Next Library Keynote, Aarhus, Denmark, 13 September 2015

1. Civic Media:
Communities Making Change
Next Library 2015
Erhardt Graeff
MIT Center for Civic Media
@erhardt
Civic Media:
Communities Making Change
1

2. Civic Media:
Communities Making Change
Next Library 2015
Erhardt Graeff
MIT Center for Civic Media
@erhardt
2

3. Civic Media:
Communities Making Change
Next Library 2015
Erhardt Graeff
MIT Center for Civic Media
@erhardt
3
Debt refusal as a mechanism of
social and political change

6. Debtor’s Assembly in Oakland

7. “There are countless ways to ‘strike’ debt:
demanding a people’s bailout and an end to
corporate welfare; collectively refusing to pay
illegitimate loans; targeting and shutting down
collections agencies, payday lenders, or for-
profit colleges; regulating loan speculators out of
business; reinstating limits on usurious interest
rates; defending foreclosed homes; fighting
tuition hikes and school budget cuts; resisting
austerity policies; fighting militarism, which
accounts for half of our nation’s discretionary
spending; organizing debtors’ associations and
unions; and more. On the constructive side,
building an alternative economy run for mutual
benefits is a long-term goal.” (213)

10. rollingjubilee.org

11. Civic Media:
Communities Making Change
Next Library 2015
Erhardt Graeff
MIT Center for Civic Media
@erhardt
Creating / Sharing a Political Meme:
Binders Full of Women
11
“And I said, ‘Well, gosh, can’t we — can’t
we find some — some women that are
also qualified? I went to a number of
women’s groups and said, ‘Can you help
us find folks,’ and they brought us whole
binders full of women."

12. Civic Media:
Communities Making Change
Next Library 2015
Erhardt Graeff
MIT Center for Civic Media
@erhardt
12

15. Civic Media:
Communities Making Change
Next Library 2015
Erhardt Graeff
MIT Center for Civic Media
@erhardt
Pillars of Civic Media
Open & Accessible
Participatory & Community-building
Fosters or Enhances Civic Engagement
15

16. Participatory Civics demands Participatory Design
Civic Media:
Communities Making Change
Next Library 2015
Erhardt Graeff
MIT Center for Civic Media
@erhardt
16

17. betweenthebars.org

19. 19

20. Grassroots Mapping: publiclab.org
Civic Media:
Communities Making Change
Next Library 2015
Erhardt Graeff
MIT Center for Civic Media
@erhardt
20

27. Promise Tracker: promisetracker.org
Civic Media:
Communities Making Change
Next Library 2015
Erhardt Graeff
MIT Center for Civic Media
@erhardt
27

30. 30

31. Civic Media:
Communities Making Change
Next Library 2015
Erhardt Graeff
MIT Center for Civic Media
@erhardt
31

32. Civic Media:
Communities Making Change
Next Library 2015
Erhardt Graeff
MIT Center for Civic Media
@erhardt
32

33. Data Murals: datamurals.org
Civic Media:
Communities Making Change
Next Library 2015
Erhardt Graeff
MIT Center for Civic Media
@erhardt
33

34. Step 1: Story Finding
Civic Media:
Communities Making Change
Next Library 2015
Erhardt Graeff
MIT Center for Civic Media
@erhardt
34

35. Step 2: Visual Design
Civic Media:
Communities Making Change
Next Library 2015
Erhardt Graeff
MIT Center for Civic Media
@erhardt
35

36. Step 3: Painting
Civic Media:
Communities Making Change
Next Library 2015
Erhardt Graeff
MIT Center for Civic Media
@erhardt
36

37. Your Library is already engaged in Civic Media
Civic Media:
Communities Making Change
Next Library 2015
Erhardt Graeff
MIT Center for Civic Media
@erhardt
37

38. Civic Media:
Communities Making Change
Next Library 2015
Erhardt Graeff
MIT Center for Civic Media
@erhardt
Core Values of Dokk1
• The citizen as key factor
• Lifelong learning and community
• Diversity, cooperation and network
• Culture and experiences
• Bridging citizens, technology and knowledge
• Flexible and professional organisation
• Sustainable icon for Aarhus
38

40. Connected Messages
in five Free Library branches in Philadelphia
Civic Media:
Communities Making Change
Next Library 2015
Erhardt Graeff
MIT Center for Civic Media
@erhardt
40
Orkan Telhan, Yasmin B.
Kafai, Richard Lee Davis,
K-Fai Steele, and
Barrie M. Adleberg
http://civicmediaproject.org/
works/civic-media-project/
connectedmessages

41. Nashville: Building Blocks
in the Nashville Public Library
Civic Media:
Communities Making Change
Next Library 2015
Erhardt Graeff
MIT Center for Civic Media
@erhardt
41
Ty Hollett
http://civicmediaproject.org/
works/civic-media-project/
nashville-building-blocks

42. Civic Media:
Communities Making Change
Next Library 2015
Erhardt Graeff
MIT Center for Civic Media
@erhardt
Pitfalls of Civic Media
Resource, Skill & Participation Gaps
Homophily & Apathy
Efficacy
42

43. Civic Media:
Communities Making Change
Next Library 2015
Erhardt Graeff
MIT Center for Civic Media
@erhardt
Pitfalls of Civic Media: Libraries’ Promise
Resource, Skill & Participation Gaps
Libraries democratize access to tools and learning
Homophily & Apathy
Libraries convene diversity & cultivate exploration
Efficacy
Libraries emphasize the local & the possible
43

44. Gordon Welters for The New York Times

45. Civic Media:
Communities Making Change
Next Library 2015
Erhardt Graeff
MIT Center for Civic Media
@erhardt
Pitfalls of Civic Media: Libraries’ Promise
Resource, Skill & Participation Gaps
Libraries democratize access to tools and learning
Homophily & Apathy
Libraries convene diversity & cultivate exploration
Efficacy
Libraries emphasize the local & possible
45
Building up Resources ≠ Building a Community

46. Civic Media:
Communities Making Change
Next Library 2015
Erhardt Graeff
MIT Center for Civic Media
@erhardt
46
MIT Center for Civic Media

47. Civic Media:
Communities Making Change
Next Library 2015
Erhardt Graeff
MIT Center for Civic Media
@erhardt
47

48. Civic Media:
Communities Making Change
Next Library 2015
Erhardt Graeff
MIT Center for Civic Media
@erhardt
Thank you.
Erhardt Graeff
MIT Center for Civic Media
@erhardt
48

49. Civic Media:
Communities Making Change
Next Library 2015
Erhardt Graeff
MIT Center for Civic Media
@erhardt
Describe a project your library is already
doing that is civic media related.
49
Pair & Share #1: 5min

50. Civic Media:
Communities Making Change
Next Library 2015
Erhardt Graeff
MIT Center for Civic Media
@erhardt
Describe a civic media project you would
like your library to do in the future.
50
Pair & Share #2: 5min

51. Civic Media:
Communities Making Change
Next Library 2015
Erhardt Graeff
MIT Center for Civic Media
@erhardt
Briefly write down your ideas from the Pair
& Shares on separate Post-It notes and put
on the flip charts on your way out.
51
Report to the Community