15th Annual Library Leadership Institute: Libraries at the Crossroads www.lapl.org Social Issues and the Library: Leveraging the Physical and Virtual Presence of the Library To Affect Change in Communities 15th Annual Library Leadership Institute: Libraries at the Crossroads Bangkok, Thailand John F. Szabo May 14, 2017

LIFELONG ACCESS LEARNING EQUITY DIVERSITY/ INCLUSION OPPORTUNITY www.lapl.org ACCESS LIFELONG LEARNING EQUITY DIVERSITY/ INCLUSION OPPORTUNITY EMPOWERMENT

Public Libraries: Engines of Development www.lapl.org Public Libraries: Engines of Development

IFLA, The Lyon Declaration The Declaration states clearly that access to information supports development by empowering people to: Exercise their civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights Learn and apply new skills Make decisions and participate in an active and engaged civil society Create community-based solutions to development challenges Ensure accountability, transparency, good governance, and empowerment Measure progress on public and private commitments on sustainable development.

Our Major Initiatives Immigrant integration/citizenship www.lapl.org Our Major Initiatives Immigrant integration/citizenship Addressing health disparities – health information and services Financial literacy Workforce development Veterans

Your Path to U.S. Citizenship Begins at Los Angeles Public Library www.lapl.org Your Path to U.S. Citizenship Begins at Los Angeles Public Library “Citizenship Corners” established in all 73 Library locations Training for Library Staff Library partners with community organizations to provide classes and events in all 73 libraries 7

www.lapl.org Path to Citizenship Over 37,000 people have taken their first step on the path to citizenship at the Library. Offered more than 2,900 programs, classes, workshops on naturalization Over 20 community partner organizations

Preventing Summer Slide www.lapl.org Preventing Summer Slide Summer Reading 15,000+ Meals in Summer 2016 600+ Eye Exams 11

The Go-To Place for Health Information www.lapl.org The Go-To Place for Health Information Staff trained on Covered California, MediCal and other options to better serve patrons with the Affordable Care Act Partnering with nonprofits to provide outreach, education and enrollment in our libraries Working with our partners to provide health education and services in our libraries Developed health web portal to integrate our health eMedia with our regular health collection.

www.lapl.org Veterans’ Resources

Long-term strategic benefit Meets an important community need www.lapl.org The “why”: Audience building Advocacy Long-term strategic benefit Meets an important community need 21

Questions for discussion: Is your institution engaged in work of this nature? What are ways that this approach can translate for academic libraries? How can you help your university/institution address an issue that they would not immediately think of the library as part of the solution? How can you make the library even more the center of university life and academics? How might this change how faculty, staff, students and administration think about the library?

www.lapl.org Thank you! 28