Pre-Application Webinar for Libraries Transforming Communities: Focus on Small and Rural Libraries
LTC: Focus on Small and Rural Libraries is open to libraries in the U.S. and U.S. territories that serve small or rural communities.
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LTC
Tips for Facilitating a Virtual Group Conversation
Over the past six months or so, library workers have bravely plowed into the world of virtual programming. Along the way, you’ve probably picked up more skills than you even realize. (Remember those awkward early attempts at leading a Zoom meeting or recording a story time with your phone?)
APPLY NOW: Libraries Transforming Communities: Focus on Small and Rural Libraries
ALA has announced plans to award nearly $2 million to small and rural libraries in 2020 and 2021 to help them address issues of concern in their communities.Â
APPLY NOW: Libraries Transform Communities Engagement Grant
ALA invites library workers to apply for a new annual grant to support innovative and meaningful community engagement efforts in libraries.
The Libraries Transform Communities Engagement Grant will provide $2,000 for a school, public, academic, tribal or special library to expand its community engagement efforts. Libraries are invited to apply by designing and outlining activities for a library-led community engagement project.Â
Reflections on Year 2 of Skills for Community-Centered Libraries
Blog post author Lynn Williamson is the chief of the Free Library of Philadelphia’s Neighborhood Library Services Division, the project manager of Skills for Community-Centered Libraries and a participant in Cohort 6 of the trainings. Read more about the Skills for Community-Centered Libraries project at theirÂ
APPLY NOW: Free Facilitation Training for Small and Rural Library Workers
ALA has announced a professional development opportunity — including funding to attend an in-person workshop at the 2020 ALA Annual Conference in Chicago — to help small and rural library workers develop the communication skills they need to thrive in the 21st-century library.
Engaging Community Partners in Program Planning
Claire L. Hand is an adult/teen librarian at the Free Library of Philadelphia's Wynnefield Library and a participant in Cohort 2 of the Skills for Community-Centered Libraries trainings.
The Power of Community Conversations: Denver Public Library and the Harwood Institute
Denver Public Library has undertaken wide-ranging community engagement efforts, reaching out to the greater Denver community to discover its aspirations, concerns and needs. The library uses this information to guide its strategic work and to be responsive to the needs of its communities and customers.
Here, Erika R. Martinez, the library's director of communications and community engagement, shares how Denver Public learned about, and worked to overcome, their customers' feelings of disconnect in a fast-changing city.
Reaching Out to People with Disabilities: Sacramento Public Library and the Harwood Institute
In 2016, Sacramento Public Library Deputy Director Kathy Middleton took part in a three-day workshop with The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation, a nonprofit organization that helps people and organizations solve pressing problems and change how communities work together.
Middleton hoped to use the Harwood Institute’s approach, called “Turning Outward,” to learn how the library could better serve people with disabilities. Here, she shares how what she learned in the workshop led to concrete changes at her library.
A Tale of Two Organizations: Talking about Affordable Housing on the Lower East Side
A brief look at the history of New York City’s Lower East Side (LES) reveals that this little patch of land has always been an area ripe for intense debate. The portrayal of the neighborhood in books, film and other media is constant — the romance, horrors and bitter struggles. The LES is a place of rare historical significance, a community that has inspired generations of activists, radicals, advocates and new Americans to envision a better future.
Community Conversations: Engagement through Local History
The Upper West Side of Manhattan has been one of New York’s most recognizable neighborhoods, featured in dozens of films and television shows; our cultural landmarks run the gamut from Lincoln Center to Zabar’s food emporium. However, visitors and even residents of the Upper West Side might not be aware that the neighborhood has a rich activist history.Â
Defining Community Engagement and Outreach
The Skills for Community-Centered Libraries initiative — a series of trainings meant to build community engagement capacities among staff — launched on Oct. 2, so it’s a good time for the Free Library of Philadelphia’s community organizing team to share what exactly we mean by community engagement. A common definition is a baseline for discussion at workshops and a way to push people’s thinking.
Free Facilitation Training for Small, Mid-Sized and Rural Public Libraries
ALA, the Public Library Association (PLA) and the National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation (NCDD) invite public library staff serving small, mid-sized or rural communities to attend a free learning series on how to lead productive conversations.
Naming and Framing Public Issues (Session 2 of 2)
Session 2, “Tools for Naming and Framing Public Issues," describes the steps and processes for leading a “naming and framing” effort, and how to apply tools that help people weigh options for moving forward together.
Also see Session 1, "Beyond Deadlock: A Better Way to Talk about Difficult Issues."
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