Program
Librarians view equal access to information as a core value, including access to services and information provided by local governments. The organization Code for America was founded with the vision that "Government can work for the people, by the people, in the digital age." Understanding that libraries and Code for America have some shared goals, public libraries across the country have partnered with their local Code for America brigade to support the development of digital tools to provide easier access to data, services, and benefits that help the community and strengthen community relationships. The nature of partnerships between libraries and Code for America brigades range from providing gathering spaces for meetings and hackathons to devoting staff hours and library resources to support the development of online tools. Understanding that open data and building data literacy skills are important for communities, Civic Switchboard is being developed to support libraries becoming more engaged in their local data ecosystems. Presenters will share the development of this project and ways to engage with Civic Switchboard. Speakers will share their experiences with supporting civic technology and the resulting products and relationships that developed.
ALA Unit/Subunit: PLA
Meeting Type: Program
Cost: Included with full conference registration.
Open/Closed: Open
Toby Greenwalt
Director of Digital Strategy and Technology
Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
Will Skora
Web Administrator
Cleveland Public Library