1. Let ’ s Get Out There: Building Community Connections Julie Buchanan Older Adult Specialist Dayton Metro Library

2. Community Partnerships – A Working Definition  Connection - can be as simple as a conversation about what each organization does, filing away the information for use later  Partnership - an agreement, whether formal or informal, to work together to the mutual benefit of both organizations either as a one- time project or in an ongoing capacity.

3. What ’ s in it for Me?  Joint programming opportunities  Publicity for programs and services Maybe even a built-in audience  Sharing resources  Avoiding duplication of services in the community  Well-positioned for future opportunities

4. Finding Potential Partners  Meet with people at organizations who serve older adults Area Agency on Aging Senior Centers Lifelong Learning programs Senior Living Facilities Other groups and/or nonprofits in your community

5. Evaluation  Check in periodically to see how things are progressing  If things aren ’ t working out… Tweak it and try again Respectfully end it

6. Baby Boomer Advisory Council  Members provide library with feedback about library ’ s programs, services, and facilities  Get a sense of trends, issues, and concerns affecting this cohort

7. Lifelong Library Website  http://lifelonglibrary.daytonmetrolibrary.org http://lifelonglibrary.daytonmetrolibrary.org  Outlet for sharing information about community connection  Elicit responses from surveys and emails from our patrons

8. Questions???

9. Let ’ s Share:  Tell us about a community connection that your library has built. How has it benefited the library? Would you consider it successful and worthwhile?

10. Bibliography  Ohio Library Council ’ s Community Connections: A Toolkit for Public Libraries http://www.olc.org/communityconnections.as p