Nearly 1,400 of you participated in our "virtual town hall" during the last four weeks! Last month, we launched a social media tool called "IdeaScale" to get public input to help shape the IMLS strategic plan. While we know that rapid changes are stressing our communities and our institutions, a browse through the many ideas that were shared demonstrate the resilience, optimism and public value of libraries and museums.

Your comments were passionate and inspiring. Libraries and museums are clearly mission focused organizations that want to know the best ways to meet public needs. Among the ideas that floated to the top of the list were calls for sharing best practices, working in partnership and creating a culture of planning and evaluation. The role of libraries and museums in supporting early learning and indeed lifetime learning was crystal clear. The ideas were forward looking from a focus on using the most effective means to preserve unique collections to moving to electronic formats and using broadband technology to meet community needs.

It is clear that libraries and museums are leaders in their communities and that they are innovating to develop new service models to support education, workforce development and civic leadership.

Although the site can no longer accept new comments, we are keeping the results accessible on our website and encourage you to visit http://imls.ideascale.com/. Your voice is important to us and we will continue to use social media tools to support important national dialogues. Later this month we will launch UpNext, the IMLS blog, which will provide a new platform to continue the conversation.

—Susan Hildreth, Director, IMLS

World Library and Information Congress: 77th IFLA General Conference and Assembly, Susan Hildreth, Director, Mary Chute, Deputy Director for Libraries, Michele Farrell, Senior Program Officer, Nancy Weiss, General Counsel, San Juan, Puerto Rico, August 10-19.

Site visit, State Library of Iowa, Timothy Owens, Senior Program Officer, Des Moines, IA, August 15-19.

Site visit, Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners, Terri Brown, Senior Program Officer, Boston, MA, August 15-19.

Site visit, Wyoming State Library, Michele Farrell, Senior Program Officer, Cheyenne, WY, August 22-26.

Society of American Archivists, 75th Annual Meeting, Susan Hildreth, Director, Kevin Cherry, Senior Program Officer, Kim Okahara, Staff Assistant, Chicago, IL, August 22-27.

Site visit, Utah State Library, Michele Farrell, Senior Program Officer, Salt Lake City, UT, August 29-September 2.

Site visit, New Hampshire State Library, Timothy Owens, Senior Program Officer, Concord, NH, September 5-8.

“Association for Rural & Small Libraries: Conference 2011,” Timothy Owens, Senior Program Officer, Frisco, TX, September 8-12.

Digital Inclusion Forum, Susan Hildreth, Director, Mamie Bittner, Director of Communications and Government Affairs, Mary Alice Ball, Senior Program Officer, Los Angeles, CA, September 12-13.

Site visit, Nevada State Library and Archives, Terri Brown, Senior Program Officer, Carson City, NV, September 12-16.

“The 18th National Government Ethics Conference”, Nancy Weiss, General Counsel, Office of Government Ethics, Orlando, FL, September 13-15.

“Commemorations: The Promise of Remembrance and New Beginning,” Susan Hildreth, Director; “Opportunities and Resources from IMLS,” Connie Bodner, Senior Program Officer and Steve Shwartzman, Senior Program Officer; and Nancy Rogers, Senior Program Coordinator, American Association of State and Local History, Richmond, VA, September 14-17.

“Reforma National Conference IV: Elevating Latino Services to a Higher Level,” Susan Hildreth, Director, Reforma: The National Association to Promote Library & Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking, Denver, CO, September 15-17.

Site visit, District of Columbia Public Library, James Lonergan, Senior Program Officer, Washington, DC, September 20-21.

School Library Journal Summit, Mary Chute, Deputy Director for Libraries, Arlington, VA, September 21-23.

Keynote address, Marsha Semmel, Director for Strategic Partnerships, Oklahoma Museums Association Annual Conference, Claremore, OK, September 28-30.