# Developing civic data literacy

**What's the need?**

* There is an increasing need for people to have data literacy skills for their careers.
* Many people would like to know how to better find and use civic data and, at the same time, understand its context and limitations.

**Why the library?**  

* Your library likely has lots of experience teaching information literacy.  
* Your library is in the position to adapt existing services or information literacy curriculum to continue to help people access and make use of civic data.  

**What you can do:**

* Work with local community organizations to develop data literacy and skills training
* Tailor an existing data literacy training toolkit to local needs
* Fold data literacy into workforce development training workshops and programs
* Expand the roles and skill sets of library staff

**Inspiration:**

* Houston, TX: Fondren Library, Rice University [Data Literacy Workshops](https://civic-switchboard.gitbook.io/guide/case-studies/fondren-library-rice-university-houston-tx)
* Queens, NY: [Queens Public Library's Data Counts](https://civic-switchboard.gitbook.io/guide/case-studies/queens-borough-public-library-queens-ny) program
* Providence, RI: [Providence Public Library's Data Navigators](https://app.gitbook.com/@civic-switchboard/s/guide/case-studies/providence-public-library-providence-ri) program for teens

**Resources you can use:**

* Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh and the Western Pennsylvania Regional Data Center: [Data 101 Toolkit ](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1VbfIQ80nkaVg87ttPqH4bxsJzBROBSy1VdvOCu_hoP0/edit?usp=sharing)
* Data Equity for Main Street: [Open Data Curriculum](https://data-equity.org) 
* MIT Center for Civic Media: [Data Therapy](https://datatherapy.org/)
* Data Pop Alliance: [Beyond Data Literacy: Reinventing Community Engagement and Empowerment in the Age of Data ](http://datapopalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Beyond-Data-Literacy-2015.pdf)
* Community Information Now: [What’s Needed for a Community to be Good at Using Data?](http://cinow.info/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Whats-Needed-for-a-Community-to-be-Good-at-Using-Data-20160810.pdf)
* Allied Media: [Opening Data Zine ](https://www.alliedmedia.org/news/2015/09/17/opening-data-zine-here)
* University of Washington [Open Data Literacy Project](http://odl.ischool.uw.edu/)
* NNIP and Microsoft’s Civic Technology Engagement Group: [Data and Tech Training Catalog](https://www.neighborhoodindicators.org/data-tech/training)