by Aaron Smith, Pew Internet and American Life Project, Apr 25, 2013
Social networking sites have grown more important in recent years as a venue for political involvement, learning, and debate. Overall, 39% of all American adults took part in some sort of political activity on a social networking site during the 2012 campaign…..read more
The Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service at Tufts University, the Democracy Imperative, and the Deliberative Democracy Consortium bring you “Frontiers of Democracy: Innovations in Civic Practice, Theory, and Education,” an interactive gathering on civic studies and civic work that follows the Summer Institute of Civic Studies at Tufts.
After concurrent meetings arranged by the Center for Engaged Democracy and National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation during the day of July 18, “Frontiers” will turn to interactive learning exchanges, concurrent academic sessions, “short takes” (10-minute rehearsed talks by invited speakers), and meals and other opportunities to talk with scholars and practitioners from many countries who are interested in public engagement, deliberative and participatory democracy, collaborative governance, educating for democracy and civic learning, public work, building social capital, strengthening democracy, and related themes.
A registration form and more information are here. You can also consult a draft agenda for 2013’s conference and videos of “short takes” from the 2012 meeting.
Announcement from Peter Levine, Lincoln Filene Professor of Citizenship & Public Affairs, Director of CIRCLE: the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement, Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service, Tufts University, Lincoln Filene Hall, Medford, MA 02155-7028, 617-627-2302, Peter.Levine@Tufts.edu
New from the National Issues Forums Institute, Download the guide here
Issue Advisory – How Can We Stop Mass Shootings in Our Communities?
The tragic attack at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, has raised concerns among many people across the nation. Other violent episodes, such as the killing of a teenager who was gunned down after returning home from the president’s inauguration, have also drawn attention. While mass shootings are infrequent, they may be increasing. Each has devastating effects on a whole community.
Overall, the United States has become safer in recent years. Yet mass shooters target innocent people indiscriminately, often in locales where people ordinarily (and rightly) feel safe–movie theaters, college compuses, schools.
How can we stop such violent acts and ensure that people feel safe in their homes and communities?
This issue advisory presents three options for deliberation, along with their drawbacks:
Option One: Reduce the Threat of Mass Shootings - The problem is that we are too vulnerable to violence.
Option Two: Equip People to Defend Themselves - The problem is that most people, especially children, are not able to defend themselves from sudden danger due to violence.
Option Three: Root Out Violence in Society - The problem is that we live in a culture that perpetuates violence and numbs people to its effects.
You can download the complete issue advisory by clicking here.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
IDAHO FALLS, IDAHO, 83403
Media Contact: For Immediate Release
Robert Pence, (208) 526-6518 November 7, 2012
DOE appoints three new members to advisory board
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho – The U.S. Department of Energy recently appointed three new members to the Idaho National Laboratory Site Environmental Management Citizens Advisory Board, a volunteer citizen panel that provides advice and recommendations to DOE on its environmental cleanup operations at INL.
The new members include Kristen R. Jensen, Robert J. Bodell and Betsy S. McBride.
“I’m very impressed with the caliber of the new appointees, and I’m confident they will be valuable additions to the current board,” said James R. Cooper, deputy manager of the Idaho Cleanup Project. “We are very appreciative of their willingness to serve and dedicate time on the board.”
Kristen R. Jensen is the executive director for the nonprofit Great Rift Business Development Organization and a gifted and talented educator in the American Falls School District. An Idaho State University graduate, she has a long-standing interest in energy and environmental issues and in economic development in Eastern Idaho.
Robert J. Bodell, INL Site Labor Coordinator, works as a neutral party with INL employers and unions to resolve labor issues. An Idaho Falls resident, he understands INL issues from both the worker and employer perspective and has a particular interest in health care.
Betsy S. McBride of Boise is a self-employed public policy consultant with the Virginia-based Hampton Roads Center for Civic Engagement, a nonprofit organization founded to support collaborative public policy decision making. Her interest in the CAB stems from her commitment to civic and stakeholder involvement in public decisions and interest in preserving the environment.
Other CAB members include Willie Preacher (CAB Chair, Shoshone-Bannock Tribes), Nicki Karst (CAB Vice-Chair, Idaho Falls), Herb Bohrer (Springfield), Sean Cannon (Rexburg), Harrison Gerstlauer (Blackfoot), Harry Griffith (Sun Valley), Mark Lupher (Challis), Bill Roberts (Pocatello), Tami Sherwood (Idaho Falls), and Teri Tyler (Idaho Falls).
