What can journalists and libraries do to create opportunities for local news and civic engagement? Leading-edge thinkers in both fields have come together recently in several different venues to explore answers to this question. The early feedback on these discussions is that this is a worthwhile topic to discuss at a critical time for both institutions.
Mike’s key takeaways from the ALA discussion, summarized on the Biblionews website, include ideas that resonate with the Knight Commission’s Informing Communties report:
- Librarians see civic engagement as an important element in what they do and how they make their case for public support. Civic engagement helps democracy, but it also has economic benefits to communities.
In this information age, public librarians serve a vital role in gathering and helping to manage data and information for activists. Their potential contributions to individual and group research should not be underestimated.
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