June 29, 2009
Posted in Uncategorized at 1:24 pm by Taylor
Thursday, July 16, 2009
11am-5pm Eastern
Presented by PublicDecisions
Co-sponsored by
§ Learning Times
§ NY University Law School/Institute for Information Law and Policy
§ Public Agenda
§ Involve
§ National Issues Forum Institute
Why just talk with stakeholders about environmental management (or any other subject)? Let them experience it!
Conducted entirely in the virtual world Second Life, this one-day conference will provide you with the opportunity to experience and learn about the possibilities of hosting stakeholder learning events using virtual reality.
You’ll participate in presentations (including a virtual deliberation held in Second Life), discussions . . . even “field trips” that demonstrate how virtual reality is being used for stakeholder learning today.
What You’ll Learn:
► The benefits and drawbacks of working with stakeholders in Second Life, including when it’s appropriate, efficient and effective—and when it’s not
► How Second Life differs from other technologies used for stakeholder engagement
► How Second Life can be used for a range of subject areas, including—but not limited to—environmental management
► Tips for using Second Life effectively, including how to access existing “islands” or spaces within Second Life’s virtual world and how to create your own space
View the conference agenda
No Experience Needed
You don’t need prior experience with Second Life to attend, but you will need to create a Second Life account (it’s free) in order to participate.
An orientation for registrants new to Second Life (and those who want a refresher) will be provided prior to the conference.
WHERE
Online, in Second Life
FEE
Seats are Limited to the First 75 Registrants
$75 USD for Circle Club members, $85 USD for nonmembers
Registration includes the PublicDecisions post-event report, “Using Virtual Reality for Stakeholder Engagement”
Not a Circle Club member? Join now. Membership is free and you can unsubscribe at any time.
QUESTIONS? Contact Paul Coelus
Second Life is a registered trademark of Linden Research, Inc.
LearningTimes and the squirrel logo are trademarks of LearningTimes, LLC.
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June 24, 2009
Posted in Conference sessions at 1:30 pm by Nancy Kranich
Libraries Foster Civic Engagement Membership Initiative Group
2009 ALA Annual Conference – Chicago, IL
Sunday, July 12, 2009, 10:30 - 12:00 pm
Palmer House Hotel, Grant Park Room, 6th Floor
AGENDA
Updates–Civic Engagement Activities Around the Country
Privacy: Who Do You Trust?
Report from the Test Dialogue
Join the Conversation/Experience a Deliberative Dialogue
Thursday, July 9, 2009, 1:30-4:30, ALA Headquarters, Judith Krug Room, 1st Floor
You can still register for the IFRT/LFCE-MIG Preconference on Privacy
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/rts/ifrt/ifrtinaction/programb/2009preconference.cfm
Deliberative Dialogue Public Policy Institute — Training Programs
ACRL Law and Political Science Program–Civic Engagement, Saturday, July 11, 2009, 1:30 – 3:00 PM
McCormick Place South, S105a-d
Other–Send Suggestions to nancy.kranich@nyu.edu
Civic Engagement Blog-http://discuss.ala.org/civicengagement/
Join Us. Bring Your Colleagues
Subscribe to ALA’s Civic Engagement listserv:
1. Go to: http://lists.ala.org/wws
2. Click on “View All Lists”
3. Scroll down to “deliberate@ala.org”
4. Click on “Subscribe”
5. Fill in your e-mail address in the box at the top of the screen
6. Press “submit”
For more information, contact Nancy Kranich, nancy.kranich@nyu.edu
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May 7, 2009
Posted in Deliberative Dialogue, Grants, Publications of Interest at 8:14 pm by Nancy Kranich
“PACE Releases Guide on Deliberative Democracy and Democratic Governance”
April 30, 2009
As the philanthropic community grapples with the question of how to support innovative and effective forms of democratic governance, PACE (Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement) has released a guide that provides a detailed description of how local civic engagement has grown and developed over the past decade.
“Funding and Fostering Local Democracy: What Philanthropy Should Know about the Emerging Field of Deliberation and Democratic Governance” is a free, downloadable publication designed to inform the field of philanthropy. The strategies described in the guide—and the stories of how communities have used them to break policy deadlock, reduce tension and galvanize volunteerism—can help funders, public officials and community activists better understand the possibilities, and limitations, of various approaches to working with the public.
“As more and more foundations are making civic engagement a part of their funding priorities, they are also being presented with a whole new set of approaches and tools for engaging citizens at the local level,” says Chris Gates, the Executive Director of PACE, ‘This guide is an attempt to demystify the emerging field of deliberative democracy and help funders make more informed decisions about their support of this growing field.”