Established in 1994 in accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, the CAB is an important resource that DOE uses to engage the public. Representing a variety of perspectives on issues important to Idaho citizens, its members make formal recommendations on topics such as cleanup standards, environmental restoration, waste management, stabilization and disposition of non-stockpile nuclear materials, excess facilities, land use and long-term stewardship, risk assessment and management, and cleanup science and technology.
The CAB’s next meeting is Wednesday, November 14, at the Hilton Garden Inn, Idaho Falls. Members of the public are encouraged to attend, ask questions and provide comment on the cleanup program. Agendas, meeting minutes and recommendations are available on the CAB website, http://inlcab.energy.gov/, or call 208-557-7886.
Libraries Foster Civic Engagement Membership Initiative Group
2013 ALA Midwinter Conference – Seattle, WA
Sunday, January 27, 2013, 10:30 – 11:30 pm
Sheraton-Ballard Room
AGENDA
1. Harwood Institute, Promise of Libraries
2. Peggy Holman, Engaging Emergence
3. Civic Engagement Activities Around the Country
4. Public Programs Office Civic Engagement Initiatives
(Send Suggestions to Nancy Kranich nancy.kranich@rutgers.edu)
Join Us. Bring Your Colleagues
Other Civic Engagement Programs of Interest at ALA Midwinter
• The Promise of Libraries Transforming Communities, A Presidential Initiative, Saturday, January 26, 8:30 – 10:00am. WSCC, 606-607
• Community Engagement Conversation: The Work of Hope, with Rich Harwood, Saturday, January 26, 1:00pm – 2:30pm. WSCC 611-614.
• Community Engagement Conversation: Appreciative Inquiry—The Library in the Community, with Peggy Holman, Sunday, January 27, 1:00pm – 2:30pm. WSCC Ballroom 6A.
• ALA President’s Program, with Peter Block, The Abundant Community, Sunday, January 27, 3:30 pm – 5:30 pm, WSCC Ballroom 6A.
• Change in the Community, Change in ALA, with Peggy Holman. Monday, January 28, 8:30am – 11:30am. WSCC, Ballroom 6A.
Follow the ALA Center for Civic Life Blog: http://discuss.ala.org/civicengagement/
ALA Connect: http://connect.ala.org/node/64933
Subscribe to ALA’s Civic Engagement listserv:
1. Go to: http://lists.ala.org/wws, and click on “View All Lists”
2. Scroll down to deliberate@ala.org and click on “Subscribe”
Libraries Foster Civic Engagement Membership Initiative Group
Fill out the Libraries and Civic Engagement survey at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/LibraryCivicEngagement
Call for Papers Extended to January 31, 2013
School Libraries and Resource Centers Section & Information Literacy Section
Theme: School Libraries and Information for Civic Literacies
The IFLA School Libraries and Resource Centers Section and Information Literacy Sections are seeking proposals for a joint programme to be held at the IFLA Conference in Singapore in August 2013.
Information literacy covers a broad spectrum of literacies required for success in the 21st century. Of the multiple literacies encountered, there is the essential challenge of developing literate citizens who are equipped
to participate and contribute to the local and broader community. The program will present papers that address this challenge through school libraries and collaborators with school libraries, such as public libraries,
university libraries, community entities, government agencies etc.
Papers should address one or both of the two main concepts of civic literacy:
1. Civic Literacy
• Participating effectively in civic life through knowing how to stay
informed and understanding governmental processes
• Exercising the rights and obligations of citizenship at local, state,
national and global levels
• Understanding the local and global implications of civic decisions
2. Civic Literacy
• The knowledge of how to actively participate and initiate change in your
community and the greater society.
Papers chosen for presentation should address, but are not limited to:
• definitions, concepts of civic literacy
• the process of the origination of individual civic literacy
• civic literacy in heterogeneous/multicultural environments
• the relationship/interactions between information literacy and civic
literacy
• the role of contributors to civic literacy: schools, school libraries,
public libraries, university libraries
• the contribution of school libraries to civic literacies
• examples or case studies of efforts to develop civic literacy
• civic literacy exams (sense and nonsense)
Submission Guidelines
Papers can be written and given in any of the official IFLA languages:
English, French, German, Russian, Spanish. However, abstracts must be submitted in English.
