Capacity at any size

Libraries big and small, urban and rural, can use the principles in this module to enhance their capacity to serve their communities. Let’s look at three fictional examples of a large urban library, a mid-sized suburban library, and a small rural library all leveraging their community assets to build capacity.

Large, Urban Library: Gotham City Public Library

Gotham Public Library is a large system with 17 branches scattered across the densely populated city of Gotham. The central branch serves a population of several hundred thousand and has a number of sizable meeting spaces. Despite this seeming wealth of resources, there has been much more focus on adult and children’s services and programming, with teen services falling through the cracks. Teen Services has a relationship with most of the local high schools, but has not leveraged many other community partnerships.

Leveraging Gotham’s Strengths to Overcome Challenges

Teen library staff across the system have knowledge of connected learning yet feel siloed from other departments in the library and think that if they had better connections they could leverage those in support of bringing in mentors and coaches to teen services - either staff members or those in the community with whom non-teen staff have connections and relationships. Teen staff also recognize if they are able to build relationships with staff in other departments in the system there will be more capacity to design and implement teen services with impact.

Mid-Sized Suburban Library: Sunnydale Library

The Sunnydale Library is located in a sprawling suburban area. It is a midsize library with a main library and one branch. The main branch has a meeting room for programs and meetings, two study rooms, and open seating areas across the building. There are 38 computers in the main library in various areas of the building including in the children’s area, the teen area, and in adult reading, studying, and browsing areas. Staff is knowledgeable about the community and the library’s services. Their community partnerships are strong and staff members are a part of committees and planning groups as well as work with partners to design services for the community. One partner supports the library’s technology needs through funding various technology purchases. Staff includes two full-time adult services librarians, a full-time children’s librarian, and a full time teen librarian. Each department also has part-time support staff. There are also volunteers who work with the library staff on various projects.

Leveraging Sunnydale’s Strengths to Overcome Challenges

Several of Smallville Library’s branches are in communities and neighborhoods that don’t have out-of-school-time space for teens in the area. Library staff who already have strong connections with community stakeholders, realize there is opportunity to bring together their community connections and consider how to leverage the library’s meeting and study spaces to reach mutual goals. Library staff therefore work to discover how various stakeholders with connections to teens and their families can bring their expertise to library spaces as mentors and coaches and/or service designers and providers.

Small, Rural Library: Smallville Library

Smallville is a rural town located between two larger cities, both over an hour’s drive away with no public transportation options. The library serves a population of about 1500, most of whom are employed in agriculture. The director, who grew up in Smallville, is the only full-time staff member, and there are a few community volunteers. No one working for or volunteering at the library has a library degree. The library is open 22 hours each week. The director is responsible for all services and calls in volunteers to help facilitate story times, book discussion groups, and other activities. Everyone in town knows the library, but not many official partnerships have been established. Most of the library collection is contained in a single room, with a corner dedicated to the children’s section with low tables and chairs. There are some tables and seating in the area where the two public access computers are located.

Leveraging Smallville’s Strengths to Overcome Challenges

The one full-time library director and the cadre of volunteers are all well tied into the community. Family members work in the agriculture industry and are library staff/volunteers and their family members are on the town council, the school department board, and involved in a variety of other local activities. As a result of all of the connections, the library director and volunteers are well positioned to bring the knowledge and expertise of community members in the design and development of connected learning services.

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