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Mission
Age in America is a two-year national demonstration program that engages museums and libraries in strengthening public understanding of aging as an historical and cultural phenomenon. The program informs public discussion on longevity and the significance of the growing “age wave,” a phenomenon that is evident across the country. By examining experiences of aging through local history and culture, community participants gain new insights into a demographic trend with major social, economic, and fiscal implications for all Americans. They also gain new appreciation of aging as a function of time, place and culture.
Three local projects involving museum-library collaboration demonstrate varied approaches for public programming that illuminate the changing roles of older adults in the home, the workplace and the community and that provoke creative expression and dialogue about age and aging. Projects are taking place in three diverse communities with growing populations of older adults:
In each demonstration community the institutional partners are drawing on local collections of art, material cultural, historical records and oral recordings to interpret experience of age and aging over time. In all the demonstration communities there is an emphasis on intergenerational activities and diverse cultural perspectives. The local projects are designed to enrich ongoing programming in the participating institutions and to incorporate the topic of “Age in America” as a focus for cultural and community activities.
The national Age in America website, which includes a forum and resources for museum and library professionals, brings the local projects into perspective in relation to one another and makes them available, collectively, to a national audience. The national project includes a Program Guide that will provide analysis of the demonstration project and guidelines for carrying out library-museum partnerships similar to the Age in America projects.
As a demonstration project, Age in America includes an evaluation component being carried out by the Touchstone Center for Collaborative Inquiry.
Age in America was originally developed by Libraries for the Future as a component of its national Lifelong Access Libraries program. It is now a special project of the Re-Imagining Age Project, Inc, a national initiative that uses history and culture to promote public discussion on age and aging.
Age in America is funded by the Institute for Museum and Library Services, a government agency. Planning and development support for Age in America was provided by the Petersmeyer Family Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
