(SitNews) - First Lady Michelle Obama joined the Institute of Museum and Library Services Acting Director Maura Marx to present the 2015 National Medal for Museum and Library Service. Ten institutions from across the country, including one from Southeast Alaska, attended the White House Ceremony to be recognized for outstanding service to their communities.

Among the ten 2015 National Medal for Museum and Library Service recipients honored at the White House on May 18th, is the Craig Public Library located on the western edge of Prince of Wales Island.

Left to Right: Craig Library Director Amy K. Marshall and Colin Rice are presented 2015 National Medal for Museum and Library Service by First Lady Michelle Obama.
Photo courtesy Institute of Library Services

The First Lady presented the 2015 National Medal to museum and library directors and to community members from each institution, who shared how the library or museum has impacted their lives.

Eleven-year-old Colin Rice is a homeschooled student on the remote Prince of Wales Island in Alaska. Colin spends much of his time at the Craig Public Library attending video conferences, reading books, and participating in gaming and coding events. Although the library is small, Colin enjoys a wealth of resources there and attends virtual classes with professors, historians, and experts in a variety of fields. When the Craig Library purchased a 3D printer last year, Colin helped build the machine and demonstrated how it works to the community.

Colin plans to continue exploring ways 3D printing can improve lives. Colin says, “I know this library has helped instill in my mind and heart what can be done to broaden not just my own horizons, but those of others. When I travel I will first look for the local library, always.”

“We are truly stunned and staggered by this honor,” said Director Amy K. Marshall. “It is a testament to the community’s enthusiastic engagement with the library and the opportunities it provides.”

When U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski first learned of the honor she said in a prepared statement, “I join everyone on Prince of Wales Island in congratulating the Craig Public Library for earning the prestigious National Medal for Museum and Library Service. The work that the Library staff has done to empower Alaskan minds with resources for education, entertainment, inspiration, and employment has benefitted youth and adults alike for many years!”

The Craig Library was started in 1935 with the donation of 300 books. In 2015, the library will celebrate 80 years of service.

Colin Rice of Craig receives a hug from the First Lady after the award was presented.
Photo courtesy White House

In her remarks, First Lady Michelle Obama said to all the recipients, “The services that you all provide are not luxuries. Just the opposite. Every day your institutions are keeping so many folks in this country from falling through the cracks. In many communities our libraries and museums are the places that help young people dream bigger and reach higher for their futures, the places that help new immigrants learn English and apply for citizenship…the places where folks can access a computer and send out a job application so they can get back to work and get back to the important process of supporting their families.”

“Our nation’s museums and libraries provide robust programs, services, and resources that fuel innovation, economic activity, and cultural and civic engagement,” said Maura Marx, acting director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services. “The 2015 National Medal for Museum and Library Service recipients have demonstrated great determination and dexterity in addressing critical needs of their communities. Their successes are exemplified in the stories of community members whose lives were profoundly changed for the better, thanks to the support of these institutions.”

These ten honorees exemplify the nation’s great libraries and museums and demonstrate significant impact and high quality of programs, services, and partnerships, exceeding the expected levels of community outreach. They were selected from thirty finalists that were among institutions from across the country that were nominated for the honor.

The 2015 National Medal for Museum and Library Service recipients are:

Amazement Square (Lynchburg, VA)
Cecil County Public Library (Elkton, MD)
Craig Public Library (Craig, AK)
Embudo Valley Library and Community Center (Dixon, NM)
Los Angeles Public Library (Los Angeles, CA)
Louisiana Children’s Museum (New Orleans, LA)
Museum of Northern Arizona (Flagstaff, AZ)
New York Hall of Science (Queens, NY)
The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture (New York, NY)
The Tech Museum of Innovation (San Jose, CA)

A video produced for IMLS by HISTORY that honors the winners was also shown at the ceremony. These ten honorees exemplify the nation’s great libraries and museums and demonstrate significant impact and high quality of programs, services, and partnerships, exceeding the expected levels of community outreach. They were selected from thirty finalists that were among institutions from across the country that were nominated for the honor.

Later this year, StoryCorps — a national nonprofit dedicated to recording, preserving, and sharing the stories of Americans — will visit the recipient institutions to document stories from the community.

The next deadline for nominating a museum or library is October 1, 2015. Learn more about the National Medal at www.imls.gov/medals.

Edited by Mary Kauffman, SitNews

On the Web:

Craig Public Library
www.craigpubliclibrary.org

Source of News:

White House
www.whitehouse.gov

Institute of Museum and Library Services
http://www.imls.gov

SitNews ©2015
Stories In The News
Ketchikan, Alaska

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