American Creed Community Conversations

About the Program

Category: Libraries (Best in Category)

Year: 2020

Chesterfield County Public Library (CCPL) was one of 50 libraries nationwide to receive the grant American Creed: Community Conversations, a grant supported by the American Library Association (ALA). CCPL hosted community conversations centered around “American Creed,” a PBS documentary that invited audiences to consider what America’s ideals and identity ought to be. The documentary explored the unifying theme of what it means to be an American, despite the many differences that make our country what it is.CCPL partnered with the University of Richmond’s Bonner Center for Civic Engagement and Virginia Commonwealth University’s Common Book program to develop conversation-based programming on issues relevant to this community.The goal of the series was to encourage community members to discover the commonalities amongst themselves and how those commonalities can make us feel more connected and part of the community. Using that connectedness as a foundation, future programs allowed attendees to explore more difficult topics and share experiences.In follow up evaluations and discussions, attendees shared that they felt able to connect with people of differing viewpoints and felt they were leaving programs with a different perspective than when the program started. Creating opportunities for conversation resulted in expanding their view of their community.