Librarians As Community Partners

From Library Journal: Thirty-seven public, school, and academic librarians here share "how we did outreach good" and produce a joyful collection. These examples will inspire and fire up staff involved with event planning, programming, and extending their library's presence and effectiveness in the community. Beyond a bounty of ideas are practical suggestions and examples that can be used for the library to approach organizations, groups, and governmental entities for grant applications. While the creative is foremost, the financial and efficient are also addressed with the essential details of who did what, how it was funded, and the nature of follow-up. This reviewer's favorite example-the Edible Book Contest-comes complete with advice on cleanup and disasters. VERDICT Success always requires resources, dedication, and much planning, but even the smallest library with a handful of staff could benefit from this book. Wherever there is a need to increase awareness of library services in the community or reach out to groups that are under utilizing your library, this handbook can be useful.-J. Sara Paulk, Fitzgerald.

Library Collaborations and Community Partnerships illustrates the value of libraries and their resources through an array of alliances to improve health and enhance people's lives. It is unique in its illustration of key principles of collaboration, partner engagement, shared leadership, project development and outcomes measurement, as well as the challenges inherent in collaborations among diverse partners. The book includes collaboration exemplars focused on education, health, information literacy and capacity building for populations that experience access and resource disparities. It highlights the innovative use of existing assets, environments and diverse professions to broaden access to resources and information to those in need. The strategies, challenges, outcomes and lessons learned that are described in the volume have application for a variety of settings and populations. Highlighting the key role that libraries play in guiding successful interprofessional collaborations with communities, Library Collaborations and Community Partnerships should be of interest to academics, students and professionals engaged in library and information science, education, health care, social services and community organizations.

Providing a treasury of community partnership opportunities and resources for innovative learning experiences, this title helps Future Ready Librarians to create authentic, student-centered experiences that address American Association of School Librarians (AASL) standards. As school librarians strive to become Future Ready and meet the new AASL standards, community partnerships can help them to build innovative programs within their districts to realize their school's mission and goals. Placing value on the importance of preparing students for the future, this book encourages librarians to "learn, leap, and grow" and form community partnerships to create learning experiences both in and outside of school. Innovative learning experiences can have a positive impact on student engagement, empathy, knowledge, skills, and local and global awareness. This book introduces ideas, materials, resources, and a step-by-step action plan while highlighting how learning experiences meet AASL standards. A user-friendly and invaluable resource for librarians who desire to be Future Ready, it will catapult librarians to the forefront of their practice and support them as they create innovative learning experiences for their students.

"This book shows how partnerships can be cultivated through projects, programming, funding, and extending the library's presence through unique avenues, offering librarians a better understanding of what might be possible for their situational requirements and limitations"--Provided by publisher.

Providing a treasury of community partnership opportunities and resources for innovative learning experiences, this title helps Future Ready Librarians to create authentic, student-centered experiences that address American Association of School Librarians (AASL) standards. As school librarians strive to become Future Ready and meet the new AASL standards, community partnerships can help them to build innovative programs within their districts to realize their school's mission and goals. Placing value on the importance of preparing students for the future, this book encourages librarians to "learn, leap, and grow" and form community partnerships to create learning experiences both in and outside of school. Innovative learning experiences can have a positive impact on student engagement, empathy, knowledge, skills, and local and global awareness. This book introduces ideas, materials, resources, and a step-by-step action plan while highlighting how learning experiences meet AASL standards. A user-friendly and invaluable resource for librarians who desire to be Future Ready, it will catapult librarians to the forefront of their practice and support them as they create innovative learning experiences for their students.

Foreword by Tracie D. Hall Community engagement isn’t simply an important component of a successful library—it’s the foundation upon which every service, offering, and initiative rests. Working collaboratively with community members—be they library customers, residents, faculty, students or partner organizations— ensures that the library works, period. This important resource from ALA’s Public Programs Office (PPO) provides targeted guidance on how libraries can effectively engage with the public to address a range of issues for the betterment of their community, whether it is a city, neighborhood, campus, or something else. Featuring contributions by leaders active in library-led community engagement, it’s designed to be equally useful as a teaching text for LIS students and a go-to handbook for current programming, adult services, and outreach library staff. Balancing practical tools with case studies and stories from field, this collection explores such key topics as why libraries belong in the community engagement realm; getting the support of board and staff; how to understand your community; the ethics and challenges of engaging often unreached segments of the community; identifying and building engaged partnerships; collections and community engagement; engaged programming; and outcome measurement.

Smallwood’s volume offers insight, inspiration, and tips for those already retired as well as those thinking about retiring.

"The Frugal Librarian delivers innovative solutions for today's profound economic challenges."--- Suzann Holland, Director, Monroe Public Library, Monroe, Wisconsin; 2010 Winner of Public Libraries Feature Award --