Librarians have a set of very useful skills, which could benefit our local communities enormously. Librarians Build Communities is a program designed to match librarian volunteers with organizations in their communities, both to build partnerships between libraries and other organizations and to advocate on behalf of libraries and librarianship, by showcasing librarians' skill sets. It is still in its early stages, with pilot projects in a few cities and states, but we have put together a toolkit for running this program in other areas and hope it will grow quickly.
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“Jobs for Loners”
“Jobs for Loners,” CNBC.com, Daniel Bukszpan, posted May 7, 2012. Slide 2.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/47341964/Jobs_for_Loners?slide=2
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Agenda
Why do we need LBC?
What is LBC?
History
Upcoming projects
Howdo you implement your
own LBC?
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What is Librarians Build
Communities?
A program run at the
regional, state, and local
level
One day of volunteering
Librarians* use library
skills (research, teaching,
technology, organization,
preservation, etc.) to help
local non-profits
Press releases are sent to
local news outlets
* In the same sense as our patrons use the word; any library workers.
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Where did this idea come from?
Started in 2006, in New Orleans, as “Libraries Build Communities”
(sort of)
2007 - Washington, DC
2008 - Anaheim, CA
2009 - Chicago, IL
2010 - Washington, DC
Work was done in libraries, primarily, with a few other non-profits
participating.
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In 2011…
ALA’s Chapter Relations
Office tasked a group of
Emerging Leaders* with
developing LBC into a
program that could be run
at the ALA Chapter (state)
level.
They returned it to its
original name. (Librarians,
not Libraries)
They made progress, but
there was still work left to
do.
*If you would like to know more about the EL program, ask during Q&A!
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In 2012
A second group of ELs
tackled the program.
Logo by
Eric Conrad
Emphasized advocacy
ScopedLBC back down to
one day (for now)
Scoped up to be run
regionally, at the state
level, or at the local level.
(We commissioned a new
logo, too.)
Source: ALA Flickr stream
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Also in 2012
We created a new website at
librariansbuildcommunities.org:
A primer for running your own
LBC day
Templates and graphics
Information about the program
A blog for celebrating successful
volunteering projects
Our final report is available
under . This presentation
will be there, too.
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The LBC website
Mostimportant feature is
the LBC Primer
Based largely on the
Snapshot Day website
(Marci Merola let us
interview her)
Built in WordPress
Will
hopefully find a home
on the ALA website in…
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2013!
A new class of ELs will take on
LBC.
Theyare tasked with finding
LBC a home within ALA.
We hope they can expand the
program beyond one day.
This will be their mentor, Ingrid Abrams.
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Upcoming LBC projects
• LaCrosse, WI – 10/12
• Seattle, WA – 01/13?
• Valdez, AK – 03/13
• Boise, ID – 08/13?
Source: newspaper.li/united-states-map
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Boise? Isn’t that the next PNLA
conference location?
Yes.
GinaPersichini (of ICfL; also a
mentor to my EL group) and I
are hoping to pull together a
committee.
Getin touch with one of us if
you’d like to help!
(Or if you know the best way to
pitch this to the PNLA Board.)
Source: skywatch-media.com
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Alaskan Librarians Build
Communities
We have a wiki - http://
aklbc.pbworks.com
Ourcommittee (currently)
consists of four people.
Contact me to join!
We’replanning to hold our
LBC day immediately before
our annual conference in
Valdez, next March.
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Wisconsin and Seattle?
Wisconsin got the jump on all of us! (One of the 2011 ELs,
Easter DiGiangi, was from WI. She was also our other mentor,
this year.)
WIlibrarian-volunteers will be helping the LaCrosse Friends of
the Public Library with selection/deselection of gifts.
JaimeHammond has offered to run LBC for the next ALA
Midwinter conference, in Seattle. (Want to be on her committee?
Email her at jhammond@nvcc.commnet.edu!)
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Agenda
Why do we need LBC?
What is LBC?
History
Upcoming projects
Howdo you implement your
own LBC?
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How to host a murder mystery LBC
day
Pitch it to your association’s board
Put together a committee
Choose a day (immediately before or after a
conference is an easy one)
Create a website for easy reference
Find librarian volunteers
Find community organizations to partner with
Publicize your successful volunteer day
Source: voices.yahoo.com
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Pitching it to your board
BothAlaska’s and
Wisconsin’s boards
were very receptive;
yours probably will be,
too
You can see the
documents submitted to
each board under the
LBC Primer’s
Templates & Graphics
section.
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A word of (hard-earned) advice
Whenever pitching this
program, whether to your
board or to a potential
volunteer, list the benefits
first
“Know your audience” –
what problems will LBC
solve, what good will it do
for the people you’re talking
to?
Source: exhilarateevents.com
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Your committee (theoretically)
A chair, or co-chairs
Someone from the host city
Someone from your library
association
Someone from each type of
library – public, academic,
school, special
(Notactually 7 people; these
roles hopefully overlap!)
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Alaska’s committee
Public, Academic, School, and Special are all represented!
But nobody local to Valdez.
Chair/Liaison to National LBC
Volunteer Recruiter
PR Czar
Logistics Czar
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Choosing a day
At
the state or regional level, no-brainer: pre- or post-
conference!
Doing a local version of LBC? (You should!)
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day - http://mlkday.gov/
National Volunteer Week (same in Canada and US, usually the third
week of April)
Anniversary of the founding of your library association
Local volunteer day
Source: winona.edu
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Creating a website
You guys, this is so easy.
I promise.
Step 1: Get an account with PBWorks
It’s free
Their interface is WYSIWYG
Step 2: Go steal Alaska’s!
(Just like everyone doing Snapshot Day stole NJLA’s website,
including Alaska.)
Step3: Customize for your particular setup. If nobody will make
you a logo, go get Lily from the LBC website!
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Get librarian volunteers
Ask on mailing lists
Ask your colleagues, individually
Remind everyone that this is advocacy
Remind everyone that they’re helping organizations that need
them.
Remind everyone that it’s only a few hours.
If all else fails…
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Appeal to their self-interest!
Volunteering is good for
you!
Networking
Resume/CV
Learning new skills
Leadership experience
“Practice on someone else’s
stuff.”
Sense of accomplishment
Pro-volunteering discussion
points are available on the
LBC website
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Find community organizations
Your
local committee member
may have ideas
United Way is known for keeping
lists of local non-profit
organizations
The Rotary, the AARP, and the
Lions Club may also have ideas
or projects for you
There’s
a sample letter at the
LBC website.
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Take pictures, get quotes, and
publicize!
There’sa form on the LBC
website for submitting blog
posts and photos to the
LBC blog.
Sample Press Releases
are available in the
Templates & Graphics
section, as well!
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Other things to consider
“Logistics”
- Depending on location, this may
be optional.
Getting volunteers to and from the volunteer
location.
T-shirts, or no?
Feeding the volunteers, or no?
Remembering to send thank-you notes after
the event.
Source: wikipedia.org
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And that’s really it!
Now you know how to run LBC yourself!