Libraries are essential civic hubs—with the power to convene, facilitate, and inspire at a time when many public forums devolve into division and distrust. Through a partnership with the Urban Libraries Council, Everyday Democracy trained library workers in 12 cities across North America to lead community conversations on issues like gun violence, healthcare, and food insecurity using multipartial facilitation—our groundbreaking approach designed to balance perspectives and address power imbalances. In San Diego, a potentially tense author talk transformed into a space of shared storytelling; in Austin, gatherings took on the feel of community celebration. Libraries across the cohort are building trust, strengthening relationships, and creating spaces where neighbors can engage honestly across difference.

With Queens Public Library

Food pantries. Youth development. Environmental justice. Community health. These are just some of the projects that our 2025 cohort of Everyday Leaders are advancing across Queens, NY. Our program brought intergenerational changemakers together to practice equity-focused, collective leadership skills like making fair decisions, building diverse coalitions, and exercising accountability. Since the training, participants have gone on to strengthen civic engagement in the most ethnically diverse urban area in the world.