As wildfires force evacuations throughout Northern California, libraries are once again providing vital assistance to their communities. For the past three years, Common Knowledge has supported the members of the NorthNet Library System as they provide aid to their counties and each other, with resources we’ve helped them capture at LibraryRecovery.org. In addition to safe spaces, [...]
Adult students at California’s library literacy programs have long been some of our most valued co-creators and collaborators in designing accessible nonpartisan election information, such as the Easy Voter Guide. Last year, the California State Library supported a refresh of the Key to Community Voter Engagement Project. Adult learner leaders from around the state came to [...]
As California marks the end to yet another record-breaking fire season and enters a challenging next phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, libraries across northern California are working together to improve their capacity to prepare and respond to disasters. Libraries have been innovating and reflecting on the important role they play in building community resilience and their [...]
“It’s not if, but when, the next disaster strikes.” Back in January 2020, these were the words from more than one library director at the NorthNet Library System (NLS) regional meeting. The NorthNet Library System brings together 41 member libraries in Northern California across 29 counties, many of whom have faced record-breaking wildfires, earthquakes, floods and [...]
Redwood City Public Library Director Derek Wolfgram and the entire RCPL leadership team are committed to inclusion. The first of the library's five operating principles is: "Our community is welcoming and inclusive, celebrates the diversity of our population, and enjoys a friendly, neighborly community spirit. The Redwood City Library has been using innovative programming to build relationships [...]
Common Knowledge was pleased to partner with the Pacific Library Partnership (PLP) to help design the recently launched News Literacy Toolkit with resources for librarians as well as the community at large. The array of free materials was developed with a multi-level “community-driven design” approach that began with a survey and regional forum of library leaders [...]
It’s no secret that we’re fans of libraries. In case we needed another reason, Bay Area libraries are taking an exciting step to address news literacy and help prevent the spread of fake news. With assistance from Common Knowledge Group, Pacific Library Partnership (PLP) – a network of 42 Bay Area libraries – is launching a [...]
Listening is one of those skills we use all the time, but usually not very well. There is a difference between authentic listening and waiting for the other person to finish talking so you can get your turn to speak. In a debate, we selectively listen for the “weak points” in the other person’s thoughts so [...]
Common Knowledge was originally founded to put a more inclusive “public” in public participation. Over the years, we’ve grown to see it’s equally important to put more “unity” in community. At Common Knowledge, we’ve designed hundreds of programs and trainings that bring people together to listen together and learn together. This cumulative experience leads us to [...]
