Birmingham Civil Rights Institute – Birmingham, AL
Year: 2007
Amount: $10,000
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
Since opening in 1992, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute has made its goal to become the nation’s premier educational center for studying the Civil Rights Movement and the global struggle for human rights.

Brookfield Zoo of the Chicago Zoological Society – Brookfield, IL
Year: 2007
Amount: $10,000
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
The primary goal of any zoo, according to the Chicago Zoological Society, is to educate the public about environmental conservation, in hopes of preserving the world’s natural habitats and resources for future generations. Since Chicago’s Brookfield Zoo opened its doors to the public in 1934, it has taken this mission seriously, creating a host of programs to educate students, parents, teachers, and other community members about their responsibilities as world citizens and to inspire them to enter scientific fields.

Georgetown County Library – Georgetown, SC
Year: 2007
Amount: $10,000
Grant: National Award for Library Service
South Carolina’s Georgetown County Library has emerged as a national treasure by inspiring residents to embrace their heritage and to dream of a bright future armed with literacy, pride, and knowledge.

Kim Yerton Branch of the Humboldt County Library – Hoopa, CA
Year: 2007
Amount: $10,000
Grant: National Award for Library Service
As California’s only joint county-tribal library on an Indian reservation, the Kim Yerton Branch of the Humboldt County Library has become a center for the rural community of Hoopa Valley, connecting thousands of residents of all ages with Native American reading materials, computer access and the prospect of a better life through literacy.

Memphis Public Library & Information Center – Memphis, TN
Year: 2007
Amount: $10,000
Grant: National Award for Library Service
With 19 locations and 114 years of experience, it is safe to assume that the Memphis Public Library & Information Center in Tennessee knows a thing or two about the community it serves. Yet, the extent to which the library reaches out to patrons, not only through innovative programs held at each branch, but through vehicles like its own community-based radio and television stations, demonstrates a commitment to Memphis, Barlett, and Shelby County residents that goes above and beyond the average public library system.

National Museum of Women in the Arts – Washington, DC
Year: 2007
Amount: $10,000
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
Since opening its doors to the public 20 years ago, the National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) has welcomed over 3.5 million visitors, cultivated a collection of 3,500 objects, and presented more than 200 art exhibitions. The brainchild of Wilhelmina Holladay – who, after searching through a college textbook in the 1960s, found that women were greatly underrepresented in the world of “high art” – the NMWA has grown from a private collection to a museum near the National Mall, where anyone can come and appreciate the contribution of artists from Frida Kahlo to Marie Cassatt.

Ocean County Library – Toms River, NJ
Year: 2007
Amount: $10,000
Grant: National Award for Library Service
With 21 branches serving more than 540,000 residents in Ocean County, the Ocean County Library is dedicated to fulfilling its mission of “Connecting People, Building Community.”

Oregon Museum of Science and Industry – Portland, OR
Year: 2007
Amount: $10,000
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
Part brain-powered playground for kids and adults, part cutting-edge classroom for communities across the state, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) serves to inspire wonder for the kid in each of its visitors.

The Newberry Library – Chicago, IL
Year: 2007
Amount: $10,000
Grant: National Award for Library Service
With more than 1.5 million books, 5 million manuscript pages, and 500,000 historic maps in its collection, Chicago’s Newberry Library has a proud history as one of the nation’s largest and most revered independent research libraries. But in recent years the Newberry’s reach has extended far beyond the shelves of its four ample walls, thanks to programming that actively engages and mirrors the diverse communities it serves.

Vermont Historical Society – Barre, VT
Year: 2007
Amount: $10,000
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
For 170 years, the Vermont Historical Society has set the standard for connecting Green Mountain state residents, scholars, educators, and students with their rich heritage and with one another.

Artrain USA – Ann Arbor, MI
Year: 2006
Amount: $10,000
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
When Artrain USA chugs into town, communities are changed. Housed in vintage train cars and pulled by locomotives, the traveling museum brings world-class art exhibitions to communities across the country that may have little or no access to art museums.

Frankfort Community Public Library – Frankfort, IN
Year: 2006
Amount: $10,000
Grant: National Award for Library Service
Many public libraries across the country serve as community centers by offering space for community arts and cultural classes. The Frankfort Community Public Library, however, not only serves as host to such classes, it also sponsors a “school of living” and a myriad of free and low-cost fine art, crafts, music, theatre, cooking, and gardening classes for children and adults. With its free classes, art exhibitions, its annual Hispanic and Japanese cultural festivals, free live music events, and theatre presentations, the library has truly become a cultural hub for Frankfort.

John G. Shedd Aquarium – Chicago, IL
Year: 2006
Amount: $10,000
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
Spreading conservation awareness messages is one way the 75-year-old John G. Shedd Aquarium is fulfilling its mission to show that marine life connects people to the living world and inspires people to make a difference. The Shedd Aquarium’s conservation awareness campaigns and its multi-faceted educational programs reflect its strong leadership in the field and ensure its place as one of the most popular destinations in Chicago.

