Libraries Boost Economic Opportunities

Libraries and Economic Opportunities

Unit 1. What does ‘economic
opportunity’ mean for
libraries?
In this training, we aim to help libraries become an essential asset in their
community for people looking for jobs, to increase their skills, or to apply their
skills in a way that increases their incomes. Libraries should help people create
and take advantage of economic opportunities.
We start from a few central premises:
➔ Most people’s schedules and opportunities are inherently fluid and
unpredictable. While organized ‘workforce development’ training
programs may offer a specific skill over a limited period, these aren’t
right for or available to everyone. Communities need a non-formal hub
for learning and access to information that can help them find
opportunities and build new skills.
➔ In the 21st century, most jobs that provide the opportunity for economic
advancement require some measure of IT skills. For this module, we
assume that libraries have public access devices connected to the internet
that visitors can use to access information or gain or strengthen their
computer skills. It doesn’t necessarily need to be computers - libraries in
some places are offering this type of service on tablets or smartphones.
But to be able to offer useful services for economic opportunity, libraries
need technology.
Throughout this module, we will look through the eyes of four different types of
potential library users to help consider the best ways for libraries to support their
community members in seeking to improve their economic conditions. These
‘personas’ are:
1. The first-timer (Adebi) - these are people seeking employment for the
first time. They likely have at least secondary or even post-secondary
education. The skills they have may not match perfectly with the job
market needs, and they may need support in the soft skills in order to
find and keep a job--like time management and conflict resolution.
2. The digital novice (Bakari) – these people may not be new to the
employment sector, but they do not have the digital skills needed for job

advancement or better opportunities in the 21st
century economy. They
may not know the full extent of how gaining digital skills could help
them access new opportunities.
3. The small-business entrepreneur (Elewa) – these are business-minded
people who have either already started a small business and need more
skills and knowledge in order to expand it, or have ideas and need the
support and mentoring to turn them into reality.
4. The informal entrepreneur (Hinya) - these are people in a variety of
life situations that are simply looking for supplementary income or ways
to improve their livelihood.
In adapting this training, trainers should feel free to add a fifth persona that
matches a local category if necessary. Blank persona cards are provided.
Facilitators should use terms that are culturally relevant and familiar to the group
of trainees. It is also important to focus on the types of users that are relevant to
the country where training is being held. For example, if the goal of a project is
to help libraries to support youth particularly, then all of the personas could be
adapted to be youth with different backgrounds and needs.
More on the development of personas is described in the Unit 2 of this module.
Prepare + partner with employment offices and agencies
To get the most out of this module, you will need to work with your training
partner to identify the key employability and entrepreneurship services and
resources available in the country, region, or city prior to adapting this module.
PREPARE AHEAD: Throughout these materials you will see this icon: a
calendar page with a pencil on it. This indicates specific places where
you’ll need to adapt this module by incorporating the results of your
research.
Your pre-training preparation will likely include desk research and consultations
with key stakeholders. The best-case scenario, however, is a strategic
partnership with either the government agency or projects that are in charge of
workforce services in the country where training is being held. This partnership
would mean collaborating with this agency to adapt and localize this module. It
might also involve including partners in the actual delivery of the training.

Often but not always, employment offices have branches and different training
programs that they offer. A Library can be a strong partner to employment
offices in helping them reach more beneficiaries by spreading information about
different services and benefits for the unemployed.
This type of partnership is important because it can lead to longer-term
relationships — and can increase awareness and respect for the role that libraries
play in helping increase employability skills of community members.
PREPARE AHEAD: It is important that the training team familiarize
themselves with local government mandates and services before
delivering this training. It is recommended that you prepare a list of
websites or other resources where employers post job announcements to
share with participants. Facilitators will need to prepare a general
overview of the workforce in the country and the types of skills that are
in high demand and needed.
Some factors you will want to consider in tailoring the module content:
➔ Are jobs more prevalent in the formal or informal sectors?
➔ What are the specific needs and situations of different age groups?
➔ Which formal sectors provide the most employment opportunities?
➔ What skills are commonly missing among people looking for
employment?

