Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Bridging the Divide: Civic Engagement and Democracy in practice



People are alienated from politics because of a lack of public space for them to engage in discussions. People are remarkably isolated in such an age of diversity.

Libraries' role = provide a safe, neutral place for issues discussions.
Libraries can bridge this divide.

How can we engage people?
Reclaim democracy?
Allow people to reconnect?
Bring people back to the public square?

Nancy Kranich’s 7 functions of a library
1. Library as civic space.

2. Library as public forum, place for dialogue and exchange of ideas.

3. Library as civic information centers. (Not passive, active. Engage.)

4. Library as provider of community-wide, issues-focused reading clubs.

5. Library as partner in public service. (Not competitive with other organizations.)

6. Library as enabler of civic literacy.

7. Library as public advocate. (Not just access to info, but engagement with people.)

No need for libraries to do this alone. There are likely local organizations who want to partner or are already doing some of these things.

Libraries should be moving from access to engagement.

Example: Johnson County Public Library’s (Kansas City, KS) Community Issues Forums

Questions
What surprised, delighted or inspired you from what has been discussed thus far?
What might be challenges or opportunities for libraries to do this in practice?

Highlights from Table discussion
1. Moving from access to engagement

2. How diverse are our libraries really? Are the people who would be interested in Community Issues Forums be people we already reach?

3. How do you avoid debates devolving to extremes on either side?

4. Will some administrators perceive this as courting unnecessary controversy?

5. Libraries can provide the facts. We have many strong views on taxes, gov’t, etc, but very few facts to back up fervent views. (Example: Can you quote how big the total county budget really is?)

6. One system employs a "Community Engagement Librarian"— bring people in to talk about things in a different way; teach how to disagree and be civil; skills that communities need to rediscover and cultivate.

7. Establish the library as place.

8. World Café idea, great discussions forums, community reads

9. Community blog—how do you ensure civil discourse and not have it devolve into contention?

10. In community debates, we used to worry about the library being at the table. By hosting forums, libraries can set the table.

11. The goal should be providing neutral information from a variety of perspectives on local issues.

National Issues Forum model for talking to your community, building issues maps, creating discussion guides, etc.

In Virginia Beach, Betsy McBride's project to discuss proposed zoning changes:
-Present balanced information

-Created an 8 librarian research team (met every Monday for 2 years), ran library forums

–City manager learned librarians didn't just shelve

-City manager now sees librarians as problem-solvers

-Built citizens into the process of bureaucracy and civic issues

-Initially they received flak from the Chamber and the commissioners who wondered what is the library trying to do and what story is the library trying to tell; They saw their programming monies cut (they believe) because the county did not initially see this as a role for the library.

-They decided to use grant/gift fund monies, rather than operating monies for this project, but continued to move forward because they understood the benefit of the forums.

-Being responsive to community in times of limited staff and budget

-Introduction to each discussion—The reason we’re doing this is because…

-When you start you aren't sure of the outcome, but you have to trust the process.

-We have to practice the habits of Democracy.

What to do if Admin isn’t convinced?
-Lobby, report info to the director.

-Explain why we need to do this, we need to partner with these 3 groups because…

-Politicians are starting to realize the need for citizen input; libraries are poised to help, to bring people to our safe place.

Kranich hosts at State College, PA. Their newspaper is a partner, the library is the location and patrons see that national/global issues apply locally.

More notes on National Issues forum model (see handouts)
-You are not discussing academic approaches, rather real-world public views.

-True authentic dialogue = deliberative forum

-Help public weigh-in, make informed approaches and decisions

-Goal = understanding and collective action

-Goal = listen to those who don't agree with us

-Goal = weigh pros and cons, come to common ground

-Discussions often start by centering on two or three viewpoints; group discussions will often result in building a new approach which draws from each viewpoint.

Guidelines
1. Moderator remains neutral.

2. Everyone encouraged to participate.

3. No one or two individuals dominate.

4. Deliberation will focus on approaches.

5. All major approaches are considered.

6. An atmosphere is maintained for deliberation and examination of trade-offs among
choices.

7. We listen to each other, seek common ground and understanding.

After the discussion, what now? Steer people to advocacy groups representing the variety of viewpoints.

ALA has established a membership initiative group on this topic.

National Issues Forum = public policy training.

Upcoming conference:
National Coalition for Discussion and Deliberation Austin, TX Oct 3-5

No comments: