Paper short abstract:

By creating an exhibit for public libraries on the subject of human migration, we are making scholarship accessible to general audiences and providing a focal point for programming and community engagement. Our "designing for empathy" approach envisions visitors developing a compassionate worldview.

Paper long abstract:

Far more than simply collections of books, modern public libraries are trusted local institutions that support lifelong learning and community dialogue. For social scientists seeking to offer informal education, they avoid the structural challenges of schools, where students' time and teachers' attention are strictly regimented to meet curriculum and assessment targets, as well as the institutional barriers of museums, which many people perceive as elite or inaccessible. To identify and recruit host sites for their forthcoming traveling exhibition, World on the Move: 100,000 Years of Human Migration (expected to launch in late 2020), the American Anthropological Association and Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage are partnering with the American Library Association, whose Public Programs Office offers public libraries in the United States access to expertly created materials on topics of public interest. Not only are library patrons able to visit these exhibitions at their convenience, but librarians also use them as a focal point for coordinating public programming featuring representatives of community-based organizations and of the community at large. This presentation outlines the process through which scholarship from anthropology and allied disciplines is translated into a form that is both accessible to library patrons and respectful of the resources available to libraries as host institutions. Particular attention is paid to the process of "designing for empathy" (Gokcigden 2019) that envisions the exhibit visitor developing a compassionate worldview, as the primary project goal is to help visitors recognize that migration is a shared human experience that connects us all.