Creative Community Partnerships: Library Outreach Means Something

Stop by the library and read a great book, listen to a guest speaker, watch a movie, browse your favorite magazines or check your email.  While you are there, read all the latest newspapers, borrow an audio book, fill out a request for a book you’d like to see in the collection, make copies or send a fax.  Don’t forget to join a book club, or the gardening club, or the chess club.  Certainly plan to check out audio books, print books, movies, magazines or video games for your personal enjoyment at home, until your next visit.  Your local library has so much waiting for you! 

All of what the library offers when you visit is satisfying, but it is what the library does beyond its doors that will amaze you.  Reaching out into the community is an integral part of library services; a part that most librarians love.  Here are just a few of the community partnerships currently in practice in southeast Michigan libraries, and probably in a library near you!

Starfish    

The Starfish Early Learning Resource Center, a subdivision of Starfish Family Services, is partnering with local libraries to bring story times and parenting classes to local communities.  Starfish, founded in 1963, is a nonprofit organization serving Metro Detroit families by preparing young children for a successful start in school through story times and playgroups.  Because the group recognizes the importance of parents and caregivers in the long-term success of a child, they offer parenting classes to teach important skills.  The Starfish Early Learning Resource Center is currently partnering with the following Southeast Michigan libraries, utilizing library space to provide services library patrons:

1.       William P. Faust Public Library of Westland, Westland, MI  48185     Next Program:  Aug 4, 7, 14, 2014    http://www.westland.lib.mi.us/kids/events/2014-08

2.       Leanna Hicks Public Library, 2005 Inkster Rd., Inkster, MI  48141      Next Program:  July 28, 2014   http://www.inkster.lib.mi.us/events.html

For more information, and a link to scheduled classes presented by the Starfish Early Literacy Resource Center, please click on the following link:  http://www.starfishonline.org/elc.html

American Red Cross

The American Red Cross is the largest single supplier of blood and blood products in the United States.  The Red Cross collects 6.5 million units of blood from approximately 4 million donors nationwide every year.  This means that the Red Cross needs donors, and libraries have them.  Partnering with libraries means using the library’s meeting rooms, and that the library help with a bit of advertisement, but all of this is worthwhile to these community partners:

1. Gerald R. Ford Library, 1000 Beal Ave., Ann Arbor, MI  48109     Donate on:  July 22, 2014      http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/
2. Salem South Lyon Library, 9800 Pontiac Trail, South Lyon, MI  48178     Donate on:  Aug 11&12, 2014      http://ssldl.info/
3. William P. Faust Public Library of Westland, Westland, MI  48185     Donate on:  Aug 13, 2014    http://www.westland.lib.mi.us/kids/events/2014-08
4. Huntington Woods Library, 26415 Scotia, Huntington Woods, MI  48070     Donate on:  Aug 20, 2014     http://www.huntington-woods.lib.mi.us/
5. Plymouth District Library, 223 Main St., Plymouth, MI  48170     Donate on:  Aug 25, 2014       http://plymouthlibrary.org/

These libraries and more support the American Red Cross Southeast Michigan Blood Services Region by securing life-saving blood donors.  (Consider donating… you’ll feel good knowing you've helped change a life!)

MAP

Have you heard about a new way to explore the history and natural wonders of Michigan?  The Michigan Activity Pass, or MAP, presented by The Library Network, is a year-long partnership between Michigan's public libraries (over 600 of them!) and 60 cultural and art organizations.  The program provides learning experiences for library card holders of all ages! 

Library users with a valid library card can print a pass from home or at the library.  Some of the participating organizations offer complimentary or reduced price admission; others offer discounts in their gift shop or other exclusive offers.  Once you print your pass, be prepared to use it.  The Michigan Activity Pass expires within one week from the day it is printed. Each library will have five passes for each of the participating organizations available.

For a complete list of organizations to visit, please click on the following link:  http://tln.lib.mi.us/map/Files/MAP%202014-2015%20brochure%20v2.pdf

Click here to print a Michigan Activity Pass:  http://www.eventkeeper.com/prmaps/code/index.cfm?mn=628322

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It is really important that communities take advantage of all resources available, especially their own libraries!  It is equally important for LIS professionals to seek partnerships within the communities in which they work.  Big or small, we all can make a difference... one partnership at a time!

Thanks for taking the time to read about how libraries and communities are working together.  Please leave a comment about any of the partnerships listed above, or about any others you would like to share!         

