Last July, Nancy Kranich, Joanne Griffin and Holly Sorenson presented a program at ALA Annual for the Association of College & Research Libraries Division. Somehow we neglected to post the podcast of their presentation that is now available for those who were unable to attend. Below is the e-mail message from Chad Kahl with the access information.
Enjoy!
From: Kahl, Chad
Sent: Friday, September 18, 2009 10:41 AM
Subject: 2009 LPSS ALA Annual Conference program follow-up message
I would like to thank you again for attending the 2009 Law and Political
Science Section ALA Annual Conference program, “Political Engagement:
Facilitating Greater Participation in Civil Society” featuring Elizabeth
Hollander, Nancy Kranich, Joanne Griffin and Holly Sorensen.
I am pleased to let you know that the program podcast is now available,
thanks to the work of program planning committee member, Amalia Monroe,
and David Free, a Marketing and Communication Specialist for the
Association of College & Research Libraries. It can be accessed at http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/publications/podcasts/lpssac09.mp
3.
Based on feedback from your program evaluations, we revised the
bibliography/pathfinder so it now includes speaker biographies and a
number of resources recommended by the speakers. It is available
directly at http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/about/sections/lpss/bibliography2
009.pdf, as well as the aforementioned web page.
Thank you,
Chad Kahl, on behalf of the LPSS 2009 ALA Annual Conference Program
Planning Committee
Association of Research Libraries. Public Engagement, SPEC Kit 312, Published by ARL http://www.arl.org/news/pr/speckit312.shtml
by Scott Walter and Lori Goetsch • September 2009 • ISBN 1-59407-824-6 • 126 pp. • $45 ($35 ARL members)
Here’s text from ARL’s August 31, 2009 press release…
“The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) has published Public Engagement, SPEC Kit 312, which explores the ways in which traditional “outreach” programs in academic libraries are evolving to address the emergent concept of “public engagement” at the institutional level and the degree to which the library is integrated into campus-level efforts to promote public engagement.
By the March deadline, responses had been submitted by 56 of 123 ARL member libraries for a response rate of 46%. For the purposes of this survey, respondents were asked to report on “public engagement programs” that met the definition of those that demonstrate the library’s “commitment to community partnerships, service to professional communities outside [your] primary user groups … . [and that] go beyond the ‘provision of institutional resources for community use,’ and are aimed at bringing the professional expertise of the library to members of the public.” Of the 56 responding libraries, 49 (88%) reported providing such programs as part of their service profile.
Respondents identified a wide variety of programs that they characterize as “public engagement.” The top four areas of library activity reported were programs in the areas of K-12 education (80%), cultural engagement (75%), government information/e-government (68%), and lifelong learning (66%)…..”
The Knight Commission released its report Informing Communities: Sustaining Democracy in the Digital Age on Friday, October 2, 2009. The Report and Discussion are available at: http://www.report.knightcomm.org/.Knight encourages participation in the national dialogue on the Commission’s recommendations by discussing the report and joining the Healthy Community Forum.
The Report includes three categories of findings and recommendations:
1.Maximizing the Availability of Relevant and Credible Information 2.Enhancing the Information Capacity of Individuals 3.Promoting Public Engagement
According to the Commission, “The questions America faces at this point in its information history, however, gobeyond questions of strategy to questions of values. The Knight Commission hasrecommended a series of strategies that, in various ways, exhort our major publicand nonprofit institutions to give new priority to values of openness, inclusion,and engagement. The values questions posed are equally profound, however, for individual citizens and for the institutions of the media.”
The commission’s recommendation regarding libraries, include:
America’s libraries need sufficient funding to serve as centers for information, training, and civic dialogue. Public libraries are located in nearly all communities in the United States. Most of them are wired for Internet service. Nearly all offer public Internet, and almost three quarters are the only providers of free public computer and Internet access in their communities.
Even if no one from this network won the video contest below, we’d still have some great content about how young people in our community are thinking about what democracy means to them, AND they would be participating in an international contest. I’d love to see libraries participating in this. I know that some of you out there have the resources and experience cultivating and encouraging young film-makers!
