Age in America

Project Overview

Age in America is a two-year project designed to demonstrate the potential for museums and libraries, working together both locally and nationally, to strengthen public understanding of aging as an historical and cultural phenomenon. 

The project will inform public discussion on longevity and the coming “age wave,” a trend that has growing implications for all ages and all aspects of American society.   By examining definitions, representations and experiences of aging in diverse communities and different time periods, it will provide a framework for understanding the changing roles and identities of older adults.  It will also position libraries and museums as partners in an effort to illuminate a significant contemporary issue. 

Funded by the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS), Age in America is based on an earlier planning phase funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Petersmeyer Family Foundation.

For more, be sure to visit the newly launched Age in America website.


Local Demonstrations

Age in America involves libraries, museums and historical societies in three communities:

• Norfolk, Virginia
• Long Island, New York
• Hartford, Connecticut

In each community the collaborating cultural institutions will examine experiences of aging through the lens of one or more core themes: age and aging in the home; age and work; and age in the community.  Local partners will present coordinated programs for public audiences including exhibitions, films, oral history projects or intergenerational activities. 

Visit the new Age in America website today!