Civic education in libraries
As we at JoDDiD have been asking ourselves for some time how civic education can be thought of more in terms of spatial concepts, libraries seemed particularly interesting to us as places where civic education can also take place. If the focus is less on designing special didactics for different target groups and more on trying to develop a feel for spaces in which different people meet, educational concepts can be developed that suit these spaces and work in them.
Places that seem particularly exciting for civic education from this point of view are picture libraries. Because this is exactly what happens there: a wide variety of people spend time in the same place, stay for very different lengths of time and potentially meet each other. The idea of libraries as a third place - i.e. "as a social hub, as a place of encounter, learning and inspiration, as a place of social, cultural and digital participation" (dvb, online), which is located outside of the private and professional spheres - is much discussed in the library world and is quite applicable for us.
Stimulating civic education processes in libraries is nothing new. In recent years, we alone have repeatedly borrowed JoDDiD materials to libraries. For example, the DiscussionBar has been used to discuss various concepts of democracy and become aware of our own values. On other occasions, our voting columns were used to allow people to vote on issues relevant to the region over a longer period of time. It is already apparent here that these formats can be attended flexibly. It doesn't necessarily have to be the small time slot in which a workshop or lecture is offered. As libraries are characterized by a constant come-and-go anyway, this is taken into account, for example, in spatial formats of political education.
Which formats of civic education are particularly suited to a library? Which ones suit a rather small library, which ones a rather large one? What different levels of support are conceivable? To explore these questions further, we invited representatives from various libraries to a small think tank at the beginning of 2024 to work together on these and other questions and, above all, to develop small format ideas that are suitable for the respective library if the thematization and exchange on political issues of our time is to be stimulated and framed.
Do you work in a library in Saxony and are considering establishing a civic education format in your library? Then please contact us if you are interested in professional exchange or advice on your ideas and projects. If you like, you can also take a look at our JoDDiD shop. There you will find materials for loan that have already proven their worth in other libraries. You can browse through these and many more here.