Community Engagement Summit
A highlight of the Michigan Libraries Engage project was a Community Engagement Summit, held in September 2018. The Summit brought together many of the 150 members of the Harwood Public Innovators cohorts, as well as others who work on community engagement in libraries, in Lansing, MI, for a full day event.
Rich Harwood, Founder and CEO of The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation, was the keynote speaker. The day also included presentations from Courtney Breese (Director of the National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation), Mary Davis Fournier (Director of Public Programs for the American Library Association), and Cindy Fesemyer (Director of the Columbus, WI Public Library.) There was a panel of Michigan library cohort participants who shared their stories of successful community engagement. The panel consisted of Amanda McLaren (Benzonia Public Library), Julie Meredith (Clarkston Independence District Library), and Erin Schmandt (Caro Area District Library.) Full bios of our speakers are available on the MCLS website.
The day was packed with speakers, discussion, and activities to inspire and share resources with those working to engage their communities.
