From now through the end of April, the Linda Sokol Francis Brookfield Library is asking community members to take One Small Step toward understanding each other.
One Small Step is the name of the initiative the library is putting on in collaboration with StoryCorps, a nonprofit working to share the importance of each individual’s story. As part of the program, the library is offering “a few different simultaneous initiatives that are passively taking place at the library,” said Executive Director Kim Coughran. Those include several events that will invite attendees to bridge the gap and get to know other people in their community.
“One Small Step, at its core, is a bridge-building initiative,” Coughran said.
A full list of events is available on the library’s website.
For the duration of the program, a monthly question will be available to answer digitally and in-person, with some answers displayed in the library’s lobby. For March, the library is asking, “Who has been the most influential person in your life? What did they teach you?”
A station with vintage phones where you can listen to a snippet of a prerecorded conversation between two people participating elsewhere in One Small Step will also be available through April.
“They often have two different people meeting one-on-one to discuss a particular subject,” Coughran said. “That could be food insecurity, divorce, etc. Issues that people grapple with in their lives.”
Community members will get the chance to participate in their own face-to-face discussions, too. Teens are invited to play the conversational dice game Talk & Toss with pizza and snacks at 3 p.m. on March 24 and April 21, both Tuesdays.
Teens will also have the chance to submit a short video explaining a current event or civic issue and why it matters to them; a winner will be chosen at the end of April to serve as an honorary page to Rep. AbdelnasserRashid in Springfield for a day for “a firsthand look at the legislative process.” Submissions are due via email by Friday, April 17, to reference@lsfbrookfieldlibrary.org.
Adults are invited to “One Small Step: Brookfield in Conversation, Part 1,” where they’ll be matched up for lengthy, deep, one-on-one conversations with facilitators and guiding questions. Registration is required ahead of time, online, in-person or over the phone.
Younger children can participate in the Changemakers Art Gallery by drawing a picture of, and writing a few words about, their favorite change-maker, be it a historical figure or a community member.
Finally, the library will offer a series of civics education events in April, starting with a lecture by Elmhurst University professor Scott Braam on the importance and mechanics of local elections, on Monday, April 13, at 7 p.m.
On the same day, and on the following two Mondays, the library will make its way through a showing of the seven-episode 2008 miniseries “John Adams,” starring Paul Giamatti and chronicling the adult life of the second president.
On Sunday, April 19, the library will show “To Begin the World Over Again: The Life of Thomas Paine,” a one-man play by Ian Ruskin about the life of the author of “Common Sense,” a widely read revolutionary-era pamphlet advocating American independence.
Finally, on Thursday, April 30, Illinois Road Scholar speaker Raff Donelson will give a talk about the history of activism and the United States Supreme Court.
Coughran said she heard about One Small Step as it made its way through the circuit of library conferences, and she saw other libraries implementing its programming.
“In this 250th year of our national experiment, we’re very excited to be offering this as a bridge-builder initiative for the community. We feel it’s quite right for the moment,” she said. “We may not be able to impactthe story on the national level, but what we can do is offer this opportunity to the Brookfield community to stand with each other, get to know each other and find compassion for one another.”
