[Publib] The September project: Let's Bring People Together This Summer

[Lori Bell]

OPAL (Online Programming for  All Libraries) is pleased to announce an upcoming online event.  For more information on OPAL and how you can get involved, go to http://www.opal-online.org or contact Tom Peters, OPAL Coordinator at 816-228-6406 or at tpeters at tapinformation.com
  
Friday, July 28, 2006 beginning at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, 2:00 Central, 1:00 Mountain, noon Pacific, and 7:00 p.m. GMT: 

The September Project: Let's Bring People Together This September   The September Project encourages libraries to host free civic events about freedom, democracy, and citizenship in remembrance of September 11th. The National Issues Forums discussion guide, Democracy's Challenge: Reclaiming the Public's Role is particularly well-suited for this year's September Project events. Participants in this online panel presentation will learn about the history and innovative programs offered by 1,100 libraries in 34 countries as part of the September Project over the past two years. In particular, participants will learn about a unique opportunity to: 
    
   Obtain free materials you can use to host community discussions on the National Issues Forums (NIF) discussion guide, Democracy's Challenge: Reclaiming the Public's Role, 
    
   Make the results of their forums a part of a report on hundreds of other forums on this issue that will be presented to Congress in the fall of 2006, 
    
   Use their forums to connect with their local public television stations and the documentary Public Voice 2006, People and Politics: Facing Democracy's Challenge f eaturing excerpts of NIF forums and commentary by nationally known political leaders and commentators, who reflect on what this "public voice" may mean in setting a new direction for America. 
  Join with hundred of others in the NIF network who are hosting forums on Democracy's Challenge. 
  PANELISTS: 
    
   David Silver, Co-Director, The September Project. David leads The September Project's outreach efforts. As a citizen, David believes libraries represent the heart, soul, and collective memory of our communities. As a reader, David looks to libraries, and librarians, for new ideas, new perspectives, and new solutions. His local library is the Ballard Branch of the Seattle Public Library. His work library is the University of Washington's Suzzallo Library. 
    
   Sarah Washburn, Co-Director, The September Project. Sarah leads the online and offline community efforts of The September Project. She is inspired and influenced by the endlessly creative and driven community of librarians around the world. A lifelong supporter and user of libraries, she likes to check out libraries on vacation and business trips, and has been known to visit numerous hometown libraries on a given Saturday. Her first memory of libraries impacting her life was as a member of the summer reading club at the W. Clarke Swanson Branch of the Omaha Public Library. She will never forget the excitement of watching her name appear in construction paper stars each time she finished a book. 
    
   Michael Baldwin, Director, Benbrook (Texas) Public Library. Mike holds a masters degree in public administration as well as library science and has taught American government. Mike believes that libraries are essential to the maintenance of American democracy and that proactive stimulation of responsible citizenship should be a primary component of the public library mission. To that end he wrote the article Can Libraries Save Democracy? in Library Journal (10/15/2002) and Librarians As Knowledge Provocateurs (Public Libraries, March/April, 2006). Mike has also proposed that the American Library Association initiate a One Book/One Nation project that will ask all Americans to read and discuss the same book on an issue of importance to American democracy. Mike is on the board of The September Project. The Benbrook Public Library's September Project program this year will be a public forum using the NIF materials, Democracy's Challenge: Reclaiming the Public's Role. 
  MODERATOR: Taylor Willingham, Director,Texas Forums, an initiative of the LBJ Library and Museum that engages people in dialogue about issues that affect their lives; Co-founder of the ALA Membership Initiative Group, Libraries Fostering Civic Engagement 

CONVENOR: Nancy Kranich, Past President of American Library Association and Co-Founder of the ALA Membership Initiative Group, Libraries Fostering Civic Engagement 

SPONSORED BY: Texas Forums, an initiative of the LBJ Library and Museum, on behalf of the National Issues Forums Institute 

LOCATION: OPAL Auditorium 

For more information about The September Project, including a list of the participating libraries, please visit The September Project's website or The September Project Blog. 

This presentation is co-sponsored by members of the Libraries Fostering Civic Engagement Membership Initiative Group of the American Library Association Membership. The Civic Engagement MIG was formed to provide an ALA "organizational home" for members interested in facilitating public forums, fostering civic engagement, and framing issues for deliberation in their communities. For more information about this MIG and other community engagement resources, please visit the Libraries Foster Civic Engagement Blog. 

 		
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