-  Cari

References

Starfish Family Services, 30000 Hiveley, Inkster, MI.  Retrieved from website: http://www.starfishonline.org/index.html

William P. Faust Public Library of Westland, Westland, MI.  Calendar of events.  Retrieved from website:  http://www.westland.lib.mi.us/kids/events/2014-08

Leanna Hicks Public Library, 2005 Inkster Rd., Inkster, MI.  Calendar of events.  Retrieved from website:  http://www.inkster.lib.mi.us/events.html

Information Literacy Community Partnerships Toolkit.  ALA Special Presidential Committee, 2000-2001.  Retrieved from website: http://library.austincc.edu/presentations/CommunityPartnerships/communitypartnerships1.html

American Red Cross – Southeast Michigan Blood Services, 100 Mack Ave., Detroit, MI 48201.  Information retrieved from website:  http://www.redcrossblood.org/make-donation-v5?distance[postal_code]=48185&field_sponsor_code_value=&elt=48185

The Library Network MAP Program.  Brochure can be found here:  http://tln.lib.mi.us/map/Files/MAP%202014-2015%20brochure%20v2.pdf. 

Loyola's Information Commons: A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing

I'm going to be honest.  I think that the concept of the Information Commons is a cool idea.  By definition, an information commons can be classified by any information system that exists to produce, preserve, and allow access to information.  Neat.  Now, then that means a traditional library, by definition, is an information commons, right?  Definitely.  Ok, awesome.  Is the opposite therefore true as well?  Is an information commons a library?  This answer is more complicated: not necessarily.

To me, libraries, while homes to information, derive their significance from the physical collection of books, manuscripts, newspapers, or any other print material.  An information commons does not have to have physical books in order to fulfill its purpose.  To state clearly, then... An information commons that does not house traditional library materials, cannot therefore be qualified as a library.

I spent the last two years studying at Loyola University Chicago's Lakeshore campus.  From day one, the thing that bothered me about Loyola (other than the fact that the student rec center was ALWAYS under construction) was that school administrators attempted to pass the Richard J. Klarchek Information Commons off as a library.  The Richard J. Klarchek Information Commons, better known as simply "the IC" on campus, is not a library.  However, the school has tied the IC to the library-which does make sense-while increasingly touting its importance over the library-not ok.

When the IC was finished in 2005, Loyola made several changes.  The most interesting move is that they closed the doors to Elizabeth M. Cudahy Memorial Library.  No joke.  The IC connects to the library in the shape of an upside down "L" with a cafe in the corner between the two buildings.  In order to increase student use of the new facility when it was created, school administrators decided to lock the doors of Cudahy Library to "encourage" (read: force) students to use the IC.  So, in order to get to the circulation desk, at the most northwest point of the library (and RIGHT NEXT TO the old library doors so that the circulation librarian could keep an eye on the doors), one must enter through the IC, walk through the entire IC, Connections Cafe, and the length of the library.  This is highly cumbersome, annoying, and plain silly.  Thanks to social media platforms, twitter specifically, students have voiced their opinion through the hashtag "open the doors."

The other interesting, and frankly ridiculous, decision the administration made was to move the reference librarian's offices to the Information Commons.  Let's back up for a second here.  What exactly makes up the IC?  The IC has hundreds of computers spread out across the first, second, and third floors.  Floors two and three are lined with group study rooms on the north and south sides of the building.  The attempt- and success- of this building is to be able to access and share information among the community of Loyola students.  What the IC does not have, however, is books.  Why in the world would a reference librarian's main offices be located in an area where there are no physical library resources?  This decision separates the librarian from his resources, and the people who would use them, whom he is hired to assist.

Ultimately, the goal Loyola had with the IC was to foster a greater sense of community within Loyola's student body through a central location where they can study.  The side effect of this, however, is that by attempting to increase the use and importance of the Information Commons, Loyola is decreasing the importance of the library that has been an integral part of the university since its inception in 1870.  While information commons might have non-physical library resources, libraries are special places that house, preserve, and make accessible physical information resources.  In conclusion, then, a library is an information commons, but an information commons is not necessarily a library.  Both have their strengths and their weaknesses, but Loyola's administration will not be able to foster a greater sense of community within its student body through an attempt to build up one information space while breaking down and decreasing the importance of another.

