No longer mere repositories of books and information, libraries and museums are becoming hubs of civic engagement and “community living rooms” – places where people come together to discuss the issues affecting their communities and the world. Civic reflection is an effective tool as museums and libraries make this transition, helping staff members and visitors to not only read, learn, and think together, but talk together about civic issues.
CCR Director, Adam Davis, lead a discussion with representatives from cultural museums across Chicago.
Benefits:
Enhanced facilitation skills that enable librarians and museum staff to lead meaningful discussions with visitors, community members, and colleagues.
Strategic shift to thinking about libraries and museums as places where people learn from books and exhibits to places where people learn from each other.
Opportunity to engage new communities and populations -- i.e. younger audiences, adults who bring their children to libraries and/or museums, etc.
From the beginning, we recognized that civic reflection had the potential to have a transformative effect on our staff. In particular, we hoped that our staff would develop the ability to see their libraries and themselves differently, that they would come to regard the library as a meeting place and a crossroads for the community. This program gives us the opportunity to push our programming to a new level.
"
--Mark Smith
Riverside County Library System
"
Civic reflection discussions help us develop a richer, more adequate vocabulary for communicating with one another... name the tensions without feeling judged... come to the table as equals... practice unselfish listening... and articulate meaningful questions that emerge from what we do.
"
--Kathy Smith
New Hampshire Humanities Council
"
I will take away the idea that life... is extremely complex. Every side has important points to make and it is important to listen to one another... Being American doesn't just mean being born here.
"
--Discussion Participant
New Hampshire Humanities Council Conversation Series
