A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Leading educators met for two days in April 1995 to set federal research priorities in the areas of libraries, community-based education, and lifelong learning for the U.S. Department of Education's National Institute on Postsecondary Education, Libraries, and Lifelong Learning. The meeting included representatives of libraries, museums, agriculture extension services, religious organizations, health care organizations, public television, and non-profit civic groups. Eight papers were commissioned to serve as background for the conference discussion.

The purpose of the conference was to discuss the ideas put forward in the commissioned papers and to begin the development of a research agenda to guide future efforts in the areas of community-based education and lifelong learning.

The opinions expressed in the papers are those of the authors and no endorsement by the U.S. Department of Education is to be inferred.

1. Community-Based Organizations and the Delivery of Lifelong Learning Opportunities by Michael Galbraith provides a conceptual framework and stresses the link between community-based education and lifelong learning;

2. Rural and Small Libraries: Providers for Lifelong Learning by Bernard Vavrek explores special issues that face small community libraries, particularly training and professional development of library service providers, and improving the delivery of services through electronic information services;

3. Annie Van Fossen Storr's paper, Current Practice and Potential: Research and Adult Education in Museums discusses the diversity of museums and the nature of learning within museums;

4. Paul Flexner's paper, Community Based Adult Jewish Learning Program: Issues and Concerns, describes the expectation for learning in the Jewish community and the current state of adult learning in religious communities, which parallels the philosophy of lifelong learning;

5. On (Un)Learning to Learn for a Better Life by Elio DeArrudah argues that in order to truly and effectively meet the sometimes grave needs of community members, educational opportunities must be considered from the bottom-up from within the community itself.

6. Adult Literacy and Life-Long Learning: Essential Issue by Anita Allen and Sylvia Keene describes barriers in meeting the educational needs of a community which include inadequate funding, difficulty in recruitment and retention, lack of technology, and lack of convenience for those served;

7. Public Libraries, Lifelong Learning, and Older Adults by Connie Van Fleet posits that while the library is the premier institution for lifelong learning, information services to older adults is highly specialized and is at risk of being underdeveloped because of a lack of professional training and development for providers; and

8. Barbara White and Byron Burnham's paper, The Cooperative Extension System: A Facilitator of Access for Community-Based Education, emphasizes the importance of technology in the delivery of education and information to rural communities and others with limited resources.

Conference Themes

• Definitions of community-based education and lifelong learning;
• Access to and participation in community-based education services;
• Program effectiveness.
• Collaboration among providers of community-based education services;
• Access to and use of technology among community-based educators and lifelong learners; and
• Professional development for community-based educators.

The conference participants concluded that research into community-based education should be collaborative and interdisciplinary, and it should include multiple definitions of community. Since the system of community-based education has not been fully defined or described, the most pressing research need is to inventory the types and number of community-based programs available to adults, and to map out who is participating in these programs, and why.

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