Proposals for School Libraries and Information for Civic Literacy Papers must be submitted by January 31, 2013, must be in English and must include the following:
1. Title of proposed presentation
2. Outline/abstract of the proposed paper/presentation (no more than 300
words)
3. Name(s) of presenter(s)
4. Position or title of presenter(s)
5. Presenter(s) employer or affiliated institution
6. E-mail address
7. Telephone/fax numbers
8. Short biographical statement regarding the presenter/s
9. Language of presentation
15 minutes will be allowed for a summary delivery of the paper in the Conference (followed by 5 minute discussion/s). The full written paper is not to be read.
Important dates:
Submission deadline January 31, 2013. The Review Committee will evaluate all submitted materials and successful applicants will be notified by February 4, 2013.
Complete accepted papers must be between 3000 and 6000 words in length, be an original submission not published elsewhere and are due by May 31st 2013, so that translations can be organised.
All papers will be published on IFLA.org
The Proposals should be sent with “IFLA Proposal WLIC 2013″ on the subject line to:
Barbara Schultz-Jones, Secretary of the School Library Section
E-mail: Barbara.Schultz-Jones@unt.edu
The National Issues Forum Institute has developed a beginning collection of resources that may help those who would like to deliberate about violence, and/or to frame violence-related issues at: http://nifi.org/news/news_detail.aspx?itemID=23533&catID=24.
NIFI also has posted a link to a new issue guide about Mental Health Care from the Kansas State University Institute for Civic Discourse and Democracy in association with the National Alliance on Mental Illness at: http://nifi.org/news/news_detail.aspx?itemID=23521&catID=24
CHICAGO — The American Library Association (ALA) announced today that it received a 2012 Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program Grant of $250,837 from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). ALA will partner with The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation on the first phase of a multi-phase initiative, The Promise of Libraries Transforming Communities, which will develop a sustainable national plan to transform the role of libraries in their communities by advancing community engagement and innovation.
“The ideas at the heart of this project are particularly timely for the challenges facing public libraries as they rethink their role in their changing communities,” said IMLS Director Susan Hildreth. “We are pleased to offer IMLS support of an initiative that leverages the expertise of two partners for a program that is scalable and can ultimately reach many librarians in many communities.”
Speaking to the significance of the new initiative, Maureen Sullivan, ALA president, said “The role and contribution of libraries in ensuring informed and engaged communities is critical to our society and the future of our democracy. This grant will provide librarians with the tools and training they need to lead their communities in finding innovative solutions to the challenges they face. Now is the time for librarians to assume this important leadership role. ALA very much appreciates this support from IMLS.”
During the grant period, ALA and the Harwood Institute will develop librarians as conveners and facilitators for their communities and create a pilot set of resource components designed to build the practice of community engagement in library service throughout the field. The goal of this first project phase is to create core communication materials for dissemination to the field, collaboratively create innovative strategies for community engagement, improve participating ALA leader and member access to strategies and resources for community engagement and help participants feel better prepared to take on the role of community facilitator. More than 350 librarians will take part in a range of professional development activities planned during the grant period. The Promise of Libraries Transforming Communities is one of ALA President Maureen Sullivan’s key initiatives.
The ALA Public Programs Office (PPO) will manage the project. PPO supports cultural and community programming as an essential part of library service in all types and sizes of libraries. Successful civic engagement library programming initiatives have includedBuilding Common Ground: Discussions of Community, Civility and Compassion andEngage! Teens, Art and Civic Engagement, as well as Let’s Talk About It reading and discussion series, traveling exhibitions, film discussion programs, the Great Stories CLUB, LIVE! @ your library and more. The website www.ProgrammingLibrarian.org, brings librarians timely and valuable opportunities to support the creation of high-quality outreach programs for their communities. For more information about the ALA Public Programs Office, visitwww.ala.org/publicprograms.
The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that seeks to spark fundamental change and authentic hope in American public life. Founded over 20 years ago by nationally renowned speaker and innovator Richard C. Harwood, the institute works with individuals, organizations and communities to turn outward and develop their ability to make more intentional choices and judgments that lead to impact in their communities. For additional information see www.theharwoodinstitute.org/.
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Rich Harwood to Discuss Reclaiming Main Street and Libraries at ALA Annual Conference
A recent study revealed that many Americans feel that the country is lost amid a sea of changes and that they crave more openness, simpler living, humility and compassion. They want to kick-start a new trajectory for the country that begins with small, local actions.
