure to be here today at the dedication
of the new home of the Mississippi Library Commission.
I was thrilled when Sharman Smith, a friend and colleague
AND the commission’s outstanding Executive Director,
invited me and my associates from the Institute of Museum
and Library Services to join you here today. I am accompanied
by Dr. George Smith, IMLS’s Associate Deputy for
State Programs. We are always pleased when such opportunities
present themselves, but I must admit we were particularly
eager to come to Mississippi to encourage and recognize
the great work Mississippi libraries are doing in overcoming
unprecedented adversity. We all recognize that numerous
libraries on the state’s Gulf Coast sustained
significant damage to their buildings and collections.
We’ve been paying particularly close attention
to the progress of the Hancock County Library in Bay
St. Louis, which suffered severe damage. In 2001, the
Hancock County Library was one of three libraries nationwide
to win the IMLS National Award for Library Service.
We know that the Mississippi Library Commission is doing
everything possible to help them and others recover.
Which makes it an added pleasure for us to be here today
to help you celebrate this landmark occasion.
Libraries provide critical public service. The devastating
hurricanes that struck this part of the country illustrated
this in the extreme: For many, libraries were their
only link to assistance and vital information. But the
benefits of libraries to their communities are demonstrated
daily, in good times and bad.
Learning throughout the lifetime is critical to the
success of individuals, communities, and our society
as a whole. Of course, children and students need to
learn. But so do workers, blue collar and white collar,
at every phase of their careers. So do parents. So do
senior citizens. So does anyone who wants to make a
difference, or simply participate, in their communities
or in the world. In short, we need to be a nation of
learners.
Libraries and museums are central to attaining this
“nation of learners” goal. As stewards of
cultural heritage, information, and ideas, these institutions
traditionally have played a vital role in helping us
experience, explore, discover, and make sense of the
world. That role is now more essential than ever. By
building technological infrastructure and strengthening
community relationships, libraries can offer to the
public unprecedented access and expertise in transforming
masses of raw information into knowledge.
At the Institute of Museum and Library Services, we
are dedicated to helping libraries and museums support
individuals in their learning for life. We focus on
four tangible ways in which our cultural institutions
do that.
First, libraries and museums develop programs and services
that meet genuine individual, family, and community
learning needs. These institutions promote interaction
between the generations and spur learning and literacy
development from early childhood through the senior
years.
Second, the collections in libraries and museums connect
people to the full spectrum of human experience: culture,
science, history, and art. These collections increase
Americans’ global awareness and understanding.
And by preserving and conserving books, artworks, and
other cultural artifacts, libraries and museums provide
tangible links with humankind’s history. Now,
with the digitization of collections, educational resources
can be seamlessly shared worldwide.
Third, libraries and museums provide the forum for
building necessary skills. Success in today’s
economy requires information literacy, a spirit of self-reliance,
and a strong ability to collaborate and communicate
effectively and solve problems. Combining their strengths
in traditional learning with robust investment in modern
communication infrastructures, libraries and museums
are well equipped to support the building of the skills
Americans need in the 21st century.
Finally, libraries and museums provide opportunities
for civic participation and equip people with the ability
to take on these opportunities responsibly and effectively.
Respected in their communities, libraries and museums
hold the public trust and play important roles in creating
an informed and educated citizenry. These institutions
provide tremendous assets to communities engaged in
a wide range of interests, ranging from workforce issues
and parenting concerns to cross-cultural understanding
and student achievement. As partners in the exercise
of civic responsibility, libraries and museums are part
of even larger efforts to weave a stronger community
fabric.
There is an excellent example of how libraries meet
these four needs right here in Mississippi. The University
of Southern Mississippi, using a 2001 grant from IMLS,
had already created the Civil Rights in Mississippi
Archive, an Internet-accessible, fully searchable database
of digitized versions of rare library and archival resources
on race relations in the state. Now, using a 2003 IMLS
grant, the university is expanding the project and partnering
with Delta State University, Jackson State University,
the Mississippi Department of Archives and History,
Tougaloo College, and the University of Mississippi.
The result is enhanced access to primary source material,
and the creation of national models for statewide digital
collaborations and the handling of copyright and privacy
issues associated with digitizing archives. With this
outstanding project, the University of Southern Mississippi
and its partners are meeting library users’ needs
in all four of the ways identified by IMLS: promoting
learning in families and communities, sustaining cultural
heritage, building 21st century skills, and encouraging
civic participation.
The Mississippi Library Commission has also been doing
exemplary work in helping libraries to create public
value. The commission has served Mississippi for eighty
years now, to the significant benefit of the state’s
libraries. Much like that of IMLS, the commission’s
goal is to enable libraries to help all Mississippians
achieve their greatest potential, participate in a global
society, and enrich their daily lives. To realize this
vision, the commission provides libraries with services
and grants that few of them could obtain working independently.
Earlier I mentioned the library in Bay St. Louis, which
won our national award. Part of the reason for the selection
of the Hancock County Library was its success in connecting
remote, rural communities to services made possible
by the Mississippi Library Commission.
Under the Library Services and Technology Act, IMLS
awards funds to the Mississippi Library Commission each
year. Of course, we don’t just hand the money
over; we require a five-year plan and annual reports—in
short, we make them tell us what they’re doing
with it. In its most recent report, the commission listed
many exciting projects and programs, including a service
to stimulate recreational reading in Hattiesburg, an
initiative to make the library in Union a magnet for
children, and an outreach program for children and senior
citizens in Pearl River County. The commission also
administers statewide programs that help libraries disseminate
career and life skills information, improve library
access for the disabled community, increase the public’s
ability to use government documents, and many others
too numerous to mention.
Clearly the Mississippi Library Commission shares IMLS’s
vision of lifelong learning for everyone. This new building
represents a renewed commitment on the part of the commission
and the State of Mississippi to the pursuit of that
vision and to creating and sustaining a nation of learners.
The commission will have a real home for the first time
and be able to provide a much higher level of service
to the state’s libraries and agencies. The commission’s
ability to lead by example will be greatly enhanced.
All of us at IMLS congratulate you and wish you all
the best. And George and I thank you so much for the
opportunity to share in this wonderful celebration.