Lincoln Children’s Zoo – Lincoln, NE
Year: 2006
Amount: $10,000
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
Lincoln Children’s Zoo is a natural oasis in the heart of downtown Lincoln, Nebraska. The institution has seen great changes in the city and its demographics during its 40-year existence and has responded with a range of programs that make the natural world accessible to even the most underserved groups.

Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County – Charlotte, NC
Year: 2006
Amount: $10,000
Grant: National Award for Library Service
The Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County strives to expand minds, empower individuals, and enrich its community. As the largest public library system in the Carolinas, the library has plenty of individuals to serve. It manages 24 library locations, numerous outreach programs, and a family of 18 Web sites, serving more than 850,000 county residents, 26,000 area users, and Web visitors from all over the world. Whether in its new ImaginOn facility or one of its smaller neighborhood branches, the Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County exemplifies an approach to service and programming that can transform lives.

San Antonio Public Library – San Antonio, TX
Year: 2006
Amount: $10,000
Grant: National Award for Library Service
The San Antonio Public Library is striving to make its city of 1.2 million people a community of learning. The library has a strategy that addresses the cultural mosaic of the San Antonio community and is helping to boost library usage, especially among the hard-to-reach, low-income, Spanish-speaking population. The San Antonio Public Library can now boast that its programs and services bring approximately 10,000 people a day through the doors of its many branches.

COSI Toledo – Toledo, OH
Year: 2005
Amount:
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
In the seven years since COSI Toledo opened, the hands-on science museum has become a close partner with local school systems and other community organizations in bringing the joy of scientific discovery to children of all ages. From college fairs to camp-ins, from one-time experiences to multiyear programs, COSI Toledo is dedicated to community service that reveals to the world, a world of science.

Johnson County Library – Overland Park, KS
Year: 2005
Amount:
Grant: National Award for Library Service
A myriad of successful programs that benefit all areas of Johnson County, Kansas, from the suburbs to small towns and rural communities, distinguish the work of the Johnson County Library. The library continually seeks new opportunities to serve its community, and in partnership with community organizations, the library has created innovative and exceptional programs while enhancing traditional services.

Levine Museum of the New South – Charlotte, NC
Year: 2005
Amount:
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
The Levine Museum of the New South is not afraid to tackle challenging social issues in order to build a better community. In 2004 the museum embarked on an extraordinary project that enabled the citizens of Charlotte to examine issues of equity, race, and inclusion in the context of the history of school desegregation. The project left a deep impression on the residents of Charlotte and earned the museum a place among the 2005 recipients of the National Award for Museum Service.

Mathews Memorial Library – Mathews, VA
Year: 2005
Amount:
Grant: National Award for Library Service
The Mathews Library sees its role as central to its goal of creating a thriving community, and area residents have taken notice. No longer content to serve a narrow segment of its community, the public library now partners with the local schools and historical center on programs that make it a hub of lifelong learning and enrichment.

Pratt Museum – Homer, AK
Year: 2005
Amount:
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
The Pratt Museum’s commitment to building strong community partnerships, especially with native villages around Kachemak Bay, helped earn it a place among the 2005 recipients. Permeating its many community programs and exhibits is an invitation by the Pratt Museum to make connections between worlds–human and nonhuman, land and sea, native and non-native, scientific and spiritual. The museum asks its visitors to stop, listen, reflect, and think in new ways, and be moved to fully participate in community life.

Saint Paul Public Library – Saint Paul, MN
Year: 2005
Amount:
Grant: National Award for Library Service
The Saint Paul Public Library has never been more valuable to the residents of the Twin City metro area. The library and its Friends group have garnered unprecedented public and private support for new facilities and for targeted outreach to people from all walks of life. In partnership with the Friends group, the Saint Paul Library has invested in a diverse array of community partnerships. The result is a system that delivers more books and materials (a 50 percent increase in the last five years), has more on-site visitors (a 31 percent increase in visitation), receives thousands more Web site hits, and has more Saint Paulites opening a book for fun and learning.

Chicago Botanic Garden – Chicago, IL
Year: 2004
Amount:
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
The Chicago Botanic Garden knows that while young students want to learn about the natural world, many teachers may be insecure about teaching science. This is one reason it has developed extensive programs for teachers, science education initiatives for youth, training and certificate programs in horticultural therapy, a burgeoning School of the Chicago Botanic Garden for adult learners, and a Web site with sample lesson plans and links to plant information listings. With the aim of strengthening science literacy in youth, especially among the city’s large African-American and Hispanic populations, the Chicago Botanic Garden has a number of successful on-and off-site programs. Through its growing programs, the Chicago Botanic Garden is cultivating the next generation of plant scientists and environmental stewards.

Flint Public Library – Flint, MI
Year: 2004
Amount:
Grant: National Award for Library Service
Every day the Flint Public Library pulsates with programs and services that are meaningful to the residents of Flint, Michigan. Flint is home to a diverse population, the majority of whom are African-American. The Flint Public Library regularly draws high attendance for a host of innovative programs that serve families and help unify this diverse community. The Flint Public Library is often at the center of important community events. The library has become known as the place to be in Flint to celebrate the Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday. For eight years, the Flint Public Library has participated in a countywide essay contest designed to let middle-school girls meet and learn from successful women. In partnership with a teen parenting and pregnancy prevention organization, the library created an award-winning program to help young people take charge of their lives. In thousands of community interactions, the Flint Public Library serves as a vital catalyst for civic engagement and enrichment.

