At CMLE, we so enjoy all our different types of libraries, archives, and other members! Seeing all the work you are doing is so inspiring; and we want to return the favor by helping you to find some of the great programming going on around the profession.
Each week we will share an interesting program we find. It may inspire you to do exactly the same thing; or to try something related; or just to try out some different programming ideas.
This is such an important topic!!! And one that is increasingly crucial in all types of libraries! We will be offering a 2 hour class this summer, as part of our Summer Library Boot Camp series! Have lunch with us, get two hours of PD credit, and enjoy spending time with your colleagues who are also working to figure out the best strategies for developing great information literacy skills in their own patrons!
Training for Information Literacy
Tue. June 26
When people ask what we do in libraries, talking about Information Literacy will always be the right answer! In this session we will chat about the basics of Information Literacy, then talk about strategies for training different age groups and community groups. Identifying fake news is not a challenge; let’s help the communities we serve to understand the information that is both accurate and best for their personal needs!
This program model was written for the Programming Librarian website, by Diana Laughlin, Program Services Supervisor, and Kurtis Kelly, Communications Specialist, Estes Valley Library, Colo. Go check out that article for all the info!
Is your library making plans for the 2020 Census?? It’s not too early to be thinking about it! Check out this article from ALA, by Larra Clark, the deputy director of both the Public Library Association and Washington Office’s public policy team, and start thinking about how you can help your community members.
We need an accurate Census! This is a tool used in funding schools, repairing roads, building hospitals, and planning all sorts of infrastructure for us. Undercounting is a serious problem, and can result in communities losing out on vital services. You can read through the Statement on the Value and Importance of the U.S. Census from the Society of American Archivists.
“In the warp speed of politics, 2020 can seem light years away. But current policy discussions and outreach planning for the United States 2020 Census could have significant impacts for libraries. ALA is working to ensure that libraries are informed and represented in the process.
The decennial count of all U.S. residents is a long tradition: required by the U.S. Constitution to determine representation in Congress and the Electoral College, the Census also is key to the allocation of billions of dollars in federal funding to states and localities and to the production of widely-used datasets. However, each decade brings new innovations and challenges. In 2020, the Census will be conducted primarily online for the first time. Like past e-government efforts, this likely will place additional demands on library staff and technology resources to assist people in participating in the Census online or via another method of their choosing. It also presents an opportunity to increase public awareness and use of Census data.
To best position libraries to support our communities in the 2020 Census, ALA has begun engaging with the Census Bureau and other stakeholders, which to date has included:
Exploring a relationship with the U.S. Census Bureau to support education and information sharing with libraries nationwide;
Joining coalition efforts led by the Leadership Council on Civil and Human Rights to advocate for a fair and accurate Census; and
Engaging member leaders at the 2018 ALA Midwinter Meeting and Public Library Association conference to gather questions and recommendations for future action, as well as make connections to support Census activities like the current test of operations underway in Providence County, Rhode Island.
These activities also have included advocacy in support of a fair and accurate Census. In January, ALA joined a coalition letter opposing proposals to add a new and untested question to the 2020 Census asking about the respondent’s citizenship. The letter noted concerns that adding such a question would “disrupt preparations” and “jeopardize the accuracy of the 2020 Census.” Unfortunately, on March 26 Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced that he was directing the Census Bureau to add a citizenship question despite these concerns. ALA will continue to work with coalition partners to address this issue, including advocacy with Congress to call for oversight hearings.
Regardless of how the issue is resolved, however, the Census will take place in 2020 – and libraries will be impacted. ALA will work to provide library staff with timely information and resources to help them meet these demands, in line with ALA’s commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion.
We invite you to share your experiences with past Censuses and thoughts for the future in comments here or directly to Gavin Baker (gbaker@alawash.org) and Larra Clark (lclark@alawash.org).”
You know we miss our members when we don’t see you. We also want to be sure we are building a real library community across our system – so we want to have opportunities for everyone to get to know each other.
