As of this writing, the twentieth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks and a capstone edited book that defines the narrative tradition of libraries and democracy have come and gone. They are related. There is cause for reassessment in light of those two decades and widespread worry about democracy, with parallels in libraries. The library and information science field must deepen its understanding of democracy, but do so in a way that does not abandon the historic commitments characterized in the capstone book. I propose a switch in perspective to libraries in the life of democracy, from democracy in the life of libraries. This article describes the defining narrative and then explores the idea of civic republican (active) citizenship, on which the defining narrative draws heavily, revealing a democracy-within-the-life-of-libraries perspective. “Actually existing democracy” is sketched in contrast, which fosters a libraries-within-the-life-of-democracy approach. Factors working against and for democracy in libraries in the past two decades are presented in the conclusion.
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