The readers and authors of papers in Numeracy compose a multidisciplinary grassroots interest group that is defining and illustrating the meaning, content, and scope of quantitative literacy (QL) and how it intersects with educational goals and practice. The 161 Numeracy papers that have been produced by this QL community were downloaded 42, 085 times in a total of 178 countries, including all 34 OECD countries, during 2015 and the first quarter of 2016. A scatterplot of normalized downloads per month vs. normalized total downloads for the eight years of Numeracy's life allows identification of the 24 "most popular" of the 161 papers. These papers, which range over a wide landscape of subjects, were produced by a total of 41 authors, only nine of whom are mathematicians. The data clearly show that the QL community is not just a bunch of mathematicians talking amongst themselves. Rather the community is a vibrant mix of mathematicians and users and friends of mathematics. The heterogeneity of this grassroots community, and Numeracy's commitment to serve it, dictates our mode of publication and the nature of our peer review. The journal is assertively open access for readers and free of page charges and processing fees to authors. The peer-review process is designed to provide constructive feedback to promote effective communication of the diverse activities and interests of a community that brings with it a multitude of publication cultures and experiences. This editorial is available in Numeracy: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/numeracy/vol9/iss2/art2In the journal Polity, Filner (2002) uses the term grassroots harvest in the title of an essay review of two books.1 In it, he says:… both books articulate a vision of community in which local citizens are the motors of democratic renewal. In this "grassroots" approach, citizens meet, discuss, plan, organize, and implement a variety of programs and policies that benefit their neighborhoods, communities, and ultimately the nation as a whole. People working at the grassroots level produce something that cannot be found in formal political institutions, something that sustains democracy. This "grassroots harvest" is a distinctive feature of the institution of civic practices, and the future of democracy depends on maximizing the yield.With this quotation lifted from a political science context as a guide, can we think of ourselves as a QL community advancing education in quantitative literacy?Can we "articulate a vision of community in which" mathematicians and users and friends of mathematics "are the motors" advancing education in quantitative literacy? Is it reasonable to think that "In a 'grassroots' approach," these scholars of QL would "meet, discuss, plan, organize and implement," and, to the point of Numeracy, study and publish on a variety of issues, ideas, activities, courses, programs, and policies "that benefit their" students, their departments, their institutions, "and ultimately" the workplace and society? If so, this journal aspires to be the outl...
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