A day to remember

It all started last summer when David Silver, an assistant professor of communication at UW, wanted to start a national conversation.

"Last summer was a weird time," said Silver. "I just felt that our country was going in strange directions and, whether or not you agreed with them, it disturbed me that no one was talking about it."

Three years to the day after what has come to be known simply as "Sept. 11," people around the country and internationally will be able to gather at their local libraries to remember the tragedy and use it as a catalyst for reflective dialogue.

The September Project, a grassroots organization from the UW, will provide speakers, forums, displays and space, providing a forum that allows people to discuss democracy, citizenship, patriotism and any other issue they feel is relevant to the day.

These thoughts were on Silver's mind when he saw the newly remodeled Seattle Public Library for the first time. As he gazed at the cheerfully lit structure, a light went on in his mind that rendered him speechless.

What could be a better forum for a widespread conversation than free, educational venues open to the public and located all over the nation?

He knew he'd found something.

Slowly, methodically, Silver began to work on the people who could help him get his dream off the ground. But most of the people he talked to said, "Not this year" or simply, "No."

That was until the day he met Sarah Washburn, an employee of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, who worked to wire all the libraries in the country. When he detailed his plan to her, Silver finally got a yes.

"I'm not crazy," he said to her that day.

"No," she agreed. "This idea is brilliant."

Since then, Silver and Washburn have worked 80-hour weeks and held conferences at 2:30 a.m. The windowless office that Silver jokingly refers to as "the fortress" has become a testament to the project. Maps tacked up on the walls record progress. Cluttered desks denote the hours they have devoted to the project in this room alone. When Silver and Washburn do venture outside the fortress, most of their work is done in public beaches, parks and coffee shops.

Working together, Silver and Washburn convinced people -- locally and beyond -- to spread the project. Colleagues spread the word, students asked to help and even Silver's and Washburn's mothers worked tirelessly to contribute.

"What's your library doing on Sept. 11?" is the question headlining their Web site, www.theseptemberproject.org. Viewers can link to a map on the site with little pins labeling the libraries that have committed their time to making Sept. 11 a day of conversation as well as remembrance.

As The Daily went to press, 137 sites in 29 states and three international libraries -- located in Japan, Australia and the Netherlands -- had signed on for The September Project.

UW Libraries was one of the first venues to pledge its allegiance.

"Looking at the particular exhibits and displays should hopefully create dialogue which would hopefully create action," said Jessica Albano, who heads campus plans for The September Project. Albano has focused on displays and exhibits to stimulate conversation among library patrons.

In Odegaard Undergraduate Library, students will express their answers to questions about citizenship and democracy on large sheets of paper. The Microform and Newspapers Room in Suzzallo Library will display political cartoons published in local and international papers since Sept. 11. The Suzzallo espresso stand will display eight posters, including a blown-up copy of a U.S. citizenship test. Voter registration will also be available on campus.

Albano acknowledges that Sept. 11 left the nation with a lot to talk about. Besides the events of Sept. 11 itself, political cartoons highlighting U.S. invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, the Abu Ghraib scandal and the recent transfer of sovereignty to the Iraqi people are potential topics of conversation. Albano hopes the displays and posters will spark dialogue about the post-Sept. 11 world, as well as what they mean in the larger contexts of democracy and citizenship.

The September Project's original format would not have given as much freedom and power to Albano and other librarians. Silver's original vision was to keep Seattle at the crux of the project and send speakers to participating libraries around the country. That plan would have required a grant of approximately $2 million, so Washburn suggested the project would be more meaningful if communities designed their own frames around the idea.

"Libraries do this," said Washburn. "Their role in [the] community is to serve their community. That switched the $2 million price tag to very little."

Not only did Washburn's idea cut the price tag on the project, it allowed libraries to create something tailored to their community.

"That's the real poetic part," said Silver.

Since the project's inception, Silver and Washburn's have not let their hopes fade -- on the contrary, they are as big and ambitious as ever.

Silver and Washburn seem to feed off each other's ideas and questions with the same fervor they hope to incite in strangers.

"I hope it evolves," Silver said of the project's call to stimulate dialogue.

"It will. It will because it's about issues that matter, and so the issues will be different tomorrow," Washburn responded.