Building Organizational Capacity for Community-Led Programs in Public Libraries

How can your public library turn its EDISJ values into real action in its public programs? Community-led planning is a method for returning institutional power to communities that have experienced oppression. Discover the results of a new research study on how to build organizational capacity for community-led programming, and learn the twelve steps your library can take to grow. Then hear from both a librarian and community member about a real-world community-led program, Escuela de la Vida, that will help you connect the research to practice.

Dr. Barbakoff will discuss the results of her study on building capacity for community-led adult programs in public libraries, conducted as part of her dissertation work in Organizational Change and Leadership at the University of Southern California. Tandra Solvey, librarian at King County Library System, will provide concrete context by describing a community-led initiative she developed in her semi-rural, Spanish-speaking community. A community member who helped create the program, Sebastian Rodriguez, will join the conversation.