May 9, 2021

New Report: “Public Libraries as Platforms For Civic Engagement”

The following report comes from the University of Washington Information School’s Technology & Social Change Group (TASCHA).

Title

Public Libraries as Platforms For Civic Engagement

Authors

Chris Coward
Colin Maclay
Maria Garrido

Source

University of Washington Information School’s Technology & Social Change Group (TASCHA).
May 2018

Abstract

What role should the world’s public libraries have in civic engagement? In recent years, traditional media have weakened, the civic space has become increasingly divisive, and society has become ever more divided socially, economically and politically, yet public libraries have stood strong. They have long fulfilled a vital need for communal spaces where people can engage and exchange ideas and served as a “civic commons” where people can work together toward what they perceive as the public good. With democracy in crisis in many parts of the world, public libraries and librarians are asking how they can re-envision and nourish the role of libraries in promoting civic engagement.

To this end, the University of Washington Technology & Social Change Group (TASCHA) and the University of Southern California’s Annenberg Innovation Lab invited a select group of thought leaders for a conversation aimed at sparking new ideas and solutions for global action. This gathering brought together a cross-section of leading thinkers from public libraries, civic media, collective action, peace building, the arts, media and data literacies, civic technology, gaming, and other fields, to explore ideas and practices to advance civic engagement. This report documents the discussions of this event.

Direct to Full Text Report
24 pages; PDF.

See Also: Blog Post/Background

About Gary Price

Gary Price (gprice@mediasourceinc.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. Before launching INFOdocket, Price and Shirl Kennedy were the founders and senior editors at ResourceShelf and DocuTicker for 10 years. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com, and is currently a contributing editor at Search Engine Land.

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