Back to Goal 11From Measures and Milestones 2002
p. 38-39, published 2002
As the brilliant American writer Henry James suggested in a letter to H.G. Wells, no substitute exists for the force and beauty of the artistic process. In turn, the experiences of seeing, hearing, reading, or touching art is, as James argues, what “makes life,” engaging us in its profound mysteries and magical possibilities. Public opinion about our progress improved steadily between 1998 and 2002. Most citizens believe we are making progress on this goal, rating it the highest on the progress scale, but they cite it as the least important of goals.
Table 1: Where Citizens Think We Stand
The public library gives citizens from all walks of life an opportunity to experience the arts and humanities through an expanding range of media. Nearly half of all Kentuckians are now registered library users. While this improving status is encouraging, as of fiscal year 1998, Kentucky ranked 40th in the nation in library attendance, 42nd in reference transactions, 35th in circulation, and 35th in interlibrary loans. That is, the participation of Kentuckians in library services fell well below the national median in at least four different categories of library use for that year.
Figure 1: Percent of Kentucky Population Using Public Libraries
Local cultural opportunities often permit Kentuckians to learn about and connect with the history and the artistic riches of their own communities and their state. Moreover, art from around the world enriches our understanding of other cultures and perspectives. Kentuckians generally place a high value on participating or experiencing the arts in their own community. About half or more than half of citizens surveyed in 1996, 1998, and 2000 said they had visited a museum, festival, arts performance, or a historical site in the previous 12 months.
The designation of places as historic and worthy of preservation is the first step in understanding the value of historic resources. Kentucky has the fourth largest number of listings in the National Register of Historic Places. These 3,000 listings include 41,204 historic properties. The National Register is the official listing of those districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects significant in American history, architecture, archeology, engineering, and culture. This national ranking is indicative of the value Kentuckians place on their heritage and of their willingness to participate in defining that significance through the nomination process.
Figure 3: National Register of Historic Places in Kentucky
While advanced education is not the only means to developing an appreciation of the arts and humanities, it may be the most significant influence on cultivating our artistic sensibilities. Moreover, our universities and colleges offer citizens of the state a myriad of diverse and rich experiences. To measure the extent of exposure to and benefits from the arts and humanities in our institutions of higher education, it will be necessary to examine institutional commitment to the arts as a service to the larger community and as a contribution to the education of students through required courses. Here we may want to pursue some measure of how many arts and humanities events are offered or courses required. Such data, however, are unavailable.
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