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In this report, the Dart Center looks at an effort to engage citizens in meaningful dialogue on the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
On September 11, public libraries, elementary and secondary school libraries, college libraries, seminary libraries, military libraries and prison libraries are planning to hold community events, discussions, readings, displays and performances exploring notions of democracy, citizenship and patriotism.
From Eugene, Ore., to Beaufort, S.C.; from Bonner's Ferry, Idaho, to Brownsville, Texas, more than 350 libraries in 47 states are planning to take part in "The September Project" (click here to view an interactive map of participating libraries).
 At the Seattle Central Library, visitors can view a screening of the documentary film "Poetry in Wartime," and attend follow-up discussions and workshops.
In Colorado Springs, Colo., the Pikes Peak Library District is planning a series of programs from Sept. 7 - 12, called "Celebrating Our American Liberties." The programs, according to the library's web site, "explore and celebrate the liberties guaranteed in the Bill of Rights and honor the many Americans who fought to secure these freedoms."
In Minnesota, the Hennepin County Library system has planned a series of forums called "Americans' Role in the World: A Citizens' Dialogue."
Several libraries plan to host children's events featuring readings of "The Man Who Walked Between the Towers," by Mordicai Gerstein, and "The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland," by Jim Defede.
The directors of "The September Project" are David Silver and Sarah Washburn. After a visit to Seattle's innovative Central Library last winter, Silver, an assistant professor of Communication at the University of Washington, started thinking about public spaces. "I realized that the library is kind of the ultimate infrastructure for community building and community dialogue," he said in a recent interview with the Dart Center. "And the thing that's beautiful about libraries is almost every town and city has one."
The idea of holding civic events at libraries on September 11 grew from there. Initially, Silver envisioned a local project. "The idea at that point was still to have it as kind of a one-day event in Seattle," he says. But then Washburn — who had previously worked for
the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's US Library Program — came on board, and the project took on a national focus.
This spring, Silver and Washburn started getting the word out through Washburn's contacts in the library system ("I knew it would be something that libraries would want to participate in," she says), through the project's web site, and through blogs and e-mail lists. They also attended a few conventions and exploited their own personal and professional networks.
Now, with just a few weeks to go, the project has expanded dramatically, largely because of the open-ended nature of their plans.
"We're not the ones who are running local events," Silver explained. They encourage librarians to talk about democracy and patriotism and citizenship, and they ask that events be free and public, but besides that, Silver said, it's up to the local organizers to decide on specifics. "I think that's the reason that it's spread so much," he said. "Because people can take it and run with it in any direction they want."
"We have ideas about what may happen, but it has everything to do with the organizers who are the librarians," Washburn added. "We serve as a clearing house of information. We spend a lot of time sharing ideas with other librarians, ideas we've heard from other regions, other librarians."
A glance at the map of libraries on the project's web site shows a geographic diversity that belies any "red state/blue state" conventional wisdom.
"This project is not an urban-center project
at all," Washburn said. "There are more
rural and small than urban."
Silver said the reason the project has been embraced by rural communities is that the main purpose of small, rural libraries is to serve the community and civic engagement. "In small towns and rural areas, libraries are sometimes the only community center," he said. "It makes sense."
Another factor in the project's success is the upcoming election. Silver and Washburn have kept the project non-partisan, but Silver explained, "the project is very political. We want people to talk publicly about politics, about culture, about ideology, all kinds of things. All the events are accompanied by voter registration."
Recently, the project has also expanded internationally, with events planned in Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Japan and Australia.
Silver and Washburn say that, according to the feedback they've received, people appear ready to add serious discussion to memorialization of the September 11 attacks. "If there ever was a day where people are engaged and want to talk about issues that matter then it's September 11," Silver said.
This is just the first step for "The September Project," however. "We're already planning for 2005," Silver says. "And it's going to be bigger than 2004."
» Dart Center "Tips & Tools": Covering Tragic Anniversaries
Photo courtesy of the Seattle Public Library
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