Community Engagement: 

We tried that!

https://slides.com/manikoth/community-engagement/live#/

We are...

Amber Williams

Aileen Luppert 

Spokane County Library District is...

a public library serving:

• 269,000 (500,00 including the City of Spokane)
• 11 locations
• 174 employees
  • 16 librarians

LTC Tools:

www.ala.org/LTC/resources

Tools are:

• Free
• Comprehensive
• Vetted (by guinea pigs like SCLD)

Tools: do you speak Harwood?

• Ask
• Aspirations
• Community Conversations

And how does one go about that?

Community Conversations

• 90 minutes- 2 hours
• 10 questions, additional clarifying questions
• SCLD hosted a total of 76 

http://www.ala.org/tools/sites/ala.org.tools/files/content/LTC_ConvoGuide_final_062414.pdf

Trained Staff:

Good luck librarians!

• Harwood Bootcamp
  • Opportunities to practice
• Met and spoke regularly to share tips and strategies
• Partnered with other staff
• Clear expectations
• Clear timeline for for those expectations

Staff Day

• Community Conversation with all SCLD staff
• Practice for librarians
• Introduction to what we were rolling out- everyone knew
  • And now we could ask for their help for introductions...

In a nutshell: Aspirations

• What are your community aspirations?
• What are the barriers?
• Who do you trust to take action?

76 conversations:

• 1 narrative for each community
• 1 overarching narrative for the District

   Spokane County Library District Community Narrative

People want a caring and supportive community with a vibrant economy, a quality education system, and recreational and cultural opportunities for all ages. We want safe neighborhoods where people know and talk to one another. However, people are concerned about the businesses and jobs that have been lost and the feeling that people don’t know their neighbors or what’s going on in their community. People miss having a stronger sense of community and they are looking for places and ways to connect with each other and with information about events and services.  There are a lot of trusted groups and organizations engaged in efforts to support economic growth and community building. By creating a shared vision and collaborative effort we could build momentum towards stronger cities, towns and neighborhoods where people feel welcomed and a part of the community.

Safety

Deer Park: Dangerous highway

What we heard:

• Intergenerational opportunities to interact 
• Support for teens
• Cultural programs
  • where people are
• Basic needs
  • food scarcity
  • health insurance
• To name a few...

Strong Relationships

Maybe by intergenerational they really meant all ages... 

Support for teens

• Resume help at high schools
• Paid teen internships in video Studio
  • Peer to peer instruction

Cultural Programs

Cultural Programs: Where they are:

Working on our 3rd Annual Northern Slam- a tri school district poetry slam

And starting the first Valley Slam!

Took the show on the road

Traditional programs done out of our building

Summer Concert not in a dark meeting room

K-5 Summer Programs in the school gym with a much higher fire code max

Food Scarcity:

We serve free snack in the library for kids age 1-18 after school M-F, year round at one location.

Partnered with Vista volunteers to provide enrichment activities and free books at summer meal sites

Food Scarcity:

Offered a passive program called Produce Swap. You did not need to contribute to take and all left over produce was given to the local food bank.

"The produce on this table is not for barter or trade, all is given and taken freely."

More basic needs:

• Health insurance navigators
• Storytime at shelters
• Homeless Connect
  • waiving fines
  • providing cards
  • connecting resources

It's been 3 years

There's too much to list, really.

How do we know it's working?

• Invitations
  • Invited to be part of advisory boards, leaderships teams
• Perceptions
  • We are a reliable partner and important part of the community
• We are so popular
  • So many asks

Authority

We really know our communities better- and it shows. 

Accountability

Follow Through!

Not everything will even be a library capable thing:

• Report out and tell those trusted groups and people (that's why you asked)
• Tackle the aspirations that align with the library resources 

​

Authenticity

This is what happens when you put your money where mouth is:

"What we say and do rings true with our community"

Community Pride & Beautification 

Started an annual clean-up of the city owned park adjacent to the library.

So they named the park after us!

How do we keep it going?

Best Practice: Culture Shift

Create a culture that allows for failure

Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.

-Nelson Mandella

Best Practice:Culture Shift

Create a culture that celebrates success

Best Practice: Follow Through Internally

Frontline Staff:

There's room for everyone on the bus, there's time for everyone to get on but when it's time to go commit to the change and accept that some people will choose to not come.

And why should we?

"This public knowledge informs our choices so our work is more relevant and has greater impact via the services we provide to you, our library users"- PR

Information is platform agnostic.

Still not convinced? 

Words of wisdom:

"Make sure you like the public if you're going to work in a public library."

- Aileen

Words of wisdom:

"Best skills to have- public speaking and verbal de-escalation."

-Amber

Questions not answered by this advice?

Aileen Luppert

aluppert@scld.org

Amber Williams

awilliams@scld.org

Want to chat more?