Pew’s recent data shows that libraries remain one of the most trusted institutions in their local community. How can libraries leverage this reputation to help local journalistic partners and bolster the efforts of local news to build trust within our community? That was the question Charlotte Mecklenburg Library wanted to answer with this opportunity to put its Community Media Strategy into tangible action with the Solutions Journalism Network to build the Charlotte Journalism Collaborative.

• Facilitating the organization, support and growth of a fledgling collaborative into an active and growing initiative, supporting over nine different partners including six news outlets.
• Leveraging the library’s web presence to meet the news needs for a local community issue.
• Providing and utilizing the library’s historical databases and archives to help inform and focus the outputs for the CJC to provide needed context for the current housing situation in the community.

• Successfully hosted the CJC meeting twice a month in library facilities at no cost to the collaborative.
• Donated in-kind website consultation and hosting for the collaborative’s website and stories on the library’s Digital Branch platform.
• Helped create an environment for for-profit news outlets to collaborate and generate meaningful, accurate and relevant content for community issues.