Can people disagree on important topics and still be civil to one another?
That was the question Tara Susman-Peña, senior technical expert at IREX, posed to attendees at the outset of “Bridgebuilding: Fostering Community Engagement, Dialogue, and Interactions in Libraries,” a July 1 session at the American Library Association’s 2024 Annual Conference and Exhibition in San Diego.
The US is enduring a period marked by division, social isolation, and segregation, which makes it difficult to relate to those who are different from us, presenters said. “Everybody is aware that we are very divided, that there is a lot of distrust and polarization,” said Susman-Peña. “A systems-level problem needs a systems-level solution.”
That’s where public libraries can help. They can offer programs and opportunities for people to engage in bridgebuilding, a practice that allows for individuals to share their differences in ways that respect their identities, foster relationships, seek the common good, and promote a commitment to civic engagement. In turn, this can increase the social capital and infrastructure of a community and strengthen its democracy.
“We have a role, and even a responsibility, to create a space where we can … bring democracy back to our country,” said Jennie Garner, director of North Liberty (Iowa) Community Library (NLCL) and past president for the Association for Rural and Small Libraries. Luckily, said Garner, you might already be doing this work.
At NLCL, bridgebuilding has manifested in different ways. The library has hosted Pizza and Politicians, a series in which politicians talk to teens about the importance of their work over a slice (“super successful and very inexpensive,” Garner noted); an entrepreneur program for immigrants; a Good Neighbor Book Club, which selects titles with civic and political themes; and Living Room Conversations (LRC) that tackle tough topics, such as “Can we get along when we’re voting?”
“We’re hearing that people want more of [these tough conversations],” said Garner, whose library plans to host a future LRC on policing.
Shamichael Hallman, director of civic health and economic opportunity at the Urban Libraries Council, has heard similarly from libraries and patrons. “People in communities want to talk to each other,” he said. “This has been a constant theme.”
Hallman also stressed that bridgebuilding doesn’t have to center on political divisions; libraries can bridge ages or generations, religious beliefs, and socioeconomic groups or zip codes. “[So long as] it brings together a group of people who might not otherwise have the opportunity,” he said.
Different communities have different needs, and so bridgebuilding might fall into one of four buckets, Hallman outlined: facilitating access to information, experiences, and resources (such as a cooking or knitting club); meeting essential community needs (such as a free lunch program); civic engagement (showing people how local government works); or bridging activities (such as difficult conversations).
“All of these have challenges,” Hallman said. “We’re not going to act like this is a rainbow in the sky and people are singing kumbaya, [but] the people who were having the best success with [conversations] were people who were talking about local issues.”
Garner said it’s important to allow staffers the time to conduct outreach and make connections in the community, but also provide the training and support they need to feel “cared for.” If staffers don’t have the capacity or expertise to moderate conversations, presenters suggested finding outside partners who have experience facilitating dialogue.
Presenters said they have already seen instances where bridgebuilding has strengthened the fabric of a community or brought civility back to civic life.
“This is the value that we’re providing,” said Hallman. “Before the library, ‘that was a stranger.’ After the library, ‘that was Sarah, I know Sarah.’”
Added Susman-Peña: “This is the one thing that is giving me hope for the country.”
