LIBRARIES AND MUSEUMS IN AN ERA OF PARTICIPATORY CULTURE

Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and the the participants recognized that this is a critical moment for Salzburg Global Seminar, the session plunged leaders from libraries and museums worldwide and a time for possible re- Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and North and South orientation and reinvention. [...] SUMMARY America into discussion, debate, and the development of a Building on the IMLS initiative, “The Future of Museums series of practical recommendations for ensuring maximum and Libraries,” as well as on past museum and library sessions access to and engagement in the work of museums and libraries convened at the Salzburg Global Seminar, the seminar included worldwide, as they examined the me. [...] As key stewards of our culture and heritage, and as places of learning and exploration, what one of the participants defined In the spirit of making the seminar more “participatory” in as “social enterprises that prepare people to discover them- real time – and of extending the reach of the conversations – selves,” libraries and museums have traditionally enjoyed a daily interactive blogs were bro. [...] Some of the leading thinkers on the topic of the seminar joined in the dis- This seminar was designed to engage thinkers with a wide cussion on the blogs, thus providing a global loop in and out variety of professional experiences (approximately half came of the sessions taking place at Schloss Leopoldskron, home of from libraries and half from museums) and cultural and regional the Salzburg Globa. [...] FOCUS QUESTIONS: • Technology includes crowd sourcing and outreach, the ability What special and new skills do library and museum professionals to engage and evolve with technology, the ability to impart need now and in the future? How do library and museum pro- technology to the community across generations, and creating fessionals address such social needs as bridging cultures and and maintainin.