Mayaguez Children’s Library, Inc. – Mayaguez, PR
Year: 2004
Amount:
Grant: National Award for Library Service
Located on the westernmost tip of Puerto Rico, the Mayagüez Children’s Library opened in 1991 as the only nonprofit, bilingual, independent public community library for the young people of Mayagüez. It is also the first children’s library in the Caribbean to provide a Special Needs Center for visually impaired and physically handicapped children. In a city where more than half the population of 98,434 lives below the poverty level, the library strives to improve the community’s quality of life through services, programming, and resources geared for young readers and students.

The Regional Academic Health Center Medical Library of the University of Texas Health Science Center – San Antonio, TX
Year: 2004
Amount:
Grant: National Award for Library Service
The Regional Academic Health Center Medical Library serves four counties of South Texas located along the Mexican border known as the Lower Rio Grande Valley. The population of the community is largely Hispanic and, according to the 2000 Census, has grown by 40 percent since 1990. The counties here are among the most underserved areas in the country with regard to medical care. Opened in 2001, the Regional Academic Health Center Medical Library serves not only the academic needs of faculty, staff, and students of The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, but also the general health information needs of the public. Two recent contracts with the National Library of Medicine enable staff to pilot health literacy projects that empower residents to learn about their own health issues and use technology to gain access to high-quality health information.

Western Folklife Center, Inc. – Elko, NV
Year: 2004
Amount:
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
About one-fifth of the U.S. population lives in rural areas, which support diverse populations with rich artistic traditions. The Western Folklife Center is one of relatively few museums focused on rural life. Headquartered in Elko, Nevada, the center serves its widely dispersed local audience with world-class programming and exhibits, most notably with its annual National Cowboy Poetry Gathering. With its 23-year history of fieldwork, unique archival collections, annual Gathering event, and collaborations with the Library of Congress’s American Folklife Center and other national partners, the center’s regional and local impact may be easy to overlook. The center’s educational programs reach approximately 5,000 Elko County schoolchildren annually with programs that include writing workshops and cowboy poetry presentations in the schools, hands-on activities at the center, and tours of exhibits.

Zoological Society of San Diego – San Diego, CA
Year: 2004
Amount:
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
More than five million people visit the world-renowned San Diego Zoo and its Wild Animal Park annually. In addition to combining education and fun for millions of visitors, the Zoological Society of San Diego is involved in conservation projects that span the globe, and it engages individuals in interactive education and mentorship programs, meaningful volunteer opportunities, unique outreach programs, and innovative research projects. The Zoological Society serves its local community through more than 80 formal, in-depth educational programs delivered on site, in schools, and through other community services. The Zoological Society’s free and discount-rate programs ensure that children of all socioeconomic levels can enjoy the resources of the Zoo and Wild Animal Park. The Zoological Society’s outreach programs and assemblies benefit schools throughout San Diego County. The combined efforts of staff and community partners have resulted in quality programs for diverse audiences.

Bozeman Public Library – Bozeman, MT
Year: 2003
Amount:
Grant: National Award for Library Service
The Bozeman Public Library is at the center of one of the fastest growing counties in the United States. Though it is a city library, it has an inter-local agreement with Gallatin County to provide its services to a population of almost 50,000 residents. More than 1,200 people with diverse interests and needs use the library daily. The Bozeman Library is energetic and responsive, meeting the wide ranging needs of its community, guided by a vision and strategic plan developed with substantial citizen input.

Carnegie Science Center – Pittsburgh, PA
Year: 2003
Amount:
Grant: National Award for Museum Service
The world-class Carnegie Science Center is one of the most visited science centers in the country with an average of 690,000 visitors annually. Located on the North Side of Pittsburgh, bordering on Manchester, in an inner-city neighborhood with an 85 percent minority, middle- to lower-income population, the CSC is in a neighborhood of nearly 6,600 high tech companies. Yet many area residents have little opportunity to increase their awareness of and comfort level with the benefits of science, math, and technology. CSC strives to develop the science literacy and participation of all area residents. The benefits of the Carnegie Science Center’s educational outreach programs go beyond teaching science; they build community pride and engagement and a sense of hope for the future.

Free Library of Philadelphia – Philadelphia, PA
Year: 2003
Amount:
Grant: National Award for Library Service
The Free Library of Philadelphia’s strategy for community service is to “turn libraries inside out”–extending outreach, recognizing community needs, developing useful and desired programs, forming community partnerships, and making the Free Library collections and services welcome, useful, and easily accessible. The Free Library System serves the 1.5 million residents of Philadelphia with 54 libraries–almost all of them recently renovated, handsomely refurbished, and equipped with state-of-the-art public-access computers.