Resources and Readings

People Watching With a Purpose: Meeting Needs Before They Need It

Ann Bishop: Community Informatics in the Real World

Community Informatics Initiative, Graduate School of Library and Information Science University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign http://www.cii.uiuc.edu/
Puerto Rican Cultural Center, Humboldt Park, Chicago http://www.prcc-chgo.org/
Bishop, A. P. (2005). Community informatics: Integrating action, research and learning. Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science & Technology, Aug/Sep 2005, 6-10.
Bishop, A.P., Bazzell, I., Mehra, B. and Smith, C. (2001). “Afya: Social and Digital Technologies that Reach across the Digital Divide” First Monday, volume 6, number 4 (April 2001),
Nelson, V., & Bishop, A. P. (2007). The community is the curriculum. (Paper presented at the 4rd Prato International Community Informatics Conference 2007: Communities and Action) http://www.cii.uiuc.edu/node/297

Nancy Kranich: Public Libraries, Technology Access, and Democracy

Kranich, N. (2006) “Libraries as Universal Service Providers,” Universal Service Project, Benton Foundation, December 1, 2006. Full Text
Bertot, J.C., Jaeger, P., Langa,L., and McClure, C. (2006). “Public Access Computing and Internet Access in Public Libraries: The Role of Public Libraries in E-government and Emergency Situations,” First Monday, Vol. 11, # 9, http://firstmonday.org/issues/issue11_9/bertot/index.html
Kvasny, L., Kranich, N., and Schement, J. (2006). “Communities, Learning and Democracy in the Digital Age,” Journal of Community Informatics, vol. 2, # 2, http://ci-journal.net/index.php/ciej/article/view/341/247
American Library Association, Gates Foundation, and Florida State University College of Information, (2005) “U.S. Public Libraries Providing Unprecedented Access to Computers, the Internet, and Technology Training,” Chicago, IL: American Library Association, June 23, 2005, http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=archive&template=/contentmanagement/contentdisplay.cfm&ContentID=97241
A picture of a community and its library: New Orleans http://nutrias.org/

Libraries and Civic Engagement

Kranich, Nancy. (March/April 2006). “The Civic Mission of School Libraries,” Knowledge Quest, vol. 34, #4, http://www.ala.org/ala/aasl/aaslpubsandjournals/kqweb/kqarchives/volume34/KQ_34n4_Kranich.pdf Part of a whole issue devoted to civic engagement in K-12 education , this article focuses on the promising roles that school libraries can play in promoting civic engagement.
Kranich, Nancy. (Winter 2005). “Civic Partnerships: The Role of Libraries in Promoting Civic Engagement,” in “Creative Collaborations: Libraries Within Their Institutions and Beyond,” Special issue of Resource Sharing and Information Networks 17, # 1 & 2. Downloadable text available at: http://www.nifi.org/news/news_detail.aspx?itemID=3856&catID=2871 A general overview of the rationale and collaborative role of school, academic, and public libraries in fostering civic engagement.
Kranich, Nancy. (October 2004). “Promoting Civic Engagement through the Campus Library,” Friends of Libraries USA (FOLUSA) Newsletter 27, # 5: 9, 11. Downloadable text available at: http://www.nifi.org/news/news_detail.aspx?itemID=3856&catID=2871 Focuses on the important role that academic library friends groups can play in promoting civic engagement on college campuses.
Kranich, Nancy, Michele Reid and Taylor Willingham. (July/August, 2004). “Civic Engagement and Academic Libraries,” College and Research Libraries News, 65, #4: 380-383, 388, 393. Downloadable text available at: http://www.nifi.org/news/news_detail.aspx?itemID=3856&catID=2871 Explores the efforts undertaken by academic institutions to develop civic-minded students and proposes a central role for libraries on these campuses.
Kranich, Nancy, Anne Heanue and Taylor Willingham. (January 2003) “Libraries—Public Forums for Today’s Critical Issues,” American Libraries, 34, #1: 68-70. Downloadable text available at: http://www.nifi.org/news/news_detail.aspx?itemID=3856&catID=2871 General overview of National Issues Forums and their role in libraries.
Kranich, Nancy. (November 15, 2001). “Libraries Create Social Capital,” Library Journal 126, #19 (November 15, 2001): 40-41. http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA180511.html This article defines social capital and helps librarians understand their key role in building the linkages that are essential to bringing a diversity of people together within communities.
Kranich, Nancy. (June/July 2001). “Libraries Help to Build Civil Society,” American Libraries, 32, #6: 7. http://www.ala.org/ala/ourassociation/governanceofficeb/pastpresidents/nancykranich/kranichalcolumns.htm#june/july A short overview of the role libraries play in building civil society, focusing on Robert Putnam’s work, Bowling Alone.
Kranich, Nancy. (November 2000). “Libraries as Civic Spaces,” American Libraries, 31, #10: 7. http://www.ala.org/ala/ourassociation/governanceofficeb/pastpresidents/nancykranich/kranichalcolumns.htm#nov A short column on the importance of libraries as a safe space for civic dialogue.

Other resources, but not required:

Flores-Gonzalez, Nilda. (2001). “Paseo Boricua: Claiming a Puerto Rican Space in Chicago.” Centro Journal 13(2): 7-23.
Kranich, Nancy, (2001) Libraries & Democracy: The Cornerstones of Liberty. Chicago: American Library Association.
McCook, Kathleen de la Pena. (2000). “Reconnecting Library Education and the Mission of the Community.” Library Journal 125(14): 164-165.
Robert S. Freeman and David M. Hovde, eds., (2003) Libraries to the People: Histories of Outreach, Jefferson, NC: McFarland.