PALS at the Rancho Cucamonga CA library

Justine Roberts, Principal


Last week IMLS tweeted a video put together by clients of ours, the Rancho Cucamonga Library in southern California, about the PALS (Play And Learning Islands) which we designed and built.  The video is great and features library director Robert Karatsu who says: 


"We really think that our PALs in a small way start to bridge the worlds of public libraries (who are good at early literacy and programming) and children’s museum (who are so good at interactivity and sparking creativity among other things.)  Our missions are so similar that it just seems natural to try and find more common ground."





As their name suggests, PALS are free-standing and movable elements that contain hands-on inquiry-based activities.  They live in and among the stacks of the Rancho Cucamonga, CA library.  And in fact, the PALS are intended as an encounter with interactive playful learning as a complement to the more expected cognitive learning libraries support.  The PALS bring together a combination of interactives + library materials (books and media) + supporting materials about learning through play.   Although they can be docked in the children's room, they can also be located outside, or placed strategically for users to discover as they browse for books. We have uploaded photos to our facebook site from the opening.



The PALS are essentially a smaller, fast-tracked part of a larger vision for a children's museum in the library.  In the first phase we completed a community needs assessment and master plan for a children's museum addition.  After completing that work, the library wrote a grant to move forward with the PALS as a way to build staff capacity and pilot some of the ideas about bringing play into the stacks.


In thinking about the design of the PALS we considered the scale of the library and the space available for activities. Each PAL is about 25-50SF.  Each is designed to support a range of play styles including imaginative play, experiential learning, constructive play, aesthetic exploration, and creative problem solving.  Their topics range from science and engineering, to visual and performing arts, to history, and to environmental science.  Although the themes were selected to support the interests of library users and staff, the library believed the PALS would spark additional interest and demand in these areas.  So prior to installing the PALS the library developed their collections on these specific topics - including 500 new books.

The PALS require minimal power, water and lighting. Overall, the PALS are low tech, modular, and portable.  They include space for books and graphics, and utilize green, sustainable materials.  The PALS’ are designed to not need crates for transportation or storage, but smaller units have their own tops which allows them to be "closed" like a “suitcase”. 

The PALS may be small but the vision is ambitious. For the Library the PALS have the potential to expand the range of learning styles and services available through the library, making the library more inviting to families, more inclusive, and more relevant.  In addition the goals included:

     *Pioneering new ways of engaging families in learning in libraries, using interactive museum exhibits as inspiration.  

     *Creating a scalable model which could spread to other libraries.

     *Offer activities that tie into the big themes of literacy, arts and culture.   

     *Change how people think of the library by expanding and enriching the library experience.

     *Support literacy through layered activities that allow users with many interests and skills to be successful.

     *Make the library more family friendly.

Goals for visitors included:

     *Providing experiences that motive users to learn, light a spark of interest, and build self-confidence about creative exploration.

     *Help families realize the role of play in the learning process.

     *Encourage families to consider the library the hub of the learning community, not just a place to borrow books.

     *Increase access to playful activities, the time people in the community spent playing, and broaden the types of playful activities they engaged in.  

     *Bring joy into families lives.


The PALS create a unique blend of reading, browsing and doing at the Rancho Cucamonga library. They are an experiment that is working. 

Tuesday Talks with the Presidents Committee on Arts and Humanities

Justine Roberts, Principal

I thought it was really in keeping with the way this administration uses social media to hold an on-line chat with the Presidents Committee on Arts and Humanities.  This was presented as one of the Tuesday Talks which are an opportunity for citizens to have access to policy makers from different parts of the government, ask them questions, and get substantive answers in a mediated conversation. Its not a debate, and there is no mechanism to follow up or clarify your question if you aren’t getting a pointed answer.  But its not unlike a talk radio show where there is a host to keep things moving and a guest with subject expertise.  There are three ways to particpate in these Tuesday Talks: you can go to Whitehouse.gov to jump in, through Facebook in advance or also live.

