Milestones: IMLS Announces 20th Anniversary of National Medal for Museum and Library Service Program

From the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS):

The Institute of Museum and Library Services today announced the 20th Anniversary of its National Medal for Museum and Library Service program, the nation’s highest honor conferred on museums and libraries for service to the community. In the last twenty years, the Institute of Museum and Library Services has recognized 132 institutions for remarkable community programming and resources.
“We are delighted to celebrate this milestone and salute our previous National Medal-winning museums and libraries,” said Susan Hildreth, director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services. “In the last twenty years, we have seen institutions adapt and innovate to the shifting needs of their communities, helping us to create a nation of learners. We are proud of the role we have been able to play in recognizing and aiding these organizations’ service to the public.”
The goal of the National Medal Program is to support exceptional institutions whose commitment to their community goes beyond what one expects of a museum or library.
To mark this twenty-year milestone, IMLS will spotlight previous winning institutions through a special Share Your Story Facebook campaign.
“Receiving the 2009 National Medal for Museum Service was an incredible honor for our organization and a great feather in the cap for our region,” said Elizabeth Pierce, Vice President of Marketing and Communications at the Cincinnati Museum Center. “We continue to work with elected officials to restore our Union Terminal landmark, and the award is an important tool as we communicate the effectiveness and leadership of our organization.”
“This recognition was particularly humbling due to the award’s community focus, ” said Dennis Wint, director of The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, a 2008 winner. “Although The Franklin Institute already had a public image of being a great family destination and one of the best science museums in the country, receiving the National Medal not only drew public attention to the value of the Institute’s comprehensive and dynamic exhibits and program experiences – but also to our efforts to welcome our community.”
“At the upcoming Mayoral State of the City address, our National Medal will be one of the highlights of the address,” said Robert Karatsu, the library director of Rancho Cucamonga Public Library in California. “It is widely acknowledged that the library being awarded the National Medal was perhaps the pre-eminent achievement in the city for 2013.”

List of All National Medal Winners (1994-2013)

This list is also available as a spreadsheet (.xls).

