News Leadership 3.0 — Partnering with libraries, “natural sites of media literacy”
Libraries and news organizations have much in common. They both seek to keep people informed, and they both have a long history of providing civic information. Thus, they may be well positioned to support each others’ evolution—as well as healthier communities.
By Amy Gahran
Like news organizations, libraries have been challenged by the proliferation of digital media. Internet access, e-books, and online retailers are transforming how people get information. So the role of libraries is shifting, often as their funding shrinks.
Danah Boyd (social media researcher for Microsoft, fellow at Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society, and a member of the Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communities) observed recently in an e-mail interview: “Libraries serve as a place where people can go to get all sorts of information as well as learn how to make sense of that information. It doesn’t matter if we’re talking about news from a journalist or the records of a town hall meeting. Being able to get that information, knowing how to get it, and knowing how to interpret it are all critical. Journalists don’t currently play all of those roles but librarians often do. This is why the library is a natural site of media literacy.”
(This is part of a series of guest posts by Amy Gahran. Amy is looking how news organizations and other institutions can implement the findings of the Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy, This joint project of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Aspen Institute Communications and Society program produced the report, “Informing Communities: Sustaining Democracy in the Digital Age.” See all posts in this series.)
The following examples of how some North American libraries are working to build civic engagement may indicate opportunities for innovative news-library partnerships:
Events and announcements. The Douglas County, Colorado library system offers a Civic Engagement page on its web site. This includes events such as a Feb. 24 talk on Human Trafficking, upcoming blood drives at libraries, and more.
The Programming Librarian blog also wrote about civic events at libraries in Nashua NH, and Telluride and Boulder, CO.
ACTION STEP: Local news organizations might want to consider not just publicizing such events, but using their venue as a platform to extend discussion on these topics before, during and after the event. Also, news organizations might want to attend these events not just to cover them, but to participate in order to explore with community members how the news organization can support civic engagement.
Resources. The American Library Association’s Civic Engagement blog posts occasional items about how libraries are working on local civic engagement, and there’s a free ALA guide: Civic Engagement: A Success Model for Libraries Serving Older Adults.
Also, Widener University’s Wolfram Memorial Library offers a good resource list for research on civic engagement and service learning.
ACTION STEP: News staff can explore these and similar resources to discover what might be most locally applicable. Also, check out the member directory and state project list of the National Alliance for Civic Education for useful local sources and stories.
Visual Arts. Civic engagement can involve many kinds of information, including art. In January the the ALA received $104,000 in grants to develop “Picturing America through Civic Engagement”—a pilot program to engage young audiences in citizenship and the American electoral process through the visual arts. The program will target young adult audiences in Chicago region public libraries through partnerships between public libraries and local high schools. (Note: Perhaps like maybe Chicago-area news venues and bloggers might be able to support or participate in this project, too.)
ACTION STEP: Libraries often host arts events or performances that highlight local culture, issues, or community members. When covering these, consider and highlight the civic (not just the artistic) relevance.
Using library data on other sites. Libraries are civic institutions, so library information is civic information. One way to spur civic engagement is to make library data available beyond the library’s own web site—perhaps on a local news site.
In 2008 the Toronto Public Library began sharing its data via an API (application programming interface). This allows other web sites (for local schools, organizations, etc.) to display current library information on branch locations, events, and more. There are many other library-related APIs, too—North Carolina State University publishes its catalog via API.
ACTION STEP: Does your local public or college library system publish any of its data via API? Ask their IT director what is, or could be, published via API. If it’s something that’s interesting to your community (such as an events calendar, or availability of public meeting rooms), then an API could be the key to automatically giving that information wider reach via a news site.
Finally, talk to local librarians about their civic engagement efforts, needs, and goals. Offer to help. Be proactive. Often news organizations only approach local librarians when they need information, not to offer to help (beyond publishing news stories). Go to their meetings, and consider participating on their boards or committees. Librarians aren’t just resources—they’re potential partners
Sourced from: Knight Digital Media Center All-Site Feed
