Excellent account of the Pluralism Summit, Craig! I encourage librarians to explore alternatives to conventional library conferences and to find touchpoints with other scholars and practitioners working in complementary areas of social / applied epistemics, literacy, pluralism, freedom of expression, and privacy.
Thanks, Sarah. I've learned much from these two Pluralism Summits. There's some ground truth in seeing those in other fields grapple with some of the same issues that challenge us, but to find some common ground as well in truth-seeking and evidence-based, first-order direct experiences in local organizations and communities. I'd also encourage librarians to find comparable conferences and escape the monoculture that too many library events promote--where there's too much thinking "in the binary" and not enough curiosity!
Thank you Craig! I appreciate this well-written summary. I especially appreciated the suggestions with which you conclude, such as: "Creating a network of generative grassroots communities that mirror the HxA’s Campus Communities: communities of librarians apart from national associations, at the local or regional level, would reinforce what the Pluralist community is learning about the importance of the local, rather than the national, in order to effect change and develop leadership." I think of my geographical location (The NC Triangle Region) and how many libraries, archives, and library schools are within a short distance. I wonder if working with HxA's campus communities that are affiliated with schools with MLIS programs could be a good starting point for this work?
Jonathan, thanks, and this is a very good question. My best understanding of HxA's Campus Communities program is that it's designed for single campuses or universities, but I'm not sure that's totally the case. I think there are examples of cross-over out there. This should be a question for HxA staff in their planning for the future, and I'm willing to ask it. And certainly the general precepts of HxA, open inquiry, viewpoint diversity, and constructive disagreement, and broadly congruent with the "signature moves" and habits of mind for pluralism that I've described in this article. But yes, looking at existing Campus communities as "labs" for organizing different types of libraries, and information enterprises at the local or regional level might be an option. Thanks for asking!
For those of us who administer public libraries, having an "alternative conference" list for gatherings like this sure would be helpful. Or am I missing something?
Darryl, I'm not sure if this will help, but I did mention some alternative/grassroots organizations in the Pluralism Summit report I wrote last year. Librarians might want to get involved with some of them. One of them is the New Lyceum Movement. Others are the Deliberative Democracy institutes such as the one that Martin Carcasson directs at Colorado State.
Karl Popper summed it up in *The Open Society and Its Enemies*. The open society's 2 principles are, "I may be wrong and you may be right" and "here (free discussion, rule of law) is how we will settle our differences without bloodshed if we still don't agree."
Excellent account of the Pluralism Summit, Craig! I encourage librarians to explore alternatives to conventional library conferences and to find touchpoints with other scholars and practitioners working in complementary areas of social / applied epistemics, literacy, pluralism, freedom of expression, and privacy.
Thanks, Sarah. I've learned much from these two Pluralism Summits. There's some ground truth in seeing those in other fields grapple with some of the same issues that challenge us, but to find some common ground as well in truth-seeking and evidence-based, first-order direct experiences in local organizations and communities. I'd also encourage librarians to find comparable conferences and escape the monoculture that too many library events promote--where there's too much thinking "in the binary" and not enough curiosity!
Thank you for this excellent summary of what sounds like an exciting event! Lots of promising applications for our field!
Thank you Craig! I appreciate this well-written summary. I especially appreciated the suggestions with which you conclude, such as: "Creating a network of generative grassroots communities that mirror the HxA’s Campus Communities: communities of librarians apart from national associations, at the local or regional level, would reinforce what the Pluralist community is learning about the importance of the local, rather than the national, in order to effect change and develop leadership." I think of my geographical location (The NC Triangle Region) and how many libraries, archives, and library schools are within a short distance. I wonder if working with HxA's campus communities that are affiliated with schools with MLIS programs could be a good starting point for this work?
Jonathan, thanks, and this is a very good question. My best understanding of HxA's Campus Communities program is that it's designed for single campuses or universities, but I'm not sure that's totally the case. I think there are examples of cross-over out there. This should be a question for HxA staff in their planning for the future, and I'm willing to ask it. And certainly the general precepts of HxA, open inquiry, viewpoint diversity, and constructive disagreement, and broadly congruent with the "signature moves" and habits of mind for pluralism that I've described in this article. But yes, looking at existing Campus communities as "labs" for organizing different types of libraries, and information enterprises at the local or regional level might be an option. Thanks for asking!
For those of us who administer public libraries, having an "alternative conference" list for gatherings like this sure would be helpful. Or am I missing something?
Darryl, I'm not sure if this will help, but I did mention some alternative/grassroots organizations in the Pluralism Summit report I wrote last year. Librarians might want to get involved with some of them. One of them is the New Lyceum Movement. Others are the Deliberative Democracy institutes such as the one that Martin Carcasson directs at Colorado State.
https://hxlibraries.substack.com/p/practices-of-pluralism-a-report-from
Karl Popper summed it up in *The Open Society and Its Enemies*. The open society's 2 principles are, "I may be wrong and you may be right" and "here (free discussion, rule of law) is how we will settle our differences without bloodshed if we still don't agree."