Committee Report | June 2011

Cultural Education Committee

June 21, 2011

Time:  10:15 a.m. – 11:50 a.m.

Location: 5th Floor Seminar Room

REGENTS COMMITTEE ON CULTURAL EDUCATION

Regent Roger Tilles, Chair of the Cultural Education Committee, submitted the following written report.

Your Committee on Cultural Education Committee had its scheduled meeting on June 21, 2011.

In attendance were committee members: Regents Tilles, Dawson, Rosa and Bendit

In addition to CE Committee Members, in attendance were:  Chancellor Tisch and Regent Cashin and Commissioner King.

ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION

Chair’s Remarks: Regent Tilles welcomed everyone and opened the meeting.

Regent Tilles remarked that he would like to explore options for Board of Regents Action to have all school libraries be fully functional and appropriately staffed.  Current regulations require that all schools have a library and high schools must have a certified library media specialist on staff.  Chancellor Tisch remarked that many schools are out of compliance with these regulations.    Commissioner King suggested that the State Aid committee should discuss methods for providing resources to districts to help them be in compliance at a greater rate.  It was agreed that an item for discussion should come before the Committee at its next regular meeting.

Chancellor Tisch raised the suggestion that the Board of Regents should hold a summit regarding Arts Education.  The summit should have a statewide focus.  The Chancellor commented that there is a crisis in arts education in New York State and that there is an urgent need for action.  The summit should include public broadcasters, libraries and all cultural institutions chartered by the Board of Regents.  Regent Tilles suggested that the recent arts summit on Long Island could serve as a template for the summit.  It was agreed that an item proposing a summit should come before the committee at its next regular meeting. 

CE (D) 1 – Talking Book and Braille Library (TBBL) Update

Loretta Ebert, Director of the Resource Library provided background information in her brief report regarding TBBL and the progress of implementing new digital technologies and business processes.  Sharon Phillips, the director of the Talking Book and Braille Library demonstrated the new digital book reader that is distributed by TBBL and discussed the book service called Braille and Audio Reading Download (BARD) that is offered by NLS (National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped) and is available to all TBBL patrons.  Commissioner King requested that Deputy Commissioner Cannel organize a meeting of appropriate staff from P-12 and ACCES to ensure that counselors and other program staff are fully aware of the services and resources available from TBBL.

CE (D) 2 – The State Museum’s World Trade Center Exhibitions: Ten Years After

Clifford Siegfried, Assistant Commissioner and Director of the NYS Museum introduced Mark Schaming, Director of Exhibitions at the Museum who provided a detailed report on the World Trade Center and 9/11 collections and exhibits of the Museum and the plans to provide traveling exhibitions of the World Trade Center and 9/11 materials statewide.  In observance of the tenth anniversary of the World Trade Center (WTC) attack, the Museum has produced three new traveling exhibitions that will bring this important story to locations across the state and nation.  A schedule and brief summary for each of the three exhibitions are as follows:

• September 11: A Global Moment opens on September 11, 2011 – the largest and most comprehensive exhibition about 9/11 – traveling to three museums across the United States though 2011-2012.
• Recovery: The World Trade Center Operationdocuments the recovery operations at the Fresh Kills landfill from September 2001 to July 2002 and its purpose. The exhibition travels to the Staten Island Museum and other locations through 2012.
• September 11, 2001: A Timeline is a panel exhibit designed for historical societies, libraries, and community centers that can accommodate smaller exhibitions with low security. The timeline is a summary of world events associated with the terrorist attacks on 9/11/01 and will travel across New York State sites and beyond through 2012.

Regent Tilles suggested that the Board of Regents meeting to be held on September 12 and 13 begin one day early with a nightime reception at the State Museum on September 11.  Deputy Commissioner Cannell committed to working to organize the reception.