The American public no longer trusts its leaders to do what is right. People do not see their values reflected in Washington and have lost faith in the institutions that are supposed to represent them.
According to a July 2007 CBS News/NYT Poll, the percentage of Americans who think you can trust the government in Washington to do what is right “just about always” or “most of the time” has declined steadily from its peak after September 11th from 55% in 2001 to 24% in 2007. Similarly, a CNN/USA Today/Gallop Poll in January 2006 found that 32% of people trusted government to do the right thing “just about always” or “most of the time,” compared to 60% in October 2001.
In a March 2007 poll by The Pew Charitable Trusts, only 34% of Americans said that they believe government “cares about what people like me think.”
(Guidance for Writing Op-Eds, October 11, 2007, e-mail message to Taylor Willingham from Joe Goldman, AmericaSpeaks, October 11, 2007)
Almost half of the American questioned in the survey gave a grade of “A” to their community for maintaining well-run libraries, with another 29 percent giving them a “B”. Seventy-six percent say their public libraries are doing an excellent or good job, but only 43 percent think their local community government as a whole is doing an excellent or good job.
(Public Agenda. Long Overdue: A Fresh Look at Public and Leadership Attitudes about Libraries in the 21st Century. New York, NY: Americans for Libraries Council, 2006, 20.)
Libraries enjoy greater public trust than government and other public institutions and could be a leader in conducting community engagement activities that would restore the public’s faith in our democratic institutions.
October 14, 2007 at 10:46 pm
It isn’t the library’s job to save the government, or run for office, or balance the government’s budget. Politics is about attracting cameras, promising a chicken in every pot, and bringing home the bacon while decrying the pork barrel spending. Libraries can offer forums and debates of candidates, information on local problems, and support for other parts of city or county government. We must be a place where people can find out information, not another conduit for force fed advertising. If the politicians want the faith of the public, they must earn it, we can’t give them ours.
October 14, 2007 at 11:02 pm
Since I was only using this space to jot down notes, I didn’t fully develop my point here. I appreciate your comment because you highlight points I need to clarify.
I agree that the library should not be a conduit for force fed advertising. Nor is it the library’s job to restore the publics faith in politicians.
However, I have spent seventeen years working with libraries to conduct public policy forums that give citizens a voice in forming public policy and solving community problems. These activities result in civic agency: the capacity of human communities and groups to act cooperatively and collectively on common problems and challenges. (Boyte)
I think that community engagement that leads to an authentic role for the public will result in better governance, greater accountability and sound policies that have been endorsed by a deliberative public.
Helping a community to develop that civic capacity is an appropriate role for the library.
Thanks for your comment!