We are hosting another social event for members to attend, so we can have fun and chat about library stuff. (We can chat about all kinds of other fun stuff, of course!) This time we will be meeting for tea! Yes, tea is a traditional icon of the library profession (tea, cats, cardigans – all the best stuff); and we build on that here with a high tea.
We will meet at the Mad Hatter Restaurant, in Anoka: Sunday, May 6 at 10:30. For this event, we are planning on the Queen of Hearts tea service. As this is going to be a little pricey, we are also offering “scholarships” to people who RSVP to us by Friday, April 27. We will cover the cost of your Queen of Hearts tea service if you respond below. (We need to make reservations!)
We want to meet in different places, so we can try out new things, and we can be closer to different members at different times. This is a bit of a drive, but we have set this up so you have time to go down to the Cities, if you want, after we are done. Plan on being here about an hour and a half, possibly longer if you wish.
We look forward to seeing everyone, to talking about libraries, to hearing about summer plans, and all the great things that can happen when a bunch of CMLE members get together!
This is NOT our event: but if the idea of a fun British tea sounds great to you – they are also hosting a special event for the big Royal Wedding, and you can attend that! (Tell us all about it if you go!!)
“Friday, May 18th 6:00pm – 8:30pm $35 per guest
Join us for a Royal cocktail party to celebrate Prince Harry & Meghan’s wedding! We will have a lavish buffet of appetizers and a cash bar (beer, wine & bubbly) We will of course be serving our popular Royal Wedding Tea as well. Come dressed in your most fabulous & dapper fashions!
This is a social interactive party. We will seat family style, but encourage everyone to mingle around the estate and chat with other guests.”
This week we shift slightly from looking at a specific program, to looking at the results of a study about programming itself.
This article is from the National Impact of Library Public Programming Assessment organization.
““What skills or abilities do you think are necessary to successfully run public programs at libraries?”
More than 1,200 library professionals from all around the country and from all types of libraries weighed in on this question last fall as part of the NILPPA research. As we read their responses, we found nine categories of skills that came up time and again.
Top Nine Skills for Programming
To do public programs, library workers need communication skills, including customer service, networking, public speaking, facilitation, and “people skills.” Running programs requires talking to all kinds of people in all kinds of contexts.
Staff working in public programs also need organizational skills. We included two frequent keywords, “project management” and “time management,” in this category.
Perhaps obviously, event planning skills came up time and again.
To run programs at libraries, it’s important to have knowledge of the community. That means everything from listening skills and open-mindedness to intercultural and diversity skills. It also includes group-specific competencies like second language skills or knowledge of child development.
There’s no point in running a program if nobody comes. Outreach and marketing also made the list.
It’s also important to be creative. Unexpected challenges come up with programs all the time, and quite a few people mentioned “flexibility” and “problem-solving” as essential.
This job function also requires financial skills: budgeting, grants, and fundraising, depending on how the library functions.
Many of the library staffers who answered the survey emphasized evaluation skills. To assess the value of programs, library programming staff need to understand statistics, benchmarking, and how to assess a community’s needs and resources.
Finally, we received many responses pinpointing content knowledge. For example, it’s nearly impossible to run a coding class if you don’t know how to use a computer.
A quantitative analysis generally corroborated the popularity of these categories among the responses.”
Libraries across CMLE have Somali community members, and we can always find new ways to reach out and connect with members of the community! Check out this report from the national Institute of Museum and Library Services about strategies Hennepin County library is using to provide some great service.
“We wanted everyone in the Cedar Riverside community to see themselves in the library. Our goal was to demonstrate that Hennepin County Library has services to support individuals who have been in the United States for one day or who have been here for their entire lives. Everyone is welcome and everyone can find something to help them.” – Kelly Stade, Library Services Manager, Hennepin County Library
Asma, a Somali-born mother living in the Minneapolis, Minnesota, community of Cedar Riverside, made typical use of her local Hennepin County library: checking out books for her children. However, like many of her fellow Cedar Riverside residents, Asma didn’t see herself as a recipient of library services, even avoiding spending long periods of time at the library because she felt it was necessary to keep her children quiet.
