Seven Links That Gave Me Life—and Pause—Last Week
Rather than share my usual reflections, I wanted to highlight seven links that have stayed with me. These articles are signals of where we are, where we’re headed, and what it might take to build something better. From books burned in hatred and met with community resolve, to a century of happiness research that lands on one word—connection—each of these links offers a thread worth pulling. Some made me hopeful. Others made me restless. All of them made me think.
1. Public Policy as an Instrument of Trust
Eric Liu in conversation with Perri Peltz
https://www.siriusxm.com/clips/clip/fb19764f-793b-4ba1-a345-40299f268a19/8d5002f2-238a-4815-8b3e-1361dc9a9e1d
Those who know me know how much I respect the thoughts and actions of Eric Liu. In this compelling conversation, Eric unpacks the role of public policy in building trust—especially among diverse groups. “America is an argument,” he says, highlighting how our deepest tensions—freedom vs. equality, local control vs. federal power—are foundational to who we are. His invitation? Don’t avoid the conflict. Lean into it. “Leading people into argument,” he says, “is to take winning off the table.” This is a central part of his Better Arguments Project that I’ve found to be quite helpful.
→ What struck me most is the call for leaders not to settle debates, but to steward them. If we want pluralism to thrive, we need leaders willing to step into the discomfort rather than bypass it.
2. National Conference on Citizenship 2025
Building Civic Resilience
https://ncoc.org/2025-conference/
The registration page for NCOC2025 is live. You should consider attending this conference if you care about civic health and democracy. This year’s theme focuses on strengthening civic infrastructure and rebuilding trust in democratic processes. I attended for the first time last year and will absolutely be back. One highlight was the unveiling of the Healthy Democracy Ecosystem Map—an impressive effort to visualize the people, networks, and organizations across the political spectrum working to uphold democracy.
→ NCOC2024 was the first time I saw civic health mapped like a living system, not just a set of values or voter behaviors. We need more frameworks like this—tools that make invisible efforts visible and actionable. Ideally, we’ll get to a place where more libraries are included. While the, sometimes, dynamic programming of libraries might make it difficult to place them easily into one single category, it’s no doubt that they are doing the work.
3. How to Celebrate Civic Season: A Gen Z Guide
American Alliance of Museums & Made By Us
https://www.aam-us.org/2025/05/16/how-to-celebrate-civic-season-a-gen-z-guide-to-serving-as-a-community-hub-this-summer/
Civic Season runs from Juneteenth to the Fourth of July—a summer-long learning sprint powered by more than 400 museums and historic sites. Think trivia nights, gallery talks, Slice of History Pizza Parties, bird watching, graffiti walls, and even naturalization ceremonies. The throughline: creativity, credibility, and community. A big shout-out to the folks at MadeByUs, who have been stewarding this initiative.
→ I love how this reimagines civics as something joyful, embodied, and inviting—not confined to a only a classroom or ballot box.
4. Social Prescribing & Libraries as Hubs of Well-being
Niche Academy Webinar
https://www.nicheacademy.com/building-community-based-wellbeing-or-social-prescribing-in-the-library
I’ve just started learning about social prescribing—a care model where health professionals formally prescribe community-based activities like arts, movement, nature, and volunteering to boost mental and physical health. Libraries, it turns out, are ideal partners in this work. This session features inspiring models from Maryland that blend public health and public space in powerful ways.
→ The idea that a library program could be as therapeutic as a pill opens up new possibilities for how we define care. It’s a reminder that healing often begins with belonging.
5. What Nearly 100 Years of Happiness Research Revealed
New York Times Magazine | Susan Dominus
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/01/magazine/happiness-research-studies-relationships.html
What makes people truly happy? After nearly a century of research, the answer is both simple and profound: strong, trusting relationships. Whether it’s a lifelong partnership or a brief, genuine exchange with a stranger, the science keeps pointing back to human connection.
→ This article serves as an invitation for how we design our institutions, programs, and daily lives. If connection is the most enduring source of well-being, how to we embed it into all that we do?
6. Civic Education Needs to Be a Nationwide Priority
Education Next | Daniel Stid
https://www.educationnext.org/civic-education-needs-to-be-a-nationwide-priority
What prepares young people to sustain democracy? The answer, after years of drift, is clear: we must prioritize civic education. Daniel Stid argues that this isn’t just a K–12 issue—it’s a shared obligation across families, universities, community spaces, and youth organizations. And it won’t happen without deep, long-term investment.
→ Civic learning isn't about memorizing dates—it's about forming citizens who can think critically, engage productively, and care deeply. If democracy is to last, it must be practiced early and often.
7. A Book Burning Met With Bold Community Response
Cleveland Scene
https://www.clevescene.com/news/man-checks-out-100-books-from-beachwood-library-burns-them-in-video-posted-to-social-media-46598427
It started with flames and a message of hate. A man in Beachwood, Ohio checked out 100 books, many centered on Jewish, Black, and LGBTQ+ history, and burned them on video. But the story didn’t end there. Residents responded by donating over 1,000 books and standing with local leaders to publicly denounce the act. In a moment of darkness, the community chose light—reminding us that knowledge can’t be silenced.
→ The symbolism couldn’t be clearer: books were targeted, but belonging was reaffirmed. We’re in a moment where communities must actively protect not just what’s on the shelves—but who those shelves are for.
BONUS: Democracy Notes | 5/15 Edition
Curated by Gabe Lerner
Gabe’s newsletter is a treasure trove—full of job leads, funding opportunities, and thoughtful writing on democracy’s future.
→ If you care about civic infrastructure, this should be in your inbox. It’s one of the few places tracking what’s growing and what’s at risk, week by week.
A Final Reflection
As I think about some common threads running through these links—from civic education and social prescribing to pizza parties that double as public learning—I keep coming back to the various ways we strengthen the civic health of our country. It requires constant cultivation using a variety of tools. And libraries, more than almost any other civic space, are uniquely positioned to help us do that. They’re a vital civic infrastructure—spaces where memory, meaning, and community are actively made. They’re where stories get reclaimed, trust gets rebuilt, and people find each other again.