Ask, Listen, Empower: Grounding Your Library Work in Community Engagement— eEditions e-book

“Never has it been more important for libraries to be the hearts of their communities, and for communities to be active constituents in their library’s ecosystem. Ask, Listen, and Empower encourages those new to community engagement to get actively involved by centering, listening to, and building and partnering with their communities. And even those familiar with this work will come away with new ideas and inspiration for building and maintaining community trust, and remaining proactive in their ideas and services. Ask, Listen, and Empower takes community engagement work to the next level.”
— Nicole A. Cooke

Foreword by Tracie D. Hall

Community engagement isn’t simply an important component of a successful library—it’s the foundation upon which every service, offering, and initiative rests. Working collaboratively with community members—be they library customers, residents, faculty, students or partner organizations— ensures that the library works, period. This important resource from ALA’s Public Programs Office (PPO) provides targeted guidance on how libraries can effectively engage with the public to address a range of issues for the betterment of their community, whether it is a city, neighborhood, campus, or something else. Featuring contributions by leaders active in library-led community engagement, it’s designed to be equally useful as a teaching text for LIS students and a go-to handbook for current programming, adult services, and outreach library staff. Balancing practical tools with case studies and stories from field, this collection explores such key topics as

• why libraries belong in the community engagement realm;
• getting the support of board and staff;
• how to understand your community;
• the ethics and challenges of engaging often unreached segments of the community;
• identifying and building engaged partnerships;
• collections and community engagement;
• engaged programming; and
• outcome measurement.

Sharing numerous examples of successful change, dialogue and deliberation, and collaborative efforts, this book offers a comprehensive look at community engagement work that can help all libraries reinforce their roles as champions of lifelong learning.