Learn how to collaborate with partners to maximize your community outreach and impact.

Course Overview

Week 1: Setting up for success: how to plan your partnerships strategically and relationally 

Tuesday, November 15, 2022

Session 1 | 2:00-2:45 pm ET

Centering Relationality and Intentionality: The Continuum of Collaboration

As in any good relationship, communication and collaboration are key foundations for building a lasting, mutually beneficial library partnership. In this session, you’ll learn how to integrate the continuum of collaboration into your framework for building and maintaining partnerships. This framework will help you to move from initial networking into fully relational collaboration, and you’ll learn tips for building and sustaining partnerships from both a big-picture and day-to-day perspective. You’ll learn best practices for handling collaborative operations and come away with ideas for projects big and small you can apply to your burgeoning or more established partnership.

Speaker: 

Nicole Bryan, (she, her) Neighborhood Library Supervisor at Brooklyn Public Library

OverDrive Session| 2:45-3:00 pm ET

Eliminate barriers to student reading with Public Library CONNECT 

In the wake of this year’s NAEP scores for student reading, one thing is clear: it’s never been more important for kids to have 24/7 access to a robust selection of books to support reading and learning. For public libraries and schools, one way to achieve this is Public Library CONNECT, a simple but powerful digital partnership that lets students access age-appropriate ebooks and audiobooks from the public library alongside their school’s collection – all without requiring a library card. Join Delaware County Library System (PA) for an eye-opening discussion on how DCLS successfully leveraged Public Library CONNECT to increase access to curriculum and independent reading for 11 local schools and districts, driving circulation of juvenile and young adult content and fostering the next generation of engaged library users. 

Speakers:

Cheri Crow, (she, her) Youth Services Coordinator for Delaware County Libraries

Amy Pickett, (she, her) Librarian at Ridley School District

Session 2 | 3:00-3:45 pm ET

Setting Up for Success: Strategic Partnership Planning

Ensure everyone is set up for success by applying the tools and strategies from this session. Learn the fundamentals of strategic planning, and find out how you can plan on your own if you’re pre-partnership, as well as how to plan collaboratively if you’ve already found your partner. You’ll learn how to approach planning in a way that prioritizes mutual values and goals, is relational rather than transactional, and results in real action to serve all communities better. You’ll also learn tips for creating contracts and agreements that serve everyone in the partnership.

Speaker:

Nuchette Black-Burke, (she, her) Chief Outreach Officer - Family Engagement and Community Partnerships at Hartford Public Schools

Workshop Q&A | 3:45-4:00 pm ET

An introduction to this week’s assignment and an overview of what to expect from the online workshop in this course

Week 2: Creating innovative, equitable, and community-centered partnerships

Tuesday, November 22, 2022

Workshop Q&A | 1:55-2:00 pm ET

Join us early for a quick overview of the workshop assignment. Bring your questions.

Session 1 | 2:00-2:30 pm ET

How to Support Yourself and Frontline Staff in Partnerships

Sustainable, authentic partnerships must be holistic in their focus on everyone involved, including and especially the frontline staff, librarians, and teachers – including you! This session will prioritize a partnership approach that shifts focus onto supporting the staff at the center of partnerships and how folks from partnering organizations can build community for and with each other. Learn how to center your partners and community while also creating and maintaining boundaries to avoid burnout. Ultimately, this holistic approach will further the efficacy of programs and services and lead to long lasting, sustainable partnerships.

Speaker:

Sheneatha Frison, (she, her) School Outreach Librarian

OverDrive Session| 2:30-3:00 pm ET

Solar-powered success: How Pioneer Library System’s digital library is providing access for all 

Libraries like yours work hard to enhance and expand access to all the educational and entertaining services the library has to offer. This often means focusing on the digital divide to reach community members where they are, even if that is outside the physical walls of the library. Discover how Pioneer Library System (OK) is using solar-powered benches to put more ebooks and audiobooks into the hands of readers — all without requiring a library card. Join PLS Executive Director Lisa Wells and OverDrive to learn how their benches drive equitable access to information, the challenges they met along the way and the results so far of this innovative initiative.  

Speakers:

Jim Monastra, Account Manager, Public Libraries at Overdrive

Lisa Wells, Executive Director, Pioneer Library System (OK)

Session 2 | 3:00-3:45 pm ET

Promoting Equity and Accessibility: Partnerships for Community Support Roundtable

As our communities continue to deal with COVID in different and disproportionate ways, library partnerships can serve as integral support systems for community members, students, and families. This session will explore how library partnerships are stepping up to help students deal with learning gaps, manage trauma, and return to their schools and libraries in the wake of the pandemic. You’ll also learn about how partnerships are innovating to support evergreen issues such as continuing broadband access, technological support, and public health initiatives.

Speakers: Additional speakers to come.

