Better Together: Creating Partnerships for Community Learning FAQ
Q. What is the purpose of the Better Together Conference?
A. The goal of the Better Together Conference is to assist California public library teams in providing "free-choice learning" opportunities for their communities.
"Free-choice learning" opportunities are those opportunities not connected with formal education that individuals seek either to educate themselves or express themselves culturally.
These opportunities should be geared to their specific needs, thus allowing them to gain skills and knowledge essential to maintain and/or improve the quality of their lives.
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Q. Can my library apply as long as it serves the public?
A. Applications must be submitted from "public libraries" as defined by the California State Library as shown in the file CAPubliclibs.pdf on http://www.library.ca.gov/html/main.cfm.
Representatives of other types of libraries may be team members.
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Q. What kind of team makeup should we include in our application to increase our chances of being selected to participate in the conference?
A. Conference participants will be selected according to the following criteria:
- Team makeup (with emphasis on partner choice and involvement)
- Statement of interest (what your team would like to learn, why you chose your partner(s) and short-term and long-term results you'd like to achieve through your partnership
- Statewide geographic diversity
Since priority will be given to those teams that include members from museums and public broadcasting, not only will your library will have a better chance of being selected if you include your partner(s) as team members, but also you will have a much stronger partnership for any local activities you undertake.
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Q. Should we have a particular project in mind and include information about it in the application's statement of interest section?
A. The conference is structured so that your team will leave with a very detailed plan for a specific project.
The more preparation you do ahead of time the better, i.e. what audience you want to reach, what type of learning opportunities would best suit your audience and which method you think will best suit your needsnavigation and wayfinding, displays, websites/portals or webcasting. You should include a writeup of what you have done to prepare for submitting an application and your current thinking about the type of project that will work best for your library and your partner(s).
Of course, you may end up changing your focus as a result of the conference, but you will be better prepared if you come with background about you intended audience and an awareness of the local benefits and obstacles for each of the four methods to be presented at the conference.
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Q. If team members live close to Cerritos, is it required they stay at the conference hotel?
A. The conference is designed as a continuous experience. Not only is your entire team is expected to attend all official sessions, but also must stay at the conference hotel both Saturday and Sunday nights. Those sessions noted as optional in the preliminary schedule are not required.
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Q. What is the application deadline?
A. Applications must be submitted online, faxed or postmarked no later than December 31, 2005.
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Q. When will my team find out if we have been selected to attend the conference?
A. Confirmations (or regrets) will be sent to all applicants no later than February 1, 2006.
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Q. Where can I find more information about free-choice learning?
A. For a good general overview and examples of activities for both families and older adults, see the website of the Institute for Learning Innovation.
For ideas about children and youth, see the executive summary of Optimizing Out-of-School Time: The Role of Free-Choice Learning by Lynn D. Dierking and John H. Falk, co-founders of the Institute for Learning Innovation.
If you want in-depth information, check out Dierking and Falk's book, Lessons Without Limit: How Free-Choice Learning is Transforming Education.
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Q. What led to the design of the conference?
A. The Better Together Conference concept was determined as a response to expressed concerns of both community and library leaders in interviews and recent reports emphasizing the need for learning as an invaluable coping skill in today's complex society. At the same time that the need is so great for increased skills, recent statistics published in Reading At Risk: A Survey of Literary Reading in America, a 2004 publication of the National Endowment for the Arts, show that essential skills and knowledge of all Americans are at risk due to declining participation in literary and arts activities.
The Better Together Conference focus is based in large part on the premise showcased in The Urban Institute and Urban Libraries Council 2003 publication, Partnerships for Free Choice Learning: Public Libraries, Museums and Public Broadcasters Working Together that libraries need to:
- expand offerings to current users and/or broaden their appeal to reach new users
- foster creative opportunities for "free-choice learning" in their communities through partnerships with museums and public broadcasters
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