2013 Children’s Museum (Boston, Mass.)
2013 Marshalltown Public Library (Marshalltown, Ind.)
2013 Columbus Museum of Art (Columbus, Ohio)
2013 Delta Blues Museum (Clarksdale, Miss.)
2013 Discovery Science Center of Orange County (Santa Ana, Calif.)
2013 National Czech and Slovak Museum and Library (Cedar Rapids, Iowa)
2013 Pierce County Library System (Tacoma, Wash.)
2013 Public Library of Cincinnati (Cincinnati, Ohio)
2013 Rancho Cucamonga Public Library (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.)
2013 Waukegan Public Library (Waukegan, Ill.)
2012 Contra Costa County Library (Pleasant Hill, Calif.)
2012 Bootheel Youth Museum (Malden, Mo.)
2012 Cumberland County Public Library & Information Center, County of Cumberland (Fayetteville, N.C.)
2012 Garfield Park Conservatory (Chicago, Ill.)
2012 Long Island Children’s Museum (Garden City, N.Y.)
2012 Montrose Regional Library District (Montrose, Colo.)
2012 Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami (North Miami, Fla.)
2012 Pacific Science Center Foundation (Seattle, Wash.)
2012 Park View High School Library Media Center, Loudoun County Public School District (Sterling, Va.)
2012 Shaler North Hills Library, Township of Shaler (Glenshaw, Pa.)
2011 Alachua County Library District (Gainesville, Fla.)
2011 Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
2011 Weippe Public Library (Weippe, Idaho)
2011 Columbus Metropolitan Library (Columbus, Ohio)
2011 EdVenture (Columbia, S.C.)
2011 Erie Art Museum (Erie, Pa.)
2011 Hill Museum & Manuscript Library, Order of St. Benedict (Collegeville, Minn.)
2011 Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden (Richmond, Va.)
2011 Madison Children’s Museum (Madison, Wis.)
2011 San Jose Public Library (San Jose, Calif.)
2010 Conner Prairie (Fishers, Ind.)
2010 Explora Science Center & Children’s Museum of Albuquerque (Albuquerque, N.M.)
2010 Japanese American National Museum (Los Angeles, Calif.)
2010 Mississippi Museum of Art (Jackson, Miss.)
2010 Nashville Public Library (Nashville, Tenn.)
2010 New York Botanical Garden (Bronx, N.Y.)
2010 Patchogue-Medford Library (Patchogue, N.Y.)
2010 Peter White Public Library (Marquette, Mo.)
2010 Rangeview Library District (Thornton, Colo.)
2010 West Bloomfield Township Public Library (West Bloomfield, Mo.)
2009 Braille Institute of America Library (Los Angeles, Calif.)
2009 Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
2009 Cincinnati Museum Center at Union Terminal (Cincinnati, Ohio)
2009 Gail Borden Public Library (Elgin, Ill.)
2009 Indianapolis Museum of Art (Indianapolis, Ind.)
2009 Multnomah County Library (Portland, Ore.)
2009 Museum of Science & Industry (Tampa, Fla.)
2009 Pritzker Military Library (Chicago, Ill.)
2009 Stark County District Library (Canton, Ohio)
2009 Tennessee Aquarium (Chattanooga , Tenn.)
2008 Buffalo Bill Historical Center (Cody, Wyo.)
2008 The Franklin Institute (Philadelphia, Pa.)
2008 General Lew Wallace Study and Museum (Crawfordsville, Ind.)
2008 The Jane Stern Dorado Community Library (Dorado, Puerto Rico)
2008 Skokie Public Library (Skokie, Ill.)
2008 Skidompha Public Library (Damariscotta, Maine)
2008 Kansas City Public Library (Kansas City, Mo.)
2008 Lower East Side Tenement Museum (New York, N.Y.)
2008 Miami-Dade Public Library System (Miami, Fla.)
2008 Norton Museum of Art (West Palm Beach, Fla.)
2007 Kim Yerton Memorial Library (Hoopa, Calif.)
2007 Ocean County Library (Toms River, N.J.)
2007 Georgetown County Library (Georgetown, S.C.)
2007 Memphis Public Library & Information Center (Memphis, Tenn.)
2007 The Newberry Library (Chicago, Ill.)
2007 Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (Birmingham, Ala.)
2007 Chicago Zoological Society (Brookfield, Ill.)
2007 National Museum of Women in the Arts (Washington, District of Columbia)
2007 Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (Portland, Ore.)
2007 Vermont Historical Society Museum (Barre, Vt.)
2006 San Antonio Public Library (San Antonio, Texas)
2006 Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County (Charlotte, N.C.)
2006 Lincoln Children’s Zoo (Lincoln, Neb.)
2006 John G. Shedd Aquarium (Chicago, Ill.)
2006 Frankfort Community Public Library (Frankfort, Ind.)
2006 Artrain USA (Ann Arbor, Mich.)
2005 Saint Paul Public Library (Saint Paul, Minn.)
2005 Pratt Museum (Homer, Alaska)
2005 Mathews Memorial Library (Matthews, Va.)
2005 Levine Museum of the New South (Charlotte, N.C.)
2005 Johnson County Library(Overland Park, Kan.)
2005 COSI Toledo (Toledo, Ohio)
2004 Zoological Society of San Diego (San Diego, Calif.)
2004 Western Folklife Center, Inc. (Elko, Nev.)
2004 The Regional Academic Health Center Medical Library of the University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio (San Antonio, Texas)
2004 Mayaguez Children’s Library, Inc. (Mayagüez, Puerto Rico)
2004 Flint Public Library (Flint, Mich.)
2004 Chicago Botanic Garden (Glencoe, Ill.)
2003 Bozeman Public Library (Bozeman, Mont.)
2003 Free Library of Philadelphia (Philadelphia, Pa.)
2003 Pocahontas County Free Libraries (Marlinton, W.Va.)
2003 San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts (San Angelo, Texas)
2003 USS Constitution Museum (Charleston, Mass.)
2003 Carnegie Science Center (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
2002 The Bronx Zoo (Bronx, N.Y.)
2002 The Hartford Public Library (Hartford, Conn.)
2002 Please Touch Museum (Philadelphia, Pa.)
2002 Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art (Loretto, Pa.)
2002 Southwest Georgia Regional Library System (Bainbridge, Ga.)
2002 Boundary County District Library (Bonners Ferry, Idaho)
2001 Alaska Resources Library and Information Services (Anchorage, Ala.)
2001 Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose (San Jose, Calif.)
2001 Hancock County Library System (Bay St. Louis, Miss.)
2001 Miami Museum of Science and Space Transit Planetarium (Miami, Fla.)
2001 The New England Aquarium (Boston, Mass.)
2001 Providence Public Library (Providence, R.I.)
2000 Albright-Knox Art Gallery (Buffalo, N.Y.)
2000 Alutiiq Museum & Archaeological Repository (Kodiak, Ark.)
2000 B.B. Comer Memorial Library (Sylacauga, Ala.)
2000 Queens Borough Public Library (Jamaica, N.Y.)
2000 Simon Wiesenthal Center Library and Archives (Los Angeles, Calif.)
2000 Urie Elementary School Library (Lyman, Wyo.)
2000 Youth Museum of Southern West Virginia (Beckley, W.Va.)
1999 Lincoln Park Zoo (Chicago, Ill.)
1999 Nevada Museum of Art (Reno, Nev.)
1999 St. Simons Island Lighthouse Museum (St. Simons Island, Ga.)
1998 Belknap Mill Society (Laconia, N.H.)
1998 Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village (Dearborn, Mich.)
1998 New Jersey Historical Society (Newark, N.J.)
1997 The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis (Indianapolis, Ind.)
1997 The Museum of Fine Arts (Houston, Texas)
1997 National Aquarium in Baltimore (Baltimore, Md.)
1996 The Corcoran Gallery of Art (Washington, District of Columbia)
1996 The Field Museum (Chicago, Ill.)
1996 The Natural Science Center of Greensboro (Greensboro, N.C.)
1995 Brooklyn Children’s Museum (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
1995 The Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum (Chicago, Ill.)
1995 Montshire Museum of Science (Norwich, Vt.)
1995 The Wing Luke Asian Museum (Seattle, Wash.)
1994 Brukner Nature Center (Troy, Ohio)
1994 The Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens (Jacksonville, Fla.)
1994 The State Historical Society of Missouri (Columbia, Mo.)

Filed under: Archives and Special Collections, Associations and Organizations, Awards, Government Libraries, Libraries, Management and Leadership, News, Open Access, Public Libraries, School Libraries