Partnerships are a key component to fostering and strengthening our library communities. They take time, but once you have them, those partnerships can grow into a wealth of resources and shared commitment. Where do you start and how do you build a sustainable, reciprocal relationship?
Last year my library received a grant to create an inside play space for young children (0-5 years) and their caregivers. Prior to the pandemic, our children’s programs were not highly attended and library staff tried a number of things to both meet the needs of the community and their schedules. For the grant, we decided we needed to take an active role in meeting our community’s organizations and take the initiative to form relationships.
We created a community asset map using Google Maps. We focused on identifying schools, businesses, non-profits, and so on. From there, we narrowed down our initial contacts to those who worked with youth and families and grew our list from there. Library staff sent emails, made cold calls, and set out on foot to introduce ourselves. We listened and asked questions about the community. One thing to note was we never asked how the library could help them or what the library could do for them.
We invited them to participate in our Stay & Play programs, and this changed our children’s programs. Not only did participation increase, there was more involvement from the community’s organizations and caregivers. The energy of our programs changed. Our children’s area became a place where parents and caregivers felt comfortable to just be, and they knew they could gain access to resources through our partnered organizations. Library staff were able to form bonds outside of the branch, and we became more recognized in the community at outreach events. Forming these partnerships gave us the opportunity to reach more households. We were able to inform library customers about resources and organizations they may not have known about. More importantly, we gained more library advocates, and we became better advocates for our community.
This change was not quick. We learned that establishing partnerships can be approached in a number of ways. Sometimes they do not always end up how you may imagine, but that is not necessarily a bad thing.
If you are interested in hearing more on advocacy and forming partnerships, the Public Awareness and Advocacy Committee would like to invite all of you to the next We Are ALSC Chat, Identifying Community Stakeholders and Forming Partnerships. This is a free event to be held on March 26th, 2025 at 11am PST/12pm MST/ 1pm CST/ 2pm EST, and we invite you to register here.
This post addresses ALSC competency I.5 Demonstrates respect for diversity and inclusion of cultural values, and continually develops cultural awareness and works to address implicit bias in order to provide inclusive and equitable service to diverse populations.
Jamie Kurumaji is writing this blog post on behalf of the Public Awareness and Advocacy Committee. She can be reached at jamie.kurumaji@fresnolibrary.org.
The post We Are ALSC Chat!: Identifying Community Stakeholders and Forming Partnerships appeared first on ALSC Blog.
Partnerships are a key component to fostering and strengthening our library communities. They take time, but once you have them, those partnerships can grow into a wealth of resources and shared commitment. Where do you start and how do you build a sustainable, reciprocal relationship? Last year my library received a grant to create an inside play space for young children (0-5 years) and their caregivers. Prior to the pandemic, our children’s programs were not highly attended and library staff tried a number of things to both meet the needs of the community and their schedules. For the grant, we decided we needed to take an active role in meeting our community’s organizations and take the initiative to form relationships. We created a community asset map using Google Maps. We focused on identifying schools, businesses, non-profits, and so on. From there, we narrowed down our initial contacts to those who…
The post We Are ALSC Chat!: Identifying Community Stakeholders and Forming Partnerships appeared first on ALSC Blog. Read More
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