By Gary Marks, Jr.

On April 27, 2018, academic librarians throughout NJ participated in a Civic Engagement Roundtable Workshop, hosted by Raritan Valley Community College and sponsored by the Marketing & Outreach committee of the NJLA College & University Section / ACRL-NJ Chapter. The purpose was to provide academic librarians an opportunity to share and discuss Civic Engagement within their educational environment. Overall, the event focused on how libraries and librarians are positioned to be leaders in this vital component of democratic society.

The workshop format featured five 15-20 minute presentations, and two roundtable and workshop discussion sessions, comprising a half-day event. The first challenge presented to participants and presenters was to define Civic Engagement. Event organizer Gary Marks, Jr., asked participants to “broaden their minds when attempting to define Civic Engagement, and to consider everyday aspects of society which are taken for granted that can be transformed into civic engagement learning opportunities.” A framework for accomplishing this task began with the definition of Civic Engagement utilized by the Association of American Colleges & Universities:

"working to make a difference in the civic life of our communities and developing the combination of knowledge, skills, values, and motivation to make that difference. It means promoting the quality of life in a community, through both political and non-political processes." (https://www.aacu.org/civic-engagement-value-rubric) 

With a definition to build from attendees were enlightened by librarians from five academic institutions in NJ discussing their experiences and ideas for civic engagement activities and initiatives. First, Bart Everts and Zara Wilkinson (Rutgers University Camden) explained their involvement in the Faculty Civic Engagement Fellows program at Rutgers Camden. Both Bart and Zara had been selected amongst a pool of Faculty members to develop civic engagement opportunities for students at the Rutgers Camden Campus. Second, Nancy Kranich (Rutgers New Brunswick), an exceptional scholar on the topic of Civic Engagement and Libraries, discussed the potential role academic libraries can fulfill in a new era of civic participation and civic learning. Marks (William Paterson University) shared efforts developing a Civic Literacy Initiative that is forging a partnership between the Library and the Office of Campus Activities and Student Leadership to provide additional academic components to the university’s thriving Civic Engagement efforts. Steven Shapiro (Montclair State University) gave an extremely informative presentation on science and humanities literacy programming to provide civic engagement educational opportunities for Montclair University students and surrounding communities. To end the presentation session, Jennifer Sulligan (Raritan Valley Community College), provided participants with a hands-on demonstration of the Voter Registration and Information initiative led by the library. Jennifer generously walked participants through the development and execution of the program, giving everyone the ability to bring such a successful effort to their institution.

With a wealth of information provided by knowledgeable and enthusiastic presenters, attendees had an opportunity to engage with each other and the presenters in small group round-table sessions. These sessions allowed librarians to discuss and seek feedback on efforts or initiatives they would like to embark on at their institutions. Each roundtable had a designated discussion leader and recorder to keep the conversation flowing and to provide notes for easy sharing. Many attendees commented on the value of the round-table sessions with one noting “the best part was the roundtable discussion… the opportunity to communicate with other librarians in such a relaxed environment was invaluable”.  

Civic engagement is a vital component within the core values of many colleges and universities in New Jersey. Some institutions in the state have already attained the Carnegie Classification for Community Engagement, bestowed upon higher education institutions exemplifying their commitment to community engagement (http://carnegieclassifications.iu.edu/). Many NJ institutions also belong to the NJ chapter of Campus Compact, a nationwide coalition of academic institutions committed to the civic purpose of higher education (http://www.njcampuscompact.org/). Academic Libraries serve as the central information and knowledge center's on their respective campuses, making them essential to universities committed to civic engagement. In fulfilling such an indispensable role, librarians must prepare themselves and their libraries to both support and develop civic engagement initiatives.

By taking part in this event, NJ academic librarians continued to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to forge new partnerships and lead their library’s efforts in promoting civic engagement on their campuses, their communities, and beyond. After the summation of the event, organizers collected copies of the presentations, notes from each of the round-table sessions, an extensive bibliography of civic engagement literature (provided by Nancy Kranich), along with a multitude of other valuable resources and compiled them into a website to serve as a one-stop shop for librarians in preparing civic engagement initiatives. The site is accessible from the NJLA-CUS/ACRL-NJ Marketing & Outreach Committee Website (http://cus.njla.org/content/marketingandoutreach).

Spurred by this workshop an initiative is underway to establish a component of NJLA-CUS/ACRL-NJ focused on providing Civic Engagement resources and professional development opportunities for academic librarians. Also, efforts are underway to expand this initial event into a larger venue bringing together campus civic engagement coordinators and academic librarians, to bolster the formation of on campus and statewide partnerships.  

Gary Marks, Jr. is the Reference & Outreach Librarian at the David & Lorraine Cheng Library, William Paterson University of NJ (WPUNJ). He holds B.A.’s in History and Political Science from WPUNJ, an M.A. Public Policy & International Affairs from WPUNJ, an M.L.I.S from Rutgers University, and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. In Public Policy & Administration from Walden University. He currently serves as the Legislative Representative on the NJLA-CUS/ACRL-NJ Executive Board, an Adjunct Professor at WPUNJ in Political Science, and served as the Conference Organizer for the Civic Engagement and Academic Libraries Round-Table Workshop. His email address is marksg@wpunj.edu.