Communities Thread

I really enjoyed the Communities Thread in the Atlas of New Librarianship and the discussion that was generated this week online. The group that was facilitating the discussion asked great questions that not only recapped the theories that were presented in the Communities Thread, but uncovered examples of community engagement in action.

I believe it is often difficult to find an active community that willing to converse. As Lankes and the facilitators of the discussion pointed out, “communities are notoriously bad at communicating what they’re after.”  It’s one thing to get the community in the door (and I know this is an issue worth discussing on its own), but what about the next step? Many libraries have a supportive community, where patrons come in regularly and use the collection and vote to support the library, but isn’t there another step? Don’t we want them to participate in a conversation and be strong advocates for us? How do we make this happen? I am curious if other organization (for-profit or non-profit) have found a way to facilitate this conversation. What was the platform they created or used to encourage participation?

It is great to find others who align with this belief that libraries need to meet the needs of their communities by inviting their communities to be part of the conversation, but now I would love to find others who have put this plan into action. What did they do to get people involved? What are they doing to build lasting relationships with their community? How are they creating an environment where everyone is eager to participate and contribute? I know there are still people we need to convince of our mission, but let’s show them our mission in action and how powerful a conversation can be. What steps have you taken to realize this mission? What steps have you seen others take?