Partnerships & collaboration
When the library builds partnerships, it strengthens the ties to its community, shares resources, and builds positive relationships with diverse stakeholders. Reaching out to initiate community partnerships begins with identifying both traditional and non-traditional partners and exploring new ways to work together. Effective collaborations are sustained through a shared commitment to serving the ever-changing needs of the community.
Photo: jenlen, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
Most Recently Added
June 6, Supporting domestic and sexual violence survivors at your library
Publish Date: News / 6 June 2024
Learn to recognize signs of domestic/sexual violence and the ways your library can support survivors through referrals and resources.
May 16, Supporting healthy communities: Public library responses to the opioid crisis
Publish Date: News / 16 May 2024
Learn about the new “Opioid Crisis Support Kit for Public Libraries” with information and strategies for library staff to support individuals and families affected by substance misuse.
Co-creating library services through human-centered design
Publish Date: News / 10 April 2024
Much of the work of co-creation happens before you start to plan a concrete service or program. It’s worth spending the time up front to establish authentic, asset-based relationships and craft a scope that aligns with both community aspirations and ...
Hopkinton Public Library unites community in library planning
Publish Date: News / 12 March 2024
At Hopkinton Public Library in Iowa, community engagement is thriving. And the secret to this success is including community members in in the planning, from beginning to end. From an annual haunted house to community bake-offs, the library incorpora...
Co-Creating Library Services for Transformative Impact
Publish Date: Webinar / 27 February 2024
Learn about the fundamentals of co-design and explore how to apply them in your library for wildly creative and deeply impactful programs and services.
Align library services with community aspirations
Publish Date: News / 27 February 2024
The most successful library services are often those that help the community meet its aspirations while also honoring the unique purpose of the library. But balancing the community’s goals and the library’s scope is not always an easy task.
Together we heal
Publish Date: News / 20 February 2024
Like many small-town libraries, Jarrell Community Library is an important place for connection. And through a recent Libraries for Heath grant, the library is offering new kinds of connections—to peer mental health specialists and an array of resourc...
Easy as ABCD: Using asset-based community development as a lens for authentic relationship-building
Publish Date: News / 7 February 2024
Building relationships with systematically excluded communities is one of the most important things your library can do to support relevant, meaningful services. Co-creation can help librarians embody our EDISJ (equity, diversity, inclusion, and soci...
Survey on Climate and Environmental Health in Libraries
Publish Date: News / 30 January 2024
STAR Net would like to invite you to complete a short survey to inform the design of the 2024 Climate Action Symposium: Exploring Collaborations with Libraries, Community-Based Organizations, and Public Health Agencies.
Building Authentic Relationships with Underserved Communities
Publish Date: Webinar / 30 January 2024
Learn how to develop a plan for identifying, reaching, and building relationships with underserved communities.
Community engagement
Where do you go for inspiration? Invigorate your community engagement efforts with advice from library leaders.