This particular Tuesday Talk was part of National Arts and Humanities Month (October) and took place on October 19, 2010.

The PCAH is an independent group appointed by President.  It was founded 1982 under Reagan and has 35 members including working artists.  Its role is to work at the national level on advocacy, programs, issues, opportunities and sustainability related to the arts and humanities.  There are three government agencies that are considered partners of the PCAH: NEA, NEH and IMLS.  But PCAH works with other government departments as well, and with private partners too.  As a committee made up of government and presidential appointees, they bridge public and private and work with both – bringing together groups that aren’t always partners to work on the question of strengthening investment in the cultural life of the USA.  Over the years the PCAH has conducted research and policy analysis, catalyzed programs, and built international relationships.

Each PCAH has its own character and emphasis.  Past committees have focused more on the economy – Preserve America for example was about preserving our historic architecture and civic spaces for tourism and as a basis for economic redevelopment.  This particular group is very concerned with arts education and sees advocacy - making the case - as a central piece of how they can move the needle on participation.  Chuck Close, the first ever visual artist to serve on the PCAH, says they want to remind "educational institutions of the importance of arts education both in and of themselves, and integrated into the rest of the curriculum."  

These are the areas this committee seems to care most about:

• Make the case
• A call to action
• Identify models and opportunities to replicate them 
• Work with other government departments - advocate for the arts and how the role they play
• Give awards to recognize success and catalyze investment

This all adds up to trying to build a movement.  No small thing.

The CHAT

I liked the chat format. And was really pleased to hear Chuck Close speak - what an inspiring advocate he is!  

There was about an hour total and time for 9 questions.  One person read questions aloud and moved the conversation along.  She selected questions about the creative economy, arts education, the influence of the PCAH on policy discussions, role models, making the case, and how to get involved.  

What didn’t come up was international cooperation and the importance of arts/culture embasador and cultural exchange.  The reason that is surprising is because it is part of the mandate of the group and in the past few years they have worked on international projects notably in Haiti and China.

The whole discussion was worthwhile (click to watch) but I wanted to summarize some of what I thought of as the key points the Committee made.  

1. Make the Case.  The committee acknowledged that there is work to be done on making the case for how the arts contribute to formal education, and about how the arts and artists contribute to economic revitalization.  Committee members repeatedly talked about how important it is to articulate the difference that artists and arts organizations make:

• To Economics and urban renewal by moving into abandoned neighborhoods like the NJ Performing Arts Center in Newark which is planned as an anchor for that city's revitalization.  
• To Education by building capacity, enthusiasm, ongoing engagement, and creativity.  They help many different kinds of learners stay in school and support their success through self-esteem and increasing their passion to learn.  They help teachers to feel they have a real stake in educating their students and give teachers permission to explore other ways to get information across. 

2. Build on Success.  They are working to identify existing operating programs that can serve as models to roll out more widely. Programs like Studio in the School are great for individual artists but they also benefit the education system and whole communities.  

3. Artists themselves are a resource.  The committee has also been working on the idea of an artists corps which is a group of working artists that can participate in projects nationally.  Chuck Close has an idea for a “put and artist to work” model like WPA - so increasing direct employment opportunities AND having an impact on schools at the same time.  At the same time, the NEA is developing a program called Our Town which will pilot programs that engage artists.  Our Town grows out of Art Works which is about showing that art does work! In education, community development, economics etc.  

4. This is a non-partisan conversation.  The Committee was created under Reagan and historically has been broadly supported.  They are involved in advocating for the arts inside government - with the DOE about education reform and the role of arts in education and the Domestic Policy Council e.g.  But their goal is to stress that the arts are good for society in general but also in an important local way irrespective of politics of a community.  Art and culture are an important part of society; are our national identity. 

5. Partner, Partner, Partner.  The arts are important to workforce development.  They can teach people how to pose a question, and identify a problem, not just find the answer.  A 2010 study of CEOs lists creativity as a critical skill.  There is a need to have corporate partners who recognize the need for a prepared workforce – one that understands how to think critically, pose questions, collaborate, etc. 

