Investing in Knowledge

2500 museums, 12,000 libraries, 2000 archives "Knowledge itself is power" (Sir Francis Bacon, 1561-1626) Other favourite quotes

Investing in Knowledge is MLA's five-year vision for our sector.

It highlights the importance of the wealth of knowledge contained in museums, libraries and archive s in underpinning community cohesion, learning and skills, economic development and creativity.

MLA believes passionately that access to knowledge is what empowers people to learn, to be inspired. It enables us to understand ourselves and the world around us and to develop better communities for the future. Knowledge:

• Stimulates economic growth and regeneration
• Underpins learning, empowering people to develop new skills
• Is a social leveller, and a primary means for building better communities
• Inspires and engages people with new experiences.

Investing in Knowledge will enable every citizen to become directly involved in the exploration of the past and the invention of the future. Through networking knowledge it will create new and enticing routes to the collections of museums, libraries and archives so that everyone has access to the knowledge and information they need to shape their lives.

Investing in Knowledge builds on three major programmes through which MLA and its partners are working at regional and national levels to unlock the potential of the institutions in our sector:

• Renaissance in the Regions , MLA's groundbreaking programme to revitalise England's regional museums
• Framework for the Future , the ten-year vision for public libraries
• The work of the Archives Task Force in unlocking archives for new generations of users

Museums, libraries and archives lie at the heart of our society, both as storehouses of knowledge and as trusted sources of expertise and scholarship. They have the capacity to do much more to make an even bigger difference to people's lives.

Investing in Knowledge offers a ready-made route to the future, to the knowledge society and to the knowledge economy. It is an investment in the future wellbeing of society.

The Knowledge Web (PDF 900KB)
Portable Antiquities Scheme (PDF 900KB)