News
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Local games and interactive stories to Engage Beyond Our Walls
Libraries are creating their own outdoor games and interactive stories featuring local history, landmarks, and voices. These playful activities, often made by library staff, include texting with a mural, an audio tour by a Black feminist historian, a...
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Creating a community-led library
Libraries are increasingly turning to community-led approaches to ensure that their services and resources meet local needs effectively. This process involves actively including community members in decision-making processes, but the pa...
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Library guide to civic engagement
"Throughout 2024, over four billion people in at least 64 countries will have the opportunity to vote for new, national leadership through elections. This means that almost half of the world's population will engage in federal elections this yea...
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Partner with indie authors to share diverse stories
Despite efforts to increase representation in publishing, the industry remains predominantly white. Authors of color often face a range of challenges, including difficulty finding literary agents, limited access to publishing opportunities, and insuf...
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I Partner with my Public Library Award
Do you work at a public library? Has a community partner made a difference by collaborating with you?
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Libraries get moving!
May is National Bike Month, and libraries across the country are helping their community members hop onto two wheels to celebrate. Cycling programs are just one of many ways that libraries are helping community members stay active. As local hubs, lib...
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Growing library garden programs
Library gardens offer a great way for community members to come together to learn, grow, and contribute towards a healthy, balanced environment. And creating a vibrant community green space or gardening program doesn’t have to be complicated. Across ...
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Singing the unsung heroes who make libraries successful
Community partnerships play an important role in creating successful libraries, and Berks County Public Library is no exception. Each year, the library honors individuals and groups in the community who demonstrate outstanding leadership, innovation,...
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Co-creating library services through human-centered design
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 ...
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Hopkinton Public Library unites community in library planning
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...