Public Libraries in Very Different Cities

This blog is going to be a two-part series.  I spent many hours throughout several days visiting multiple libraries in order to best evaluate the existing partnerships within these communities.  The libraries I will be writing about are the Coeur d'Alene Public Library, the Chicago Public Library System, and the Elizabeth M. Cudahy Library at Loyola University Chicago.  I also spent time at the Molstead Library at North Idaho College in Coeur d'Alene and Foley Center Library at Gonzaga University.  While the latter two are indeed interesting libraries that serve specific communities, I did not end up evaluating these libraries for this blog.  I'm excited to see what y'all think about my evaluation of the Coeur d'Alene Public Library, the Chicago Public Library System, and Loyola University Chicago's library system.

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I recently moved from Chicago to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.  For those of you who don't know where that is, it's waaaaay North in the panhandle of Idaho, smack dab in between Washington and Montana along the I-90.  I love this area.  Not that I didn't love Chicago, but a concrete jungle just can't compete with a gorgeous freshwater lake (let's be honest, Lake Michigan is more like an ocean, and it's not very clean), blue skies, pine trees surrounding you, and clean air.  Summertime on Lake Coeur d'Alene is the most incredible experience.  And in the winter, Chicago isn't even comparable.  It's cold, it snows, it sleets, it rains, or it literally gets too cold to snow (ahem, -42 degrees this past winter).

Where Chicago has somewhat of an advantage, however, is its libraries.  Being a massive metropolitan area, and serving a HUGE population, Chicago has more resources than the local library here in Coeur d'Alene.  For starters, there are actually different branches of the Chicago Public Library.  Chicago Public Libraries have the unique opportunity to connect with their patrons through several different sites.  Different users flock to different sites, and each library can "put its best foot forward," so to speak.  Patrons can pick and choose which library they wish to visit, based on the merits the patrons themselves apply to each space.  For example, depending on the availability of reference materials, the environment in which I wanted to study, or the area in which I was previously out and about in the city, I would choose to go to a different library depending on my needs.

Each library does not have to have physical access to everything in each location, because their network allows for the collections to be shared or loaned between libraries.  Therefore, each library is able to foster partnerships with its specific patrons, and often even the communities (or in Chicago's case, neighborhoods) in which they are located. This allows for the many libraries that make up the Chicago Public Libraries to move forward as a single institution while catering to and building partnerships with the different neighbors of the city.

In Coeur d'Alene, there is only one library.  This institution does not have the luxury of offering multiple venues and homes for the libraries' collections.  The Coeur d'Alene Public Library has to put its best foot forward and attempt to connect with as many patrons as possible through only one space.  The recently redesigned home (read: new building) for the library has helped the Coeur d'Alene Public Library develop a stronger connection to the community it serves.  The Coeur d'Alene Public Library has always been located in the downtown area of the city, but has not always been very easy on the eyes.  The new building, which opened its doors in 2007, is beautiful, welcoming, still located downtown, and overlooks a multi-million dollar park.

The creation of this park was the ultimate goal of the city, in order to create a more cohesive area for the public to frolic.  The back wall of windows in the Coeur d'Alene Public Library looks out over basketball and tennis courts, baseball diamonds, dog runs, open space, and multiple playgrounds for children.  The location of this park has helped foster a feeling of community, not just being physically located IN a community, between the public and the public spaces of the park and the library.  The library has really embraced the park, and now offers programming that complements recreation schedules.  As such, there is greater loyalty, more visitation to the library, and a stronger connection between the public and its library.

The Chicago Public Libraries system and the single public library in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho are extremely different.  However, this has not stopped them from creating and fostering partnerships within their respective communities.  While Chicago libraries can highlight different areas of the overall collection and appeal to different patrons individually, the Coeur d'Alene Public Library has piggybacked on the success of the new public park, and its flexibility and adaptability have allowed the library to redevelop a sense of community between the public and its public spaces in Coeur d'Alene.

Libraries, Small Business, Entrepreneurs: A Mutually Beneficial Relationship

When I enrolled as a college freshman at Michigan State in 2002 the cost per credit hour was $179.75. In the fall of 2013 that same cost per credit hour had risen to $428.75. Assuming that you know what you want to do from day one, don’t take any superfluous courses (Bowling 101 anybody?), and make it through the four year gauntlet, at a minimum of 120 credits per bachelor’s degree that equates to $51,450 in cost to today’s student. This doesn’t account for room and board, cost of living, beer, and pizza money. Admirably, Little Caesar’s is doing their part with $5.00 Hot and Readies. But even the savviest of deal seeking college students is still looking at well over $100,000 spent over the course of their education, and $150,000 might be more realistic.