“Asma was hesitant,” said Ruqia Abdi, Cultural Liaison for Hennepin County Library. “When I explained to her that the libraries had more to offer than just books, she was skeptical. But she was one of our greatest successes.”
In December, after a lot of hard work, Asma completed a phlebotomy education program and now wants to pursue her nursing degree. It was a journey that began when she opened herself to services the library had for supporting higher education and career growth.
Like Asma and many other residents of the urban neighborhood south of downtown Minneapolis, Cedar Riverside members could benefit greatly from library services. The neighborhood has high unemployment and lower achievement in education than the rest of the county, with many living below the poverty line—and only 31 percent of Cedar Riverside residents had a library card. And although there are three Hennepin County libraries within three miles, none are directly in the neighborhood, and geographic barriers present additional challenges to access.
“The Cedar Riverside community expressed great interest in finding more ways to support their residents in their education and career goals,” said Kelly Stade, Library Services Manager at Hennepin County Library and manager of the outreach project. “As a library, we wanted to see how we could partner with the community to create that support.”
A Cultural Liaison to Listen to a Community
Ruqia Abdi, Hennepin County Library Cultural Liaison (left) visits with a Cedar Riverside volunteer ambassador (right) at the East Lake Library Welcome Event. Abdi’s role as a cultural liaison was key to the outreach project’s success. (Photo courtesy of Hennepin County Library)
Through IMLS Grants to States funding, the Hennepin County Library (link is external) (HCL) began identifying ways to promote lifelong learning and continuing education in Cedar Riverside.
“We approached this work wanting to build on the strengths of the community, not from perceived deficits,” said Stade. “We continuously considered the assets that already existed in the community and how those could support library services.”
In 2015, HCL began examining what library services would look like beyond the building’s walls. The library hired Abdi, a Somali-speaking community member who had lived in Cedar Riverside for 19 years and who had a wealth of neighborhood connections. Abdi would develop partnerships with community stakeholders, build a network of volunteers, and serve as a main advocate for HCL.
“She immediately sparked a passion within the community to promote library services,” said Stade. “She knew it was about building trust with individuals and then referring them back to the library.”
Abdi worked with the neighboring libraries to provide cultural competency training. She focused her training on broadening cultural understanding around topics such as prayer, physical contact, and holidays. Additionally, the libraries’ outreach staff took part in neighborhood walking and listening tours, which had a strong influence on the project’s future.
“Through everything we did, we tried to demonstrate our willingness to integrate into the community,” Abdi said. “We always welcomed feedback from the neighborhood, especially key community stakeholders who always provided us with advice on how the library can incorporate itself into the community and address its unique needs.”
During a local library pop-up event, volunteer ambassadors provided friendly, welcoming faces to the community in an effort to build trust in the library and its services. (Photo courtesy of Hennepin County Library)
Building a Network of Volunteers
As the project gained momentum, it became imperative that connections made in the neighborhood be meaningful and lasting. Because of the importance the Somali culture places on in-person, oral communications, HCL needed to have a network of individuals who could provide face-to-face contact in a comfortable, familiar setting.
With the help of Abdi and the staff at the neighboring libraries, community members were identified, recruited, and trained as volunteer ambassadors. In the course of a year, 20 community members became library experts and advocates, evolving into an essential resource for the library within the Cedar Riverside community. Some of these ambassadors had never before had a library card, and some volunteers had limited English skills.
Training involved bilingual classes, digital literacy, and guidance on how to support individuals’ school and career goals. After training, these ambassadors helped staff welcome events and pop-up libraries, and became familiar faces for the library in Cedar Riverside. Most importantly, the ambassadors found a home in the library themselves. In evaluation surveys, 100 percent of the ambassadors indicated they use the library more often after having served in the volunteer role.
