University of Michigan

The School of Information at the University of Michigan proposes a three-year project to train librarians on how to work with civic organizations to promote greater civic engagement. As part of the program, LIS students will work under the direct supervision of city staff on civic engagement projects, while being mentored by professional librarians. The project will also develop LIS curriculm on how to build sustainable relationships with cities, help students work with diverse populations, and conduct the participatory research that is core to most civic engagement efforts. The project will develop two Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) on theories and methods relevant to civic engagement. One course will be oriented to public librarians and the other will be for people working for city governments. As students in the engaged learning courses conduct their projects, they will record their experiences. This footage will be supplemented by professional videographers and used as core content for the online course.