Public libraries that serve small and/or rural communities are invited to apply for a travel stipend to attend a one-day dialogue and deliberation pre-conference workshop at the 2018 American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference in New Orleans.
"Libraries Transforming Communities: Conversation Café Workshop for Public Libraries Serving Small, Mid-Sized and/or Rural Communities" will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday, June 22, 2018, at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans.
Attending the pre-conference is free, though space will be limited to 50 participants. Twenty-five participants from public libraries serving small and/or rural communities will be selected to receive an $800 stipend to help cover travel costs for one library employee.
This workshop is offered as part of
Libraries Transforming Communities: Models for Change, an initiative of ALA and the National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation (NCDD). The initiative seeks to introduce libraries to various dialogue and deliberation approaches, enabling libraries to foster conversation and lead change in their communities.
Before attending the in-person workshop in New Orleans, Series 3 participants must view three 90-minute online learning sessions in winter/spring 2018. The three free webinars, respectively, will offer an introduction to dialogue and deliberation; an overview of the
Future Search approach; and an overview of the
Conversation Café approach.
Register for the three Series 3 webinars.
The in-person workshop will provide a deeper exploration of Conversation Café, allowing attendees to participate in a Café and discuss applications, opportunities and challenges of the approach.
Libraries Transforming Communities: Models for Change is made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services grant RE-40-16-0137-16.