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Governing Magazine - Placemaker Profile: Allan Jacobs
Feature Story:
Why Libraries Matter More Than Ever
By Cynthia Nikitin and Josh Jackson
The ImaginOn Library in Charlotte, North Carolina
The creation of the "information superhighway" threatened to make libraries obsolete, but today they are as prominent as ever. Libraries are taking on a larger civic role, redefining themselves as community centers for the 21st Century. The old model of the library was the inward-focused "reading room," the new one is more like a community "front porch."
A word about this newsletter
from Cynthia Nikitin, Vice President, Director of Civic Centers Program In this edition of Making Places--our first devoted to libraries, civic institutions, and the creation of vital civic centers--PPS welcomes the contributions of our partners at the Americans for Libraries Council. The ALC and their program arm, Libraries for the Future, are leaders in the movement to improve libraries as places that anchor communities. It gives me great pleasure to share this forum with our esteemed colleague, ALC President Diantha Schull.
from Cynthia Nikitin, Vice President, Director of Civic Centers Program In this edition of Making Places--our first devoted to libraries, civic institutions, and the creation of vital civic centers--PPS welcomes the contributions of our partners at the Americans for Libraries Council. The ALC and their program arm, Libraries for the Future, are leaders in the movement to improve libraries as places that anchor communities. It gives me great pleasure to share this forum with our esteemed colleague, ALC President Diantha Schull.
I'm also excited about this opportunity to share PPS's approach to civic centers. Civic centers are the home of our institutions of democracy and culture--libraries as well as museums, performing arts centers, courthouses, city halls and other key public buildings. These are places with profound practical and symbolic significance. As head of PPS's Civic Centers Program, I'm proud of how we helped cities and towns expand the intrinsic value of these districts, revitalizing downtowns that used to be abandoned after 5pm by breathing new life into their public spaces. I hope this newsletter will jumpstart similar initiatives among our readers and bring wider attention to the immense untapped potential of Placemaking in transforming civic centers.
Also in this Issue:
Stumbling Blocks to Creating Great Civic Centers...and How to Overcome Them
Solutions to four common problems.
By Cynthia Nikitin
Love, Learning and the Pursuit of Happiness
Notes from a lifetime spent at the library.
By Jay Walljasper
The Emerging Culture of Place
In an era when cities and towns are changing rapidly, public spaces are the key to reviving civic engagement. Here's how one city is making it happen.
By Fred Kent and Benjamin Fried
