Promoting civil discourse & civic engagement at a library near you!
What prompted us to Choose Civility ? • Staff members watched a webinar about the Howard County Choose Civility program. The discussion resonated with staff. • The Lerner Foundation had funds available for organizations working towards increased community civic engagement. • We were at the tail in of an election cycle. Enough said? Civility in public conversations was on our minds.
Why the Lib ibrary ry? Because people trust us and come to the Library for reliable information! • Maine State Library: Trusted Professionals Survey (2016) • Pew Report: Libraries at the Crossroads (2015)
From an early planning document Choose Civility Portland: Goals and Actions Choose Civility Portland Seeks To: 1. Promote the PPL as a vibrant, welcoming public space and promote Greater Portland as a community that actively chooses civility. 2. Strengthen our collective ability to engage in community issues and problem solving by promoting common standards of civil conduct. 3. Promote experiences and skills that help us understand diverse perspectives, to think imaginatively and critically, and to use library resources to educate ourselves and others about civic matters. 4. Provide leadership to build capacity in Maine’s libraries, individuals and groups that work toward increased civic engagement by providing resources and fostering connections.
Grant Stipulations • Two year grant term. $48 k • Hire a P/T program coordinator • Train staff to facilitate community conversations • Hold 8 public forums / conversations. Four led by partner Lift360 (formerly Institute for Civic Leadership) • Hold 4 sessions with the Maine Humanities Council , based on a reading.
Some of our earliest programs were world cafes. In December of 2013 we hosted Welcoming : Energizing Community In partnership with ICL (now Lift360) we hosted a community conversation on the theme of “Welcoming Communities. Attendees talked with table mates on what it means to feel welcome. Shared experiences of not feeling welcomed. And more. The World Café is a whole group interaction method focused on conversations. A Café Conversation is a creative process for leading collaborative dialogue, sharing knowledge and creating possibilities for action in groups of all sizes.
In September 2013 we held a facilitated conversation with the Director of the Goldfarb Center for Dan Shea Public Affairs and Civic Engagement. Dan surveyed 1,000 randomly selected Americans to gauge attitudes and perceptions about civility in politics. • 95 % of Americans believe civility is a key element for a healthy democracy. • 87 % suggest that it is possible for people to disagree about politics respectfully. • 32% say politicians should take an Emily Post manners class • Where you get your news affects your perception of politics: 57% of those who get most of their news from radio said civility has declined compared with 37% of those who get most of their news from newspapers. • A majority, including nearly six in 10 women, say they're "turned off" when politics becomes "rude and nasty." Just one in five say it prompts them to become more active in politics.
Who are Port rtland's People? A lecture from Amanda Rector, the state economist. Followed by Q&A .
The League of Women Voters The LWV has become a strong partner. These are examples of programs and book groups we have collaborated on.
Not every ry program a winner... .. If you build it, they will come, right? Not always! While this photo looks like a successful program, it was not. We set up a resource fair to connect folks with volunteers positions. We had twelve non-profit show up and set up information tables. We had one potential volunteer show up. Kim Simmons – our grant funded program coordinator extraordinaire - was able to turn it around and make it a community conversation between the non-profit leaders that showed up, sharing what challenges they are facing re: volunteer attraction and engagement. So it was kind of a success after all. But not what we planned.
Responding to headlines...
Once more, responding to headlines...
- Andrew Kiezulas, Snack Chat guest speaker
Partner: Portland Press Herald
t As librarians, we strive to provide unbiased information covering both sides of the issues. As readers, we must admit we fangirl-ed over Rick Steves !
Evaluation of f Election Series We had a total of 260 attendees and a 34% response rate for surveys. Of those: • 89.32% stated they are MORE AWARE OF NOV BALLOT ISSUES, while only 8.83% did not feel they were. • 89.88% stated they felt MORE CONFIDENT RE: their VOTING DECISION, while only 4.17% did not feel more confident. • What people mentioned liking most was the opportunity to ask questions, the civil discourse, the moderators, hearing both sides from panelists and the expertise of the panelists themselves. • When asked what we could do to help patrons further we received many responses along the lines • 50% of attendees heard about the event via PPH, while the PPL webpage, PPL flyers, PPL FB and the Choose Civility email blast lingered around 16-17% each.
Not all programs... Click here to access these resources. ...and a great collection of print Click here to access this book list. books!
• Choose Civility: Howard County official website. • PPL's Choose Civility page: https://www.portlandlibrary.com/highlight/choose-civility/ • Harwood in a Half an Hour getting started: http://www.theharwoodinstitute.org • Libraries Transform / ALA: http://www.ala.org/transforminglibraries/libraries- transforming-communities/resources-for-library- professionals • World Café Tooklit: http://www.theworldcafe.com/tools- store/ • National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation: http://ncdd.org/rc/ • New Hampshire Listens: http://carsey.unh.edu/nhlistens • Choosing civility : the twenty-five rules of considerate conduct by P.M. Forni • Standing in the fire : leading high-heat meetings with calm, clarity, and courage by Larry Dressler.
Keep in in touch! Sonya Durney, durney@portlib.org Brandie Burrows burrows@portlib.org Kelley Blue blue@portlib.org
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