FLA Filings: Keynote at FLA Annual Conference

At the Opening Session today of the Florida Library Association's (FLA) Annual Conference, Lewis M. Feldstein, co-author with Robert D. Putnam of Better Together, spoke in his keynote address about "social capital" - the concept that the people you know matter and that connections have monetary value. He cited examples, stories, and statistics that show the negative impacts on people and society of being alone and the positive impacts of joining with others and building trust and connections. His data also show that social capital is declining in direct correlation with the declining numbers of the "greatest generation," the traditional institution builders and civic participants. He encouraged attendees to work actively at building new social capital through libraries, recognizing that this will not only help the library as institution but will also help the community at large. More about this fascinating, and somewhat scary, concept can be found at http://www.bettertogether.org/.

SUBJECTS: FLA FILINGS