New Online Course for Museum, Library Staff Available Free This Summer

The nation's 122,000 libraries and 17,500 museums can now learn to improve their programs with an online course developed by Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis museum studies, English and library science staff.

What's more, library and museum personnel can take the "Shaping Outcomes" course, developed by IUPUI in cooperation with the Institute of Museum and Library Services, free of charge this summer and fall, IMLS officials announced recently.

The course takes approximately five weeks to complete. Those who participate learn how to plan and measure a program's success based on stated goals.

"By providing members of the museum and library community with the knowledge to apply outcomes-based planning and evaluation, "Shaping Outcomes" will enable participants to make a measurable difference in their communities," IMLS Director Anne-Imelda M. Radice said in a press release issued April 27.

As part of the effort to improve the quality of museum programs, IMLS in October will offer a special course for those interested in teaching "Shaping Outcomes" or incorporating it into their curricula.

IMLS is the primary source of federal support for the nation's libraries and museums. In 2005, the institute awarded the schools of Liberal Arts, and Library and Information Science at IUPUI an $883,171 grant to develop the online course. IUPUI was one of 14 institutions that submitted project proposals to pilot and evaluate a course designed to train museum and library personnel to master and apply outcomes-based concepts.

Course content was built upon case studies that instructors can use as lesson plans, says IUPUI museum studies Professor Elizabeth Kryder-Reid, principal investigator of the project. Other IUPUI staff who worked on the project include Helen Schwartz, professor of English; Annette Lamb, professor for online development with the School of Library and Information Science; and Rachel Applegate, assistant professor and graduate advisor for academic librarianship.

The course is available online at http://www.shapingoutcomes.org.