If someone had told me in 2002 that going for a four year degree in history because, you know, I liked history wasn’t the best idea, they may have had a point. The point is becoming painfully more valid as the damage inflicted on students’ finances and credit climb with each subsequent year. The higher education or bust contingent will point out that average salary is still higher for someone with a college degree vs. someone without. True. Someone with a college degree, on average, will earn $45,000 a year. Just a high school diploma will net an average of $30,000 a year. An associates’ degree, meeting somewhere in the middle, will earn an individual an average of $37,000 a year. So, yes, a four year degree earns more. Only, it will take close to a decade before those higher earnings compared to a high school graduate offset the cost of the degree. How long will it take to offset the cost compared to someone with an associates’ degree? Closer to twenty years. That doesn’t even factor in the amount of time you are effectively out of the work force earning said degree.

All of this isn’t to say that a four year college education isn’t still valuable or worthwhile for the right individual. It is to suggest that the decision itself shouldn’t be a cookie cutter template forced on all people. Increasingly, liberal arts degrees are coming under fire, both in terms of their employment placement rates and the post graduate skills they bestow on their students. They’re an easy and potentially misguided target. There is another degree I’d like to throw a questioning light on: business. More specifically, I’d like to question the value of a bachelor’s degree in business for the young entrepreneur looking to start their own business. Think about it, if that entrepreneur takes four years of their life and $150,000 or more in investment and puts it toward their own business, aren’t they better off?

You might counter that the networking among fellow students and professors and the insights you gain can’t be replicated. What about gaining direct working experience instead? The craft brewing industry in Michigan, now contributing over 2 billion annually to the state’s economy, is a great example of this. Lots of people get their start by working their way up at established Michigan breweries, learning the business from firsthand experience. Once they start to approach investors, they have credibility built up.

Hold on, they didn’t go to college. So how do they know how to write a business plan? Where to look for financing? How to go about applying for an EIN? Navigating employment law? There is a famous scene from Good Will Hunting where Matt Damon compares the virtue of $150,000 degree against a $1.50 in late fees from your public library, and finds the degree wanting. There is no better place for the young entrepreneur to go to start doing their research than the local library. The information and resources available, free of cost, cannot be matched.

Yet, many individuals looking to start their own business do not even think about the library. This is where it is up to the library to not only promote the resources available to the community they serve, but to carefully cultivate and develop these resources. Hiring a business librarian specifically to assist those looking to open a business, as well as new businesses starting out, would be a wise investment where funding permits. There are more than a few libraries that have taken such steps. The DC Public Library offers their e-BIC program (enhanced business information center), where they provide local small businesses and entrepreneurs with training, consulting and computer software.  The Kansas City Public Library offers seminars and workshops specifically geared toward educating small businesses on how to secure financing.

Partnerships like this have an immense benefit, not just to the individuals that they are helping, but to the libraries themselves and the communities in which they exist and serve. Robert R. Pankl makes a compelling case in his paper “Marketing the Public Libraries Business Resources to the Business Community” that as a public library “makes a measurable contribution to the economy of the community, the public library as a whole becomes more relevant and essential.”* This makes sense not just to justify funds for public libraries, but contributing to a strong local economy also means that there are more funds available to feed back into the library.

While it may not be feasible for every public library to go to the same extent that, say, the Kansas City Public Library has, libraries owe it to themselves and their communities to ask what they can do. Bringing in a local business leader for an evening forum or a weekend seminar could be an effective way to engage. At the very least, libraries should highlight the services they do offer and how to access community resources. Libraries can be effective advocates for state services that people may not know about. For instance, how many people in Michigan are aware of the MILE Act (The Michigan Invests Locally Exemption), allowing intrastate crowdfunding in Michigan?

Recognizing the need, many cities have put departments into place to assist with attracting new businesses, such as the Lansing Economic Development Corporation. Rather than building a department from scratch, they could have looked to their libraries. Smart librarians should look into what services their communities are already offering through these departments and volunteer their services to braid the library into this fabric. If no such department exists in the library’s area, create a model that the library can fulfill.  Offering to do demographic studies, market research, compiling and organizing resources available to businesses (grants and finance assistance, for starters) can save the city time and money, all while reminding the community of the wealth of resources already available to them.

The public library, as a free source of information, should serve as a valuable tool to the young entrepreneur in their community. And libraries have an obligation to foster that connection. If you want to open your own business, you could take on debt, delay your entry in to the workforce and hope that it all works out for the best. Or you could check out your local library and use that money on, well, your business. 

-Gregory Harris 6/5/14

* Pankl, Robert R. "Marketing the Public Library’s Business Resources to Small Businesses." Journal of Business and Finance Librianship 15 (2010): 94-103. Web. 29 May 2014.