First lady honors museums, libraries at White House

First lady Michelle Obama presented 10 institutions with the highest museum and library award in the nation Wednesday, lauding the capability of such places to inspire future generations.

The National Medal for Museum and Library Service, created by the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services, honors institutions across the country for meeting the needs of their local communities in creative and unexpected ways.

“We know that in so many communities, our libraries and museums don’t just preserve and promote our cultural treasures, they also enrich and enlarge our lives,” Obama said in her remarks Wednesday. “And that’s really one of the most powerful things that you all do each and every day.”

Among the recipients were the Columbia Museum of Art in Columbia, S.C., the North Carolina State University Libraries, and the Lynn Meadows Discovery Center for Children in Gulfport, Miss.

“They are true catalysts and in their own way each of them have made a difference, making their surrounding communities greater because of their presence,” said Kathryn Matthew, director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, which offers grants, makes policy and conducts research on behalf of museums and libraries.

This year’s winners were selected from among 30 finalists nominated by their local communities. Any nonprofit museum or library across the country is eligible, with winners enjoying the award ceremony, a visit from nonprofit StoryCorps to record the stories of local community members, and positive recognition.

“Time and time again, it’s our nation’s libraries and museums who have sparked the imaginations and encouraged the interests of so many of our nation’s most accomplished authors and performers,” Obama said at the ceremony.

The first lady praised each institution for public outreach, describing the ways in which each museum and library had served, in their own unique ways, various members of their communities.

She focused in part on the Lynn Meadows Discovery Center for Children, started 20 years ago in an abandoned schoolhouse by local leaders and community members looking to “directly engage every kid and family in the region.”

One of those kids, Brandon Spann, was present at the ceremony. There to accept the National Medal on his community’s behalf, he credited the Discovery Center with inspiring his love of theater when he was just a “shy sixth-grader,” participating in a summer drama program. It was discovering this passion that helped Spann this spring become the first in his family to graduate from high school, Obama said. He plans to attend college to major in drama.

“I just love those stories,” Obama said. “And there’s a story like that with every one of these awardees.

“That’s the kind of impact our museums can have, and that’s the story of so many of our libraries as well.”

Medal recipients for 2016 were the Brooklyn Public Library (Brooklyn, New York), the Chicago History Museum, the Columbia Museum of Art (Columbia, S.C.), Lynn Meadows Discovery Center for Children (Gulfport, Miss.), Madison Public Library (Madison, Wis.), Mid-America Science Museum (Hot Springs, Ark.), North Carolina State University Libraries (Raleigh, N.C.), Otis Library (Norwich, Conn.), Santa Ana Public Library (Santa Ana, Calif.), and Tomaquag Museum (Exeter, R.I.).

This story was originally published June 1, 2016 at 5:31 PM with the headline "First lady honors museums, libraries at White House."