Museums, libraries and archives and Skills for Life

1
Museums, libraries and archives and Skills for
Life

• Museums, libraries and archives connect people to
  knowledge and information, creativity and
  inspiration. mlas have an important role to play
  in engaging and retaining adult learners,
  including Skills for Life learners.
• Museums, libraries and archives offer rich and
  unique resources, skilled staff, special learning
  environment and the opportunity to switch adults
  on to learning through their own interests and
  passions.
• Yorkshire Museums, Libraries and Archives
  Council, 2005

2
What is Skills for Life?

• The ability to read, write and speak in English
  and use maths at a level necessary to function
  and progress at work and in society in general.
• Adults over the age of 16 years
• Literacy, numeracy and language skills
• 1 in 5 adults in England need to improve their
  literacy or numeracy skills

3
What could museums, libraries and archives offer?

• Unique and exciting learning experiences
• Resources books, objects, documents, photographs
• Tailored activities or outreach sessions led by
  mla staff
• Visits to unique places
• Inspire learners through their own interests

4
Benefits for learners

• Access to a wide variety of learning
  opportunities, taking personal interests and
  motivation into account
• Confidence boosting and empowering experiences
• Broadening of horizons, and the chance to take
  part in unique, once in a lifetime activities
• Chance to integrate learning into their lives in
  a holistic way, by visiting museums and libraries
  in between formal classes, boosting progress and
  success

5
Benefits for museums, libraries and archives

• Bringing new, non traditional audiences into
  museums, libraries and archives
• Opportunities to staff training and continued
  professional development
• New partnerships with the learning and community
  sector
• New approaches to museum, library and archive
  learning and the chance to share best practice

6
Benefits for learning providers

• Chance to attract new learners by offering
  non-traditional learning opportunities
• Added value to existing provision
• Availability of learning resources from museums,
  libraries and archives
• Use of museums, libraries and archives as non
  threatening, community based venues to host
  classes
• New approaches to learning and the chance to
  share best practice

7
Statement from the LSC

• The LSC welcomes the work being done by
  museums, libraries and archives as an important
  contribution to widening participation in
  learning, particularly in terms of disadvantaged
  communities and individuals. Through its local
  and regional offices, the LSC will continue to
  build upon its partnership with the MLA in order
  to improve the skills and enrich the lives of
  young people and adults.

8
What the learners say

• Image Clifton Park Museum

• Ive always been interested in history, but
  didnt get to study it at the special school I
  went to.
• Ive gained a lot of confidence and new skills
  on this course.
• I am enjoying learning for my own pleasure, and
  this class is proving to be ideal. I was silly at
  school and this is my chance to take in stuff now
  I am a bit older.

9
What the learners say

• I found family memories interesting because they
  are so personal. I interviewed my aunties, and
  would love to write a book based on oral history
  memories of my relatives.
• The course helped me to learn how to look things
  up, and how to get things to fall into place. I
  was glad to be involved, and enjoyed working as a
  group.
• Im really enjoying what we are doing, and the
  practice tests we have been sitting seem a lot
  easier than I thought they would be.

• Image MLA NW