Cleveland State Community College will be hosting The Arab Spring: Social Movements and Social Networking lecture on Monday, March 25 at 2 p.m. in the Library, Room 118.

Since December of 2010, there has been an ongoing change and upheaval in the Middle East and North Africa. The Arab Spring, in general, and the Egyptian January 25 Revolution in particular, are considered by some to have been successful as a result of protesters; use of technology and social networking tools. There are many ways to support a social movement, and the efficient and effective sharing of information is one of them. Amanda Click was the coordinator of Instruction at the American University in Cairo Library and experienced the Revolution first hand. She will discuss her own views on these events, as well as the different ways that the creating, sharing, and preserving information has played an important role in the recent social movements.  

“I initially applied for the grant, with the help of Tracey Wright (director of Special Events and Community Relations) and Michelle Anderson (Grants specialist), so that we could raise awareness surrounding Islamic Culture, in a way that would be non-threatening,” said Andy Foskey, librarian. “I felt it was important for two main reasons: one, we have no reported Muslim population in our service area; two we are a very military friendly campus, and we have students coming back from serving in Muslim countries. I wanted to provide an opportunity for understanding what can sometimes be a very polarizing culture.”  

Ms. Click received her Bachelor of Science in Science, Technology, and Culture from the Georgia Institute of Technology and her MLIS in Library and Information Studies from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She is currently working on her Ph.D. in Information and Library Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 

This program is being provided in conjunction with the Bridging Cultures Bookshelf: Muslim Journeys Grant which was received by the college. The Bridging Cultures Bookshelf: Muslim Journeys is a project of the National Endowment for the Humanities, conducted in cooperation with the American Library Association.  

Registering for this event is not required; however, it will ensure you a seat for the program. For more information on this event or other special events, call 423 473-2341 or to reserve a seat for this particular event, visit the website at http://mycs.cc/arabspring-pr.