6. Advocacy starts at home.  If you want to get involved look for a local initiative to help out with, or opportunity to teach.  Talk to the PTA and work on showing the local chapter what difference the arts are  making in their community schools.  

Piloting a Powerful Tool for Museums

[By Justine Roberts]

Increasingly, our clients are less focused on a new larger building, and more on shaping their existing organization to better address audience needs. We talk a lot about how to manage this type of transition – after all, the organization has an existing culture, way of working, and audience expectations that need to be navigated carefully. We believe you need a big vision and a coherent plan to guide change (as evidenced here, here, and here). But change itself can happen incrementally, through iterating.

Piloting, or iterating can help you build credibility, capacity, and a track record of success.

By “capacity” I mean internal, operational capacity, as much as I mean fund-raising capacity. It’s hard to change from the inside out, but it’s a mistake to think that it is easier to close the old museum one day and open a new site the next with the whole team ready to go.

Museums are not retail operations.

The learning curve during a change process can be steeper than anyone expected. Piloting, even when it pushes ideas forward in one department at a time, allows the whole organization to ramp up slowly. One of the real advantages of piloting is that the learning process happens within a safe space, is contained, and can be treated as a prototype in which experimentation and risk-taking are the rule.

Case Study: The Big Open-Source Strategic Project, Connecting Communities to Collections

There is a terrific example of this right now at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago called the BOSS project. BOSS is funded by a 2007 IMLS grant designed to explore new ways to ensure programs meet audience needs.

BOSS takes a learner-centered approach in which community volunteers sit on planning committees with staff and co-develop strategic plans. As Melissa Williams, Assistant Director of Education, said:

“You can make those calls for people, but its better when you are making them with people.”

In that spirit, BOSS brings community volunteers on board as full members of the planning team to design and implement new programs.

It’s still early.

BOSS is still early in implementation, and many key questions remain to be answered:

• What are the mechanisms for sustaining new relationships with volunteer committee members?
• Has this process changed volunteers?
• Where can community volunteers have the biggest impact moving forward?

But Williams believes that the project has already demonstrated some key ideas. For one, Williams thinks BOSS is redefining what users expect from the Aquarium in ways that will enhance the organization’s long-term impact on users.

Internally the program has been a success, too.

BOSS project staff has embraced new ways of working, language to describe community relationships, and a new framework for evaluating programs. Williams says that the big lesson from the BOSS project is that “it’s about listening and collaborating.”

We are looking forward to seeing how the experience of this one project team continues to inform the culture of a large organization.

More on 21st Century Skills: an IMLS Report

[By Justine Roberts]

Building on Maeryta's post from last week- I'd like to say that not only are 21st century skills important for both children and adults, but we believe museums are uniquely positioned to support their development.

21st Century skills are those skills that are needed by the workforce in a post-industrial, knowledge-based economy. Museums are clearly wonderful places to spark imagination, encourage questions, risk taking, persistence, and trial and error. Some museums are better at making their visitors comfortable, leading to the kind of un-selfconsciousness and frustration tolerance needed for lifelong learning. But skills development - as opposed to content transfer for example - is in museums' sweet spot.

About two weeks ago, IMLS published a new report titled 21st Century Skills, which attempts to “outline a vision for the role of libraries and museums in the national dialogue around learning” in the new century. It identifies a set of skill categories, and the key skills within each, that museums and libraries are best positioned to support. The report also includes analysis of societal changes that affect the expectations and needs of our audiences, and a discussion of why focusing on skills development matters now. Along with case studies from all types of museums and libraries from around the country is a chart that summarizes the 20th century museum model and contrasts it with that needed for a 21st century museum.

In addition to being useful as a program planning tool, the 36-page report is intended to serve as an institutional planning tool. To this end, it includes a self-assessment that allows museums and libraries to evaluate their organizational culture. The implication is that any organization that hopes its visitors will develop problem solving and lateral thinking skills for example, needs to model those behaviors within its own staff and structures.