“Our volunteers really began to see themselves in the library, which was one of our biggest goals,” said Stade.
Welcome Event attendee completes an interactive survey about what they learned about the library.(Photo courtesy of Hennepin County Library)
Welcome to the Neighborhood
With a cultural liaison and a team of advocates in place, it was time to bring the community the services they had long wanted. The neighboring libraries hosted welcome events that introduced the volunteer ambassadors to the community, allowed families to experience the libraries’ atmospheres, and built relationships between library staff and the Cedar Riverside Somali community. During the events, staff highlighted services and materials of particular relevance to the community, including job search services, support for academic achievement, and children’s literacy programs.
Evaluation surveys showed that 96 percent of welcome event attendees would visit the library again and 79 percent would tell a friend about the library.
Pop-Up Libraries
A key element aspect of HCL’s outreach was six pop-up library events that brought the library experience directly to Cedar Riverside and demonstrated the library system’s commitment to the neighborhood. HCL brought temporary libraries to community centers, high schools, apartment buildings, mosques, and playgrounds, reaching the people where they gathered. During these pop-up library events, community members were able to sign-up for a library card, check out books, gain technology skills, meet with staff, and become familiar with the services offered by the nearby libraries. Mobile technology kits that included iPads, laptops, a projector, and a mobile print station helped emphasize the digital resources libraries offer the community.
Cedar Riverside volunteer ambassador facilitates a story time for Cedar Riverside residents during a pop-up library event. Pop-up libraries demonstrated HCL’s commitment to integrating themselves into already-established community meetings. (Photo courtesy of Hennepin County Library)
“The definition of libraries is changing,” said Abdi. “[In Somalia] libraries were where you checked out a book. But here in the United States, libraries are so much more than that. It’s not a place where we are telling kids to be quiet, and only offer a limited number of books. The library is a place you don’t expect, and we wanted to show the community that.”
In one year, nearly 800 community members attended the events and 181 new library cards were issued.
An important partner resulting from the outreach project was the Hennepin County Law Library. Pop-up library events held for the community connected community members with relevant legal resources, helping community members understand landlord and tenant rights and employee rights. Over the course of a year, 85 community members were connected to the law library directly through community outreach events in Cedar Riverside.
“Sometimes we’d meet people who felt they didn’t deserve the library, or that they didn’t belong in the library,” said Stade. “It’s challenging to convince everyone that the library is for them, and sometimes we weren’t able to. But it was wonderful when we were.”
At Home in the Library
In just one year, HCL bridged the gap between their libraries and an immigrant community, carving out a space in the library where members of Cedar Riverside could feel connected to home. Additionally, staff are more confident and sensitive when serving these patrons, and feel they are able to be more responsive to their needs. Residents continue to be enthusiastic about HCL’s online resources, tutors, language training databases, and career support that the library provides.
A Cedar Riverside teen receives her first library card during a library Welcome Event. In one year, more than 180 library cards were issued in the Cedar Riverside community. (Photo courtesy of Hennepin County Library)
Lessons learned from the project also aided in building sustained work in the community through the Cedar Riverside Opportunity Center. A collaborative workforce development program established in partnership with the library system, Hennepin County Workforce Development, the City of Minneapolis, Minneapolis Community Technical College, and local nonprofit EMERGE, the center supports workforce development and educational attainment in the county.
In the years to come, HCL will continue serving the Cedar Riverside community as well as other communities using this outreach model. As the initiative continues, the most important lesson for Hennepin County Library is realizing that barriers could be anything and anywhere.
“We realized that barriers to library service could be physical, like not having a library nearby, but it can also be psychological,” said Stade, who oversaw the project. “There may be people in our communities who are telling themselves that the library isn’t for them. It was and always will be our job to help everyone see that it is. It is not just a place for books. It’s a place to find yourself.”
Is your library making plans for the 2020 Census?? It’s not too early to be thinking about it! Check out 