“Perhaps the most significant—and overlooked—recent development in the health of local democracy is the shift in citizen expectations, capacities and attitudes toward government,” argues Matt Leighninger, the director of the Deliberative Democracy Consortium and the author of this guide. “This guide illustrates how this shift is affecting public officials, foundations and nonprofit organizations, and how it has provoked a new generation of efforts to make local politics and local governance more participatory, deliberative and productive.”
The guide provides a list of some of the main organizations working in this field, describes some of the most influential models and processes, and provides examples of particularly significant democratic governance efforts. It also outlines some of the cutting-edge questions facing the field and provides a long list of resources to consult.
An electronic version of the guide is attached and we encourage you to share and forward.
PACE is an affinity group of the Council on Foundations, founded in 2005 to bring new philanthropic focus to the issues of civic engagement and democratic renewal.
For more information contact Chris Gates, Executive Director of PACE, at cgates@pacefunders.org or the author of the guide, Matt Leighninger, at mattleighninger@earthlink.net .
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May 1, 2009
Posted in Conference sessions, Uncategorized at 3:57 pm by Nancy Kranich
Please join us for the Civic Engagement Membership Initiative Group Meeting on Sunday, July 12, 2009, 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 noon, Palmer House Hotel, Montrose 1, Chicago, IL.
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Posted in Grants, Uncategorized at 3:52 pm by Nancy Kranich
Herb Block Foundation Accepting Letters of Inquiry for Citizen Involvement Grant Program
Deadline: June 1, 2009
Through its Encouraging Citizen Involvement grant program, the Herb Block Foundation seeks to engage citizens in creating a responsible, responsive democratic government.
Proposals may focus on citizen education and greater voter participation in the electoral process. All projects must be nonpartisan and may not involve lobbying for specific legislation or candidates. Grants will not be made for capital or endowment programs, or for sectarian religious purposes.
Applicants must be nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations. Grants will range from $5,000 to $25,000 each for one year.
Visit the Herb Block Foundation Web site for complete program information.
More application information is available here.
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March 24, 2009
Posted in Civic Engagement Survey, Job Opportunities at 2:22 pm by Taylor
I just received notice of a Director of Citizen Engagement position from my friend Joe Goldman over at AmericaSpeaks. AmericaSpeaks has engaged thousands of citizens in large-scale projects on participatory budgeting, rebuilding New Orleans, the New York Listening to the City project, the arts, and health care in California just to name a few. The tools in their toolbox include keypad voting, online deliberation, research, community conversations and webcast meetings.
With an administration that is promoting transparency, participation and collaboration, this is an exciting time to be involved in citizen engagement.So send Joe a line if you are interested in working in D.C. with a dynamic organization doing important work!
(read more…)
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February 11, 2009
Posted in Civic Engagement Survey, Publications of Interest at 12:16 pm by Taylor
[From Philanthropy News Digest, January 24, 2009 Note the emphasis on “innovative activities designed to engage library users”. Also note the economic return that the library provides to the community!]
The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh needs to explore new ways to meet its serious funding challenges, engage patrons and other stakeholders, and evaluate the services it offers, a new report from RAND Education finds.
Funded by the Eden Hall Foundation, the report, Assessing the Future of Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh: Pathways to Sustainability (85 pages, PDF), outlines nine opportunities for the library and its stakeholders to pursue, including expanding innovative activities designed to engage library users; rigorously assessing the number and size of services and programs it offers; evaluating ways to leverage more benefits from existing resources, including technology, volunteers, and strategic partners; and the benefits and tradeoffs of a county-wide merger with the forty-four independent libraries in Allegheny County.
A study by the Carnegie Mellon University Center for Economic Development found that the library generates more than $132 million in combined economic return and estimated value to Allegheny County, sustains more than seven hundred jobs, and provides an economic benefit of $3 for every $1 it spends. But since the state cut funding for the library in 2002, it has had to juggle days and times of operation at its nineteen locations, even as circulation, visits, and program attendance has increased.
“RAND’s study is a critical information tool for the entire community,” said Barbara K. Mistick, president and director of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. “Over the coming months, we want to create a community dialogue about the importance of libraries. We want to engage library customers, foundations, elected officials, civic leaders, and the community at large. We need them to be our partners in determining the future of library services and funding and how we can serve our community best.”
“Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Should Explore Other Funding Sources, Right-Size Programs.” Rand Corporation Press Release 1/15/09.