NEW YORK – September 15, 2009 – The Democracy Video Challenge, a global call to action celebrating democracy, launched its second annual competition today at the United Nations on International Democracy Day. Richard Engel, NBC News Chief Foreign Correspondent, served as Master of Ceremonies for the contest’s global launch. The Challenge again invites citizens from around the world to create video shorts (3minutes or less) that complete the phrase: “Democracy is…” in an effort to enhance the global dialogue on democracy.
“Art is meant to engage us, not merely distract us, and needs a robust democracy for it to thrive. Artists everywhere have a civic obligation to speak up fearlessly and courageously on issues, regardless of how difficult they might be,” said Mary Schmidt Campbell, Dean of the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, a partner in the Democracy Video Challenge.
The Democracy Video Challenge is a unique partnership comprising democracy, and youth organizations, the film and entertainment industry, academia, and the U.S. government. In its inaugural year, the Challenge attracted more than 900 videos from 95 countries around the world.
Local Governments Leading the Way in Developing New Forms of Civic Engagement
August 28, 2009
PACE , Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement and the National Civic League have teamed up to publish a special issue of the National Civic Review (NCR) on cutting edge forms of dialog, deliberation and public decision-making at the local government level.
Currently in its 98th year of publication, NCR is one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious journals of civic affairs. Its audience includes mayors, city managers, community activists, academics and leaders within the nonprofit sector.
Released this week, “The New Laboratories of Democracy: How Local Government is Reinventing Civic Engagement” features essays, interviews, and case studies on cutting edge practices by villages, towns, cities and counties in the field of public participation and how nonprofits and foundations are aiding and assisting those efforts.
“Publication of the special NCR issue is particularly timely,” noted PACE Executive Director Christopher T. Gates. “The raucous debate over health care reform is a reminder of how difficult it is to deliberate on complex public policy issues in an environment of distrust and polarization, a lesson many local officials learned in the early 1990s when budgets were tightening and public skepticism about the role of government was growing.”
Not long ago, the main vehicle for local participation was the public hearing, an often frustrating and unsatisfactory means of engaging the community. “That began to change about 15 years ago,” added Gates, “when public managers and elected officials started looking for new and better forms of engagement so they could move forward on tough local challenges. The many examples of community success suggest that local government has become an important source of innovation and activity.”
What factors led to this flurry of experimentation? What forms did these new methods take? What have we learned about these new approaches? How do public officials ensure these new ways of doing civic engagement avoid the old trap of offering only the “illusion of inclusion?” And how will technology change the way citizens come together to solve problems?
These are a few of the questions raised and explored in a white paper issued by PACE in May. This special NCR issue includes examples, insights and recommendations contained in the earlier report as well as essays by leaders of public sector associations such as the International City/County Management Association and the National League of Cities, on-the-ground reports from practitioners and advocates of civic engagement who work in communities, and “lessons learned” from local government managers who work with neighborhood groups and public forums.
“We are very excited to publish this special issue with PACE,” says Gloria Rubio-Cortés, President of the National Civic League. “It explores from a number of new angles questions that are right at the center of our mission: how do we make democracy more inclusive and how do we tap the under-used resource of public knowledge and common wisdom.”
To receive a complimentary print edition of this issue (NCR 98:2), contact Kristin Seavey, kristins@ncl.org.
ALA and the library community have encouraged citizen participation in the political process for many years. Here’s a great article by Jean Preer talking about the role of libraries in the 1952 Presidential election.
Preer, Jean L ,
“Promoting Citizenship: How Librarians Helped Get Out the Vote in the 1952 Presidential Election,”
Libraries & the Cultural Record 43 no1 1-28 2008
Abstract:
In 1952 the American Library Association joined an array of nonprofit organizations, corporations, and the media in the National Non-Partisan Register and Vote Campaign to increase citizen participation in the electoral process. With ALA providing technical support and encouragement, librarians all over the country promoted reading, organized discussion groups, mounted exhibits, and sponsored programs to draw informed voters to the polls. ALA’s participation in the Register and Vote Campaign highlighted the role of the public library in providing quality information on candidates and issues. Librarians demonstrated that libraries could serve as local information centers, working with nonprofit organizations, the commercial sector, and the broadcast media to reach out to the whole community to create an informed citizenry.
