“Academic libraries should claim the fundamental goal of helping our students become empowered, information literate global citizens." -Gwendolyn Reece
In this session we will examine our role in educating the community about how to actively participate and initiate change in their local community and the greater society. We will explore ways to directly connect students and faculty’s work with engagement. This session will explore how civic literacy can enhance the library’s central role in information sharing, convening, and facilitating community engagement.
By the end of this class, students will be able to:
Identify one’s own level of civic literacy & ways to increase it.
Explore best practices for local library civic engagement and how it relates to budget, services, and resources.
Instructor: Mary Evangeliste
Mary Evangeliste has held library positions in special, academic and public libraries. She is the owner of Fearless Future, a research and design firm that has operated since 2005. She is the co-author of two titles published by American Library Association: Bite Sized Marketing and Letting Go of Legacy Services. She lives in Tucson Arizona, where she is active in Get Out the Vote (GOTV) leading two groups who attend fairs, marches, and community events to register and inform new voters. In January 2020 she is taught the first Civic Literacy course through San Jose State University iSchool.