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January 9, 2009
Posted in Conference sessions, Uncategorized at 10:48 am by Nancy Kranich
Libraries Foster Civic Engagement Membership Initiative Group
2009 ALA Midwinter Conference — Denver, CO
Sunday, January 25, 2009, 10:30 - 12:00 pm
Room Location:
Colorado Convention Center, Room 603
AGENDA
Updates on Library Civic Engagement Activities Around the Country
Topics will include:
Privacy Dialogue
Deliberative Dialogue Public Policy Institute — Training Programs
Deliberative Dialogue Survey Results
ACRL Law and Political Science Program–Civic Engagement, Summer 2009
Other–Send Suggestions to nancy.kranich@nyu.edu
Civic Engagement Blog–See http://discuss.ala.org/civicengagement/
Join Us. Bring Your Colleagues
Subscribe to ALA’s Civic Engagement listserv:
1. Go to: http://lists.ala.org/wws
2. Click on “View All Lists”
3. Scroll down to “deliberate@ala.org”
4. Click on “Subscribe”
5. Fill in your e-mail address in the box at the top of the screen
6. Press “submit”
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December 9, 2008
Posted in Commentary, Publications of Interest at 11:04 pm by Taylor
New Social Inquiry is a brand new academic journal, but they aren’t just any academic journal. Right on the front page they claim that they will be a different kind of academic journal. They will be publishing social research essays and relative works that are accessible to a wide audience, engaging and relevant for non-specialists, yet sophisticated and complex enough to push scholarship forward.
Their first publication will focus on public dialogue. Here’s an excerpt from the guidelines for submission:
Is there such a thing as public dialogue, now or in the past? If so, who participates, who leads, and what forms does it take? If not, how can it realistically be realized? What are the main challenges to
establishing/maintaining public dialogue? What are good examples of public dialogue working in the world today?
What is/are the relationship(s) between public dialogue(s) and social inquiry(ies)?
Shotgun essays should be no longer than 1000 words–we said “short”, and we mean it.
The deadline is January 19, 2009. Shouldn’t libraries be prominently featured?
For more information, check out: http://www.newsocialinquiry.org/
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December 8, 2008
Posted in Community Informatics, Programs of Interest at 10:48 am by Taylor
The Blended Librarian (a community of librarians, faculty, instructional designers and technologists working to integrate the library into the teaching and learning process) is offering a free online discussion with Dr. David Lankes on December 11 from 3-4 EST. The event is free, but you must pre-register and become a member (also free) of the Blended Librarians Online Learning Community so be sure to allow time to be approved. I applied to be a member last night and received my registration information this morning.
Dr. Lankes is a Fellow at ALA’s Office for Information Technology Policy and is the creator of the Participatory Librarianship Starter Kit and he blogs here. Here is the information about the upcoming talk. I have watched some of David’s videos and recommend you consider attending. Even if you can’t attend, join the Blended Librarians Online Learning Community and you’ll be able to access the archive. Also, the technology they use is pretty cool to explore!
Participatory Librarianship and Change Agents
Thursday, December 11, 2008
3-4pm EST
Event Description
Knowledge is created through conversation. Libraries are in the knowledge business. Therefore libraries are in the conversation business. This seemingly simple set of statements has profound implications for how libraries are run, and how they measure success. For example, it casts library services as centered on learning, and not access. This presentation will cover the basics of participatory librarianship, and talk about the need for librarians to become change agents within their own libraries and the communities they serve. This is a great opportunity to hear Dr. Lankes discuss participatory librarianship, which has commonalities with blended librarianship, without having to travel to a national or state conference.
Guest Speaker Bio
R. David Lankes is an Associate Professor at Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies, Director of the Information Institute of Syracuse, and Fellow at ALA’s Office for Information Technology Policy. http://www.DavidLankes.org
Registration
Although this event is free, advance registration is required to reserve a virtual seat.
If you are already a member of the Blended Librarians Online Learning Community, register here: http://home.learningtimes.net/library?go=1199293
If you need to join the Blended Librarians Online Community in order to register (no fee to join):
- Go to the Blended Librarian website at http://blendedlibrarian.org
- Click on the “Join” button on the home page of Blendedlibrarian.org and follow the instructions.
- After you receive confirmation of your Learning Times account you can return to this email message and use the link above for registered members of Learning Times. Click on the link, and then register on the next page (you may need to scroll down to see the register button).
- We recommend that those participating in the webcast obtain a microphone or headset in order to make use of the VoIP technology that allows conversation between the speakers and participants. A microphone or headset is not required to participate.
- Please plan on allowing yourself sufficient time to log in to the webcast on December 11, 2008. If it is the first time attending a Learning Times event it may take a few extra minutes to log on to their Elluminate webcasting software. Once you have registered for the event you may wish to try the “test room” to make sure your computer is set up and ready to go the day of the webcast.
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