COMMUNITY ORGANIZERS: WHAT WE DO Practice active listening to build relationships Identify and respond to the needs of a community Analyze causes and sources of inequity Find and build a network of community members Build the capacity of community members to create the changes they want to see Train, support and educate community leaders Engage community groups and library staff in strategic planning

DEFINITIONS Community Outreach – The act of building awareness and sharing information about programs, resources and services with people in a community. Ex: door-knocking, tabling, flyering, phone-banking Community Engagement – Building relationships between staff and surrounding communities to empower people to take ownership of their library and its resources. Engagement is an active partnership that serves the interest of local communities and the public good. Ex: Getting community members involved in the planning and execution of programming. Facilitating conversations in which people can envision what they want out of their library. Capacity Building - Supporting the development of skills and/or resources that enable an individual, organization, or community to achieve their goals more effectively and efficiently, so they can take on new, greater, or more complicated endeavors. Ex: Doing political education training for the community, providing facilitation and communication training for staff, fundraising training for Friends groups, working individually with Friends group to help them plan a meeting

Organizing Principles The ability to make change rests in relationships. Empowerment is a journey. Leaders are developed, not born. Take people from where they are, not where you want them to be. Never do for others what they can do for themselves. Self-interest moves people. Relationships are reciprocal. Library organizers train leaders--leaders organize.

MEETING COMMUNITY NEEDS: English language learning for Civic Engagement

English language learning for Civic Engagement

Questions?

Story of Self Training