DUBLIN, Ohio, March 23, 2016—The Coalition to Advance Learning in Archives, Libraries and Museums has selected participants to form a learning cohort that will strengthen connections across sectors by attending three major sector conferences and engaging in virtual activities together throughout 2016.

The Collective Wisdom: Libraries, Archives, and Museums (LAM) Conference Exchange, which is sponsored by the Coalition, will offer a unique experience and opportunity to break down barriers and support connections across libraries, archives and museums. The goal is to devise and strengthen sustainable continuing education and professional development programs that will transform the workforce in ways that lead to measurable impact on communities.

The Coalition to Advance Learning in Archives, Libraries and Museums is funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), and administered by OCLC. OCLC is also a participating organization in the Coalition.

Cohort participants selected are:

· Stephanie Allen, Collection Manager of Ethnology, Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, University of Oklahoma

· Stephanie Baltzer Kom, Digital Initiatives Coordinator, North Dakota State Library

· Sofía Becerra-Licha, Archivist, Stan Getz Library, Berklee College of Music

· Kenn Bicknell, Digital Resources Librarian, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Library & Archive

· Jacqueline E. Chapman, Digital Collections Librarian, Smithsonian Libraries

· Genna Duplisea, Archivist and Special Collections Librarian, Salve Regina University

· M. Alison Eisendrath, Andrew W. Mellon Director of Collections, Chicago History Museum

· Joe Filapek, Consulting and Continuing Education Manager, Reaching Across Illinois Library System

· Jan Levinson Hebbard, Outreach Archivist, Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, University of Georgia Libraries

· James Himphill, Territorial Archivist, Office of Archives and Records, American Samoa

· Jeffrey Inscho, Director, Innovation Studio, Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh

· Susan M. Irwin, Director, Library & Archives Division, Arizona Historical Society

· Elizabeth Joffrion, Director of Heritage Resources, Western Washington University

· Melissa Levine, Lead Copyright Officer, Librarian, University of Michigan Library

· Christina E. Newton, Assistant Director, Virginia Association of Museums

· Dr. Mega Subramaniam, Associate Professor, College of Information Studies, University of Maryland

· Gina Watkinson, Conservation Laboratory Coordinator, Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona

· Darla Wegener, County Librarian, Tulare County Library

““The diversity of LAM professionals in the cohort means that each will speak from their experiences to engage a new vocabulary, forge new insights and develop synergies that will enrich and scaffold future LAM continuing education and professional development,” said Clara M. Chu, Director and Mortenson Distinguished Professor, Mortenson Center for International Library Programs at the University of Illinois Library at Urbana-Champaign, a member of the Collective Wisdom advisory team and Coalition participant.

National conferences for cohort attendance include:

Museums: AAM Annual Meeting & MuseumExpo, May 26–29 in Washington, D.C.
Libraries: ALA Annual 2016, June 23–28 in Orlando, Florida
Archives: Archives * Records 2016 (SAA/CoSA), July 31–August 6 in Atlanta, Georgia

Conference travel expenses will be funded in part by IMLS through the Coalition to Advance Learning in Archives, Libraries and Museums.

To stay in touch with activities of the selected cohort, follow @LAMCoalition on Twitter.

About OCLC
OCLC is a nonprofit global library cooperative providing shared technology services, original research and community programs so that libraries can better fuel learning, research and innovation. Through OCLC, member libraries cooperatively produce and maintain WorldCat, the most comprehensive global network of data about library collections and services. Libraries gain efficiencies through OCLC’s WorldShare, a complete set of library management applications and services built on an open, cloud-based platform. It is through collaboration and sharing of the world’s collected knowledge that libraries can help people find answers they need to solve problems. Together as OCLC, member libraries, staff and partners make breakthroughs possible