Libraries and Strong Democracy: Moving from an Informed to a Participatory 21st Century Citizenry

At a recent public forum at a small New Jersey library, local citizens told strategic planners that they were pleased with their access to a diversity of resources and programs offered by the library. But they also voiced concerns about the loss of access to local information now that the community’s bi-weekly newspaper ceased publication. Moreover, they ex-pressed a desire to go beyond traditional library programming so they could interact with each other about local concerns no longer communicated through trusted local media. No doubt, forum attendees recognize the essential role of information to participation in community life-- a role well-articulated by the Knight Commission on the Information Needs of Communi-ties in a Democracy (Knight Commission, 2009). In its 2009 report, the Commission stated, “The time has come for new thinking and aggressive action to ensure the information op-portunities of America’s people, the information health of its communities, and the information vitality of our democracy” (Knight Commission, 2009, p. 1). In an era when citizens yearn for more participation in civic life, traditional news media have abandoned local communities in New Jersey and beyond. Understandably, some have turned to libraries to fill the information and engagement voids left in their communi-ties. Alienation From Public Life Despite the fact that Americans have far more access to a diversity of ideas than ever before, many have fled the public square, alienated and removed from the dialogue about pos-sibilities. They claim they have too few opportunities to hear diverse views and engage in authentic dialogue about pressing problems—a concern well documented by Diana Mutz (2006