Building Leadership Skills: Community Engagement

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Building Leadership Skills Community Engagement

• Instructor
• Valerie J. Gross
• grossv_at_HCLibrary.org
• An Infopeople Workshop
• Spring 2007

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Workshop Overview

• Aligning library services with community
  priorities and values
• Making yourself and your library visible
• Identifying and communicating with communities
  and stakeholders
• Pragmatic Partnering

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Who is our community?

• All cultures
• All means
• All backgrounds
• All passions
• All lifestyles
• Babies
• Pre-K
• K-12
• Schools
• Adults
• Older Adults
• Parents
• Homeschools

• Businesses/Non-profits
• Work Force
• Organizations (e.g., Chamber of Commerce)
• Government departments (e.g., Economic
  Development Authority, Housing, Office on Aging)
• Elected Officials
• Community Leaders
• Donors
• Volunteers
• Friends
• Media

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What is Engagement?

• When we are relevant to everyone and to
  everything
• When each segment of our community
• views us as
• vital, critical
• vital indispensable
• and indispensable funding

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How Does Customer Service Relate to Community
Engagement?

• The stepping stone to engaging the community
• Everyone on staff involved everyone a leader
• First impressions
• Id walk over nails to get to your library

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Priorities and ValuesA Collective List

• Health
• Environment (Green)
• Science/Math
• Civility
• Genealogy
• Safety (online, gangs)
• Technology
• Literacy
• Computer Literacy
• Financial Literacy

• Travel
• Intellectual Freedom
• Cultural Diversity
• Intergenerational
• Cultural Center
• Community Center
• Education
• Economic Advancement
• Quality of Life

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Education

• The activities of educating or instructing or
  teaching
• Information about a subject matter
• Knowledge acquired by learning
• Activities that impart knowledge
• The process of acquiring knowledge
• An enlightening experience

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Our UMBRELLA Education
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Under the Education Umbrella

• You! (ALL staff, plus volunteers, Board, Friends)
• Collection (print, electronic)
• Childrens classes and events

• Teen classes and events
• Adult classes, seminars and events
• Cultural Center
• Community Center
• Signature initiatives

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You might prefer three umbrellas

• Education
• Economic Advancement
• Quality of Life

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What Can We Crow About?

• Innovation
• Thinking Outside the Box
• Signature Programs
• Partnerships
• Lets share some examples!

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Be a Shameless Self-promoter!
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Suggested Phrases

• We are a pillar of education.
• We are a cornerstone in the education process.
• We are partners in education.

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What are other words that work?

• Which do you value more?
• Which do you support more?
• a used car
• a certified pre-owned vehicle
• drilling for oil
• exploring for energy

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What Does Storytime Mean?

• To someone who works in a library?
• To someone who does not use the library?

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Its a Self-fulfilling Prophecy

• We become what we say we are.
• Lets speak BIG!
• We are a world-class library.
• We are a pillar of education.
• Our staff is second to none.
• We are relentless about providing exceptional
  customer service.

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The Elevator Speech

• Who are we?
• What do we do?
• Why does it matter?

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The Ten Rules of Effective Language

• Simplicity use small words
• Brevity use short sentences
• Credibility is as important as Philosophy
• Consistency matters
• Offer Something New
• Sound and Texture matter
• Speak Aspirationally
• Visualize
• Ask a Question
• Provide Context and explain Relevance

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Getting Involved Broader Benefits

• Heightened visibility for the library
• Building the librarys reputation for excellence
• Helping to create the indispensable library
• Part of the community engagement process

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Representing the Library

• Be informed
• Be ready with modified elevator speeches for
  questions such as
• Tell me what you do?
• Is the Internet replacing the library?
• Is the book on its way to extinction?
• Arent you in direct competition with bookstores?

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Libraries Mean Business

• We save you money.
• We save you time.
• We serve you directly.
• We serve you indirectly.
• We serve you through giving and visibility
  opportunities!

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Why Partner?

• Capitalize on strengths and expertise
• Gain visibility
• Leverage funding (enhances credibility with
  government and taxpayers)

• Establish new or expand existing programs
• Attract more outside funding
• Get new customers
• Double the marketing
• Attract other partners

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First Two Questions

• Whats in it for us?
• Whats in it for them?

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The Five Factors

• Supplementas opposed to replacethe programs of
  other organizations
• Advance vision and mission
• Outline administrative authority (funding
  sources, obligations and expectations)
• Benefit the organizations equitably
• Evaluation

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Short-term Partnerships

• Handshake agreements
• Less commitment
• Recommend at least e-mail confirmation of details
• Typically one-shot collaborations

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Long-term Partnerships

• Formal agreements work best
• Incorporate the five factors
• High degree of commitment

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Long-term Partnerships Take Time

• Seed idea initial vision
• Connect with key players assess interest
• Discuss with key library staff (who will lead?)
• Inform Board
• Involve staff (more ideas/gain support)
• Determine costs / needs
• Seed idea begins to grow
• Set forth a plan / determine launch date

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Engage the Community

• Celebration to launch
• Signing ceremony/press conference
• Invite elected officials and community leaders
• Remarks Library board president, partnership
  representatives, mayor/county executive, governor
  (request proclamations!)

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Why might we decline a partnership opportunity?

• Draw an audience?
• Accomplish what we expect?
• Funded?
• Commitment?
• Imbalance?
• the Whats in it for us? and
• Whats in it for them? factors

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Recommended Reading

• The Thriving Library Successful Strategies
  for Challenging Times, by Marylaine Block (2007).
• Words that Work Its Not What You Say, Its
  What People Hear, by Dr. Frank Luntz (2007).

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I love e-mail

• Valerie J. Gross
• grossv_at_HCLibrary.org
• 410.313.7750