Richard C. Harwood, president and founder of the nonprofit Harwood Institute for Public Innovation, will discuss these and other key findings from his recently released Main Street study during his session “Reclaiming Main Street and Libraries” on Sunday June 24, 2012, from 1:30 p.m.–3:30 p.m. in the Anaheim Convention Center room 207A.
Harwood will focus on the potential for libraries to strengthen their role in communities and civic life during his discussion at the conference. This session will give ALA members from all types of libraries the opportunity to consider the implications of the Main Street study for our work as agents of democracy, ranging from building public dialogue skills and engaging a variety of communities at the local level to lobbying and galvanizing grass roots action at the national level. The ALA Annual Conference is one of the first stops on Harwood’s national tour.
The conference session is a continuation of “Transforming Libraries,” a campaign initiated by ALA President Molly Raphael to help transform libraries into places that better engage the communities they serve. In early 2012, Harwood presented on community engagement at the 2012 ALA Midwinter Meeting in Dallas, where hundreds of people attended conversations to better understand how libraries can respond to changing communities.
“People want to reengage and connect with one another,” Harwood told American Libraries magazine. “They want to come back into the public square. They want to join with each other to make a difference, not only in their own lives, but in our common lives.”
Raphael said that Harwood inspired the ALA’s “Transforming Libraries” campaign.
“Libraries have been turning outward,” Raphael said, “but we have tended to look at needs rather than build on positive elements within our communities.”
ALA President-Elect Maureen Sullivan will continue the “Transforming Libraries” campaign when she becomes the ALA president in June 2012 by developing a sustainable program that supports library leaders and next-generation librarians to engage their communities in innovative ways.
“I want ALA to have a meaningful and sustainable program available to all members,” Sullivan said. “Through this effort, I hope ALA and our members will discover new partners and new possibilities for involvement in our communities.”
The session “Reclaiming Main Street and Libraries” is co-sponsored by the ALA Center for Civic Life, the ALA Committee on Legislation, the ALA Intellectual Freedom Committee and ALA Public and Cultural Programs Advisory Committee.
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About the American Library Association
The American Library Association is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with approximately 60,000 members in academic, public, school, government, and special libraries. The mission of the American Library Association is to provide leadership for the development, promotion and improvement of library and information services and the profession of librarianship in order to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all.
Contact: Jazzy Wright
Press Officer, ALA Washington Office
202-628-8410
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 8, 2012
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Libraries Foster Civic Engagement Membership Initiative Group
2012 ALA Annual Conference – Anaheim, CA
Sunday, June 24, 2012, 11:00 – 12:30 pm, Hilton-San Simeon
AGENDA
1. Harwood Institute Main Street Study
2. Civic Engagement Activities Around the Country
3. Training—Webinar Series
4. Privacy Pre-conference ALA Annual
5. Public Programs Office Civic Engagement Initiatives
6. ALA Presidential Initiatives in Community Engagement
7. Online and Face-to-Face Dialogue Opportunities
(Send Suggestions to Nancy Kranich nancy.kranich@rutgers.edu)
Join Us. Bring Your Colleagues
Other Civic Engagement Programs of Interest at ALA Annual
• IFRT Preconference: Who Do I Trust to Protect My Privacy—Deliberative Dialogue, Thursday, June 21, 1:30 – 5:30 pm, ACC-303C
• PPO Preconference, Civic Reflection Builds Community Connections: A Program Model for Libraries, TH, June 21, 1–5:30 p.m., & Fri, June 22, 8 a.m.–4 p.m.
• PPO, Libraries at the Crossroads: Programming for Civic Engagement, Saturday, June 23, 8–10 a.m., ACC 207A
• EMIERT, Cultural Programming: How to Achieve Meaningful Dialogue at Your Library, Sunday, June 24, 1:00–3:30 p.m., ACC 205A
• CCL, COL, PPO, IFC, President-Elect Maureen Sullivan, Reclaiming Main Street and Libraries – featuring Richard Harwood, Sunday, 1:30 – 3:30 pm, ACC 207A
Follow the ALA Center for Civic Life Blog: http://discuss.ala.org/civicengagement/
ALA Connect: http://connect.ala.org/node/64933
Subscribe to ALA’s Civic Engagement listserv:
1. Go to: http://lists.ala.org/wws, and click on “View All Lists”
2. Scroll down to deliberate@ala.org and click on “Subscribe”
Libraries Foster Civic Engagement Membership Initiative Group
Fill out the Libraries and Civic Engagement survey at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/LibraryCivicEngagement