Three NNIP Partners Awarded Field Projects to Connect Libraries to Civic Data

As part of the Civic Switchboard project, NNIP Partners in Baltimore, Charlotte, and Houston were selected to collaborate with their public or university libraries to strengthen their local civic data ecosystems. See the project listing below for more details. Civic Switchboard is an Institute of Museum and Library Services supported effort that aims to develop the capacity of academic and public libraries in civic data ecosystems. The awardees will also contribute details about their work back to the cross-site project, informing case studies that will become part of the Civic Switchboard Guide. Collaborations of data-related organizations and libraries in six other cities were also selected. Sign up to get Civic Switchboard project updates.

Project Summaries

Improving the Quality of Life in Baltimore Neighborhoods
Baltimore Neighborhood Indicators Alliance (BNIA) at the Jacob France Institute and the Robert L. Bogomolny Library (both at the University of Baltimore) will create scaffolded learning experiences to better understand how to access both archival materials as well as open data in BNIA's Vital Signs project to empower everyone who cares about neighborhoods to effectively “tell their story”. 

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Civic Data Literacy Project
The Charlotte Mecklenburg Public Library and the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute will partner to create a Civic Data Nerds United Council to connect various players in the civic data ecosystem and to help inform data literacy efforts.

Data Literacy Training for Non-Profit Organizations in Houston
The Fondren Library at Rice University and Rice's Kinder Institute for Urban Research will partner to offer data literacy workshops and accompanying online learning materials for nonprofits in the Houston area.