Kelvin Watson, (he, him) Executive Director, Las Vegas- Clark County Library District Administrative Offices

Jaime Cruz, (he, him)Executive Director Workforce Connections

Araba Maze, (she, her) Radical Street Librarian

 

Optional Session 3 | 3:45-4:30 pm ET

Highly targeted for higher education: Open Education as a Practice for Community Partnership

This session will teach you how to engage in open pedagogical practices to create sustainable community partnerships and engagement. You will learn how to take advantage of OER and Creative Commons to reimagine what your collections can look like, and how to use these materials to build foundational information literacy skills for your community. This session uniquely focuses on the partnerships and relationships involved in OER, which is what makes these practices viable and sustainable now and in the future. 

Kristin Conlin, (she, her, hers) Open Education Resources Coordinator, Reference and Instruction Librarian at University of Baltimore

Allison Jennings-Roche, (she, her, hers) Library Instruction Coordinator

 

Week 3: Partnering to serve schools, youth, and frontline staff

Tuesday, November 29, 2022

 Session 1 | 2:00-2:45 pm ET

Creating Successful and Sustainable School/Library Partnerships

Partnerships between public libraries and schools can benefit everyone, most notably the students and communities each serves. This session will teach you tangible tools and strategies for getting a school/public library partnership off the ground, including how to create a Cooperative Committee to advise, how to navigate logistical hurdles, and ideas for innovative services and programs.

Speakers:

Bridget Quinn Carey, (she, her) President and CEO, Hartford Public Library

Vanessa Diaz-Valencia, Assistant Director of Curriculum, Instruction & Programs, Hartford Public Schools

 

Workshop Q&A | 2:45-3:00 pm ET

An introduction to this week’s assignment and an overview of what to expect from the online workshop in this course

 

Session 2 | 3:00-3:45 pm ET

Community Mapping and Needs Assessments on-Transactional Support for Frontline Staff

The best partnerships are ones that benefit the communities you serve. This session will teach you how to figure out who your community is and what their biggest needs are. Learn how to initiate community mapping and needs assessments, and come away with tools for hosting focus groups, surveys, and informal town halls to hear directly from those you’re trying to serve.

Speaker:

Alison Williams, Library Services and Program Coordinator for the Copper Queen Library, in Bisbee, Arizona

 

Optional Session 3 | 3:45-4:30 pm ET

Highly targeted for youth services and school librarians: Hearing Youth Voices: Partnering with Students for Youth Programs

The best way to know what young people want and need is to ask them directly. Many librarians are struggling to engage youth in programs, but this session will help you solve this problem by teaching you how to create meaningful youth partnerships. You will learn tangible ways to involve youth directly in the conception and development of youth programs, from focus groups to youth advisory boards and more. Join this session and hear from experts about innovative ways that they’ve involved youth to co-create successful, sustainable programs. 

Speakers: 

Jane Gov, (she,her) Senior Librarian, Pasadena Public Library

Christopher Stewart, (he, him) Senior School & Human Advocate Librarian

 

 

Online Course Preview

A preview of how we build your library skills and bring inspiration to your projects with our online learning experience.

Course Format

One-Week Timeline (Course Runs 3+ Weeks)

DAYS 1-2 On Demand	DAY 3 2.5 hours	DAYS 4-7 1-2 hours (optional)
PRE-LIVE SESSION - Resources - Discussions - Bonus Content	LIVE SESSIONS - Guest speakers via webcast - Q&A via chat - Recordings available on demand	ASYNCHRONOUS WORKSHOP - Project-based homework, applied to your job - Personalized feedback from a facilitator - Group discussion in an asynchronous workshop setting via discussion forum	3-WEEK WORKSHOP - Facilitator-led feedback WEEK 1 Gather data WEEK 2 Exploring model programs WEEK 3 Setting goals

Inspiring Live Guest Speakers + Facilitated Group Workshop for Project-Based Learning

Live session with Andrea Blackman and Tasneem Ansariyah Grace	Live Guest Speakers Each Week Engage with presenters via live video stream, visual presentations, and chats Map out your own initiatives with guidance from an expert advisor Leave with refined, robust strategies designed to make a lasting impact on your community Workshop tangible approaches to your work with input from peer groups

Online Course Features

Recordings of guest speakers

Recordings Available After The Live Session Real-time guest speakers and conversation via live video stream (with recordings available afterward) Instructor-led online course features personalized interaction over 3+ weeks

Facilitator-led workshop

Online Classroom Organizes All Materials Workshop assignments to help you make progress on your goals Individualized attention from course facilitators who work with you in a coaching environment in the workshop to help sort out challenges Ongoing group conversation via discussion forums

Early Access On Demand Resources

Early Access and Ongoing Resources To Support Learning Supporting resources (articles, videos, worksheets) in the online classroom to provide a foundation for your work Access all course content for six months after the course ends Bonus: Register early and get immediate access to archival video recordings from related courses and other bonus content