Library: Place, Community, Learning
How are we framing the nuanced challenges of improving local life conditions for literacy? (e.g. role of food; insights from brain science)
The USAF is exploring the development of a Social Radar dashboard… to aggregate sensor and sentiment data in order to forecast what’s coming.
What is unique about your local community? What dynamics might be missing to reach its full potential? What are gaps that exist?
- Leavenworth: Prison city; 6 jails in 5-mile radius; huge socio-economic gap.
- Johnson County: wealth; well-educated; poverty is increasing (but county doesn’t try to admit that)
- Basehor: growing community; median age is 40-something; existing community groups falling apart from older generations; 40-something isn’t interested in the existing structure. How to reach those people? Civic organizations having trouble transition between generations
- Hiawatha: school districts are struggling — cutting programs. After school programs.
- Linwood: small, isolated community that’s really not isolated. Similar issues as Basehor.
- Papillion, NE: gap of leadership; growth
- Bonner Springs: drawing from the all the area towns, lots of different populations are using the library. How to bring that all together?
- Olathe: county-seat; diverse population; 40-50 language groups; boosterism is strong; kind of conversation
- Atchison: high poverty — use computers, check out DVDs; affluent, parents bring their kids in, but won’t come for adult programming; friends group much much older. Hard time to get Friends group going
Many areas, it’s hard to keep people local. People leave to do things elsewhere in larger communities.
Library as Third Place
Retooling –> Perception Gap
Poverty is growing in suburbs; many reasons why. Perception gap of the conditions.
Lots of different angles on local.
Why does retooling local communities matter? Capturing the Local Economic Premium
Louisville, KY
- Local recirculation of revenue at National Chains retailers: 13.6%
- Local recirculation of revenue at Independents retailers: 55.2%
Milwaukee, WI — 3.24* more.Â
Understanding communities & institutions at crossroads: Knight Soul of the Community project
Building Connections: Social graphs — the pattern of social relationships between people (direct/indirect/social link/person)
Emergence of ‘Citizen’ Tools — Project Noah
Does the library promote this? Add it to the collection
What kinds of citizen tools can you create? Marine Debris Tracker
Civicware: Engagement & Data-driven insights —
- civicapps for Greater Portland — voter engagement; healthcare; transit
- Michigan.gov Open Michigan
- Code for America –> AuntBertha.com: social service search — YELP for social services
These are applications that are being built in communities that inform individuals that inform citizens about civic participation throughout their communities.
Role of Reference: Libraries and Local Dashboard — what’s getting better/worse — color coded
- The way we move: traffic and roads
- The way we live
- The way we green
- The way we Grow
- The way we prosper
- The way we finance
Does the information exist? What institution would be responsible for pulling it all together? The library? Trusted institution. Closing perception gap; showing interconnectedness.
How might dashboards empower entrepreneurs, citizens and/or policy-makers?
Even if you can’t do data dashboard, go to other sources to get data understanding of your community.
The Collaborative economy Coalition
- Peer-to-peer economic exchanges (Sharing isn’t socialism)
- Relay Rides
- What’s Mine Is Yours
- Jeremiah Owyang
- The Resilient Summit
- Crowd Companies
- AirBNB
Anticipating Pull & Push Factors of Economic Localization: The New Innovation Battlegrounds are city hill and the state house
Is the library a place that should promote the local economy? Libraries play an active role in building community awareness on key indicators driving quality of life and the economy and/or libraries actively support collaborative economy activities.
Technology creates the capabilities that create the social change. Tech is enabler of social change.
The Geo-Web: Location-based Services
Helping people find books?
Community experiences & transformation of place: guest lecture tonight; on my way to the library then home; starting a local reading group; join me, photographing city; play date at playground.
Creating reference services based off of location?
How do we leverage place-based discovery and sharing?
- place as storytelling (community as setting)
- connecting places to programs
- community members as ‘authors’ of place
- place-based learning discovery
Michael Chabon’s Telegraph Avenue
Strategy: Local Discovery-based Learning Experiences
LIbrary Layers: unique content…
Retooling Local Places:
- The Edible Bus Stop — edible forest for people to take from or at least look at
- Popup Retail: Little White Fashion Truck — Library Bookmobile
- Places for People: PARK(ing) Day — transforming parking lots into temporary parks, one day a year — space for everyone. These are more permanent. Reminds me so much of tactical urbanism strategies!
- Uni: Institution in a Box
- Kickstart projects
- Seed Bank Program
- Ghost Sign Project
- Etsy Bison Booties
- The Shepherd’s Mill, Phillipsburg, KS — people ship from all over the world
Learning Art of Process & Relationships
- Most uncomfortable = ex. Revitalization vs Gentrification
- Most Inspired =
- Biggest Opportunity =
- Biggest Risk =
- Advocacy, Programs, et al
What role do libraries play on the policy side? We provide resources to communities. If the self-interest of the community vs the company interests conflict, what do we do?
How big is local? Region? Neighborhood? Town. It’s geographical. Larger than a square block.