Changes are already taking shape in the ways people search for and use information and in
how they communicate with one another and with institutions. Rather than act as gatekeepers
to knowledge, museums and libraries can be facilitators and teachers, providing the context, content, and tools that empower people to question, search, inform, and explore the worlds of information, experience, and memory. Increasingly, the museum and library of the 21 st century are not one-way channels of information that flow from institution to audience. Rather, they are networks of many channels, institution to audience, audience to institution, and audience to audience.