Political Engagement: Facilitating Greater Participation in Civil Society
2009 ALA Annual Conference Program
Saturday, July 11, 1:30 – 3:00 PM
Democracy requires a well-informed citizenry willing to participate in political activities such as voting, campaign work, contacting officials and community work. Recognizing dropping rates of participation in civic life, higher education organizations have begun programs to encourage greater political engagement by today’s students. Find out more about these efforts and discover how libraries can facilitate development of lifelong critical thinking and research skills needed for citizenship.
Nancy Kranich, Lecturer and Librarian, Rutgers University, and former President of the American Library Association
Joanne Griffin, Business Reference Librarian, and Holly Sorensen, Assistant Director, work at Des Plaines Public Library – the site of the FY 2006 LSTA-funded Building Community through Creative Conversations program.
Obama Pledges Support for Social Innovation, Encourages
Public-Private Partnerships (7/02/09)
Foundation Center, Philanthropy News Digest, July 7, 2009
President Barack Obama has pledged that his administration will
do its part to support grassroots organizations that are suc-
cessful in their efforts to improve communities, the Associated
Press reports.
While announcing the launch of the Community Solutions Agenda at
a White House gathering last week, Obama issued a challenge to
government, business, foundations, and average citizens to come
together to identify and invest in promising solutions to the
nation’s toughest problems. The effort, which includes the White
House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation and a
$50 million Innovation Fund, is designed to help scale effective
nonprofit innovations and foster promising new ideas in educa-
tion, health care, energy, the economy, and other areas.
To that end, the Innovation Fund will work to leverage invest-
ments totaling $1 billion over five years in support of high-
impact social sector innovations. Administered by the Corporation
for National and Community Service, the fund will provide grants
to existing grantmaking institutions that in turn support inno-
vative, results-driven nonprofits. Grantmaking institutions and
their nonprofit grantees will be asked to match the fund’s
investments.
“Solutions to America’s challenges are being developed every day
at the grassroots,” Obama said during the White House gathering.
“Government shouldn’t be supplanting those efforts. It should be
supporting those efforts.”
“President Announces Community Solutions Agenda.” America Forward
Press Release 6/30/09.
If you are attending ALA or can get to Chicago or know a student in Chicago who wants to make a little pin money and get into the exhibitor’s booth and our MIG meeting, please forward…
How do you get started if you want to make a difference in America?
That is the question posed by NOW on PBS executive producer John Siceloff and writer Jason Maloney in their book, Your America: Democracy’s Local Heroes and answered in the inspiring biographies of grassroots activists and companion video produced by NOW on PBS. http://www.pbs.org/now/youramerica
PBS NOW is seeking a representative to work at the Palgrave Macmillan publisher’s booth at the ALA conference in Chicago July 11-14 to promote the book, Your America.
AND they are willing to pay $25 per hour for three hours per day - you make your own schedule between 9:00-5:00 July 11-13 and 9-2 on the 14th!
I’ve negotiated a couple of other perks that should be of interest …
Here’s what you will get in addition to $75 per day for 3 hours of work:
An exhibitor badge that will get you into the ALA exhibit halls
You will also get to attend the ALA Membership Initiative Group: Libraries Foster Civic Engagement on Sunday, July 12, 2009, 10:30 - 12:00 pm (See Blog announcement: http://tinyurl.com/lno26q ) This is a great place to meet librarians who are involved in civic engagement and social justice issues in their communities!
A copy of the book America’s Heroes
Here’s what you need to do:
Be at the exhibitor’s booth for three hours per day to promote the book, answer questions, and take down information or queries for the publisher
The publicist has two exhibitor badges so even if you cannot be available all four days, it may still be possible to share this assignment.
If you are interested, contact ASAP:
Lawana P. Dykes
Your America - Marketing
JumpStart Productions anawald@yahoo.com
(609) 567-1155
(609) 567-2354 (FAX)
Please note a room change for the Libraries Foster Civic Engagement Membership Initiative Group Meeting on Sunday, July 12, 2009, Chicago, IL, Grant Park Room, Palmer House, 6th Floor.
