On this last day of the Dialogue, I want to thank everyone very much for participating. Because this Dialogue was an outgrowth of and follow up to the Environmental Law Institute's research last year on how to build the capacity of communities to participate in Environmental Protection Agency activities, we at ELI are particularly excited about the vibrant discussion that has taken place over the course of the last two weeks.
When we started this project under a grant from EPA, we had a focused goal of examining whether EPA and the public libraries across the country could collaborate to provide to communities at least some of the information that our earlier research indicated was much needed. When we approached Information Renaissance about using an online dialogue as a way to examine this issue, we never expected that there would be such interest and enthusiasm. Nor did we expect that the issues discussed would go far beyond the initial scope of our research to include more far-reaching and critical issues about capacity building, information dissemination, and the role of the public in environmental decision making.
For ELI, this dialogue has been a learning experience and one from which we will benefit in our research for years to come - - because of its unique approach and valuable content. More immediately, the dialogue has given us plenty to think about as we continue our work with EPA and Information Renaissance in evaluating whether and how to move forward with an information dissemination effort that involves public libraries.
In addition to the specific questions posed by our moderator yesterday about how to measure the success of this Dialogue, ELI would welcome any comments or thoughts you may have on this effort, either today online or at a later date. I can be reached at "breggin@eli.org." Again, thanks to all for a robust and insightful discussion.
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