Unit 1: learning outcomes
Read learning outcomes aloud with participants.
After completing this unit, participants should:
➔ Have the language and reasoning to talk about how libraries should be
part of the community’s solution for helping people find jobs and
increase incomes
➔ Be aware of initiatives in their country or community oriented at helping
people find jobs
➔ Understand how libraries can support people seeking jobs, or
complement initiatives by other organizations

Guide to using the slide deck
Slide
Number
Facilitation Guide
1 Libraries & Economic Opportunity
A primaryneedinalmosteverycommunityinthe world is jobs. People
are seekingtoincrease theirincomesinordertomanage the increasing
costs of life.
Libraries around the world are finding that if they want to remain
relevant, they must connect their work to economic opportunity. One
of theirprimaryservicesmustbe helpingpeople findworkandincrease
incomes.
Luckily, this has already been proven possible in many places. Once
libraries are clearly meeting the needs of those seeking skills and
employment, they become indispensable in their communities.
2 What are the needs?
To understand how libraries can serve people looking for skills and
work, it is important to understand what the needs are that libraries
can meet.
To be clear, no one is suggesting your library will be the exclusive
solutiontojob-seekers problems by themselves. But it can play a vital
role as part of the solution.
Now we’ll talk about some of the ways libraries around the world are
already serving their community’s workforce and helping people
overcome obstacles to improving their economic opportunities.

3 Employability & Entrepreneurship
Most of the services libraries provide fall into these two categories.
Libraries help people get or improve the skills they need to get the
kindsof jobs that are in demand in the 21st century. They help people
become more ‘employable’.
Or libraries help people who run or are their own small businesses -
people whodon’thave abusinessinfrastructure likeoffices, assistants,
accountants. So these people often have difficulty accessing the
information they need to run their businesses smoothly, and can
benefit from tools that will give their businesses greater reach and
potential for expansion.
In the 21st century,manyof these needs are connected to technology.
Servicesare online.People needITskills.Soa library with public access
devicesisaunique assetinthe community that can meet these needs.
And a library that is meeting these needs is clear benefit to its
community.
4 In the 21st century, most jobs require basic computer skills, including
word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, email, social media.
Without mastery of these skills at a minimum, you aren’t going to get
very far.
And because most schools aren’t teaching these skills, youth who are
entering the workforce need them just as current professionals trying
to advance need them.

5 Computerskillsaren’tthe onlyneed for jobs, though. What employers
now demand is a mastery of ‘soft’ skills, too - the kinds of inter-
personal skills that make an employee successful in their job.
These include:
● Communication
● Working in teams
● Problem-solving
● Time management
● Professionalism
6 But havingskillsisonlypart of the picture. Next is having the ability to
match your skills to the opportunities that are available, and many
people have no idea where to start.
Many jobsare postedonline,butyouneedtoknowwhere tolook,how
to search, and how to apply suitably online.
Those seeking jobs need the chance to meet with employers and
understandwhatthey’re lookingforandwhatemployers’expectations
are about skills.

7 Small business people and entrepreneurs need to get skills that can
improve the waytheywork,like how to track their budgets with Excel,
how to use Word to make signs, how to use Powerpoint for
presentations, or how to set up an email account to communicate
better with their customers or partners.
● In Medellín,Colombiaexistaprogramname CEDEZO whichgive
coursesof basics of excel,word,digital literacy and typing, and
accountabilityforpeople in the community who wants to start
a small business or have a business already and want to
improve their performance.
● This is a sign made to promote their services in the library
8 There is often support - in the form of training, loans, discounts -
available to small entrepreneurs, but that information often doesn’t
reach those who need it most. What entrepreneurs need is a hub
where they can be sure to find accurate information about the
resources and support available to them.
● Room my neighborhood.
● Local information services.

9 These are the main kinds of needs libraries can meet:
● They can help people improve basic IT skills using their public
access computers
● They can connect community members with services that can
benefit from them- either in person or online - in their role as
an information hub
● Theycan helpusers findkey information available online or in
the community, in their role as infomediaries.
● Theycan motivate women and youth to find jobs and improve
their skills taking online courses or creating a network to
support early entrepreneurs.
Ask: Are your libraries providing services that fit under any of these
categories?
● If no one answers affirmatively, make the point that a month
after this training, they will be able to answer the question
differently.
● If some answers are offered, probe on:
o How didyouidentifycommunitymemberswhoneeded
this service?
o What did they library provide specifically?
o What was the outcome?Dotheyknowwhat changedin
users’ lives after the service?
Make the point that after this training, librarians will have
more tools to provide better services in these areas.
So let’s take a look at how some libraries around the world are doing
this.

10 Job Skills
In the Philippines, as in many countries, young people who have
dropped out of school are among the most vulnerable to
unemployment. Through a partnership with the government
departmentresponsible forservicestoout-of-school youth, the library
offers training and certification in computer skills so that participants
are competitive for jobs or further training in the new economy.
11 Job Skills
In Colombia, it has created the National learning service, SENA
(vocational education) which teach young people the skills needed to
work in specific areas in partnership with large companies in the
country. The interesting thing about these programs is that they have
made alliances with libraries to promote the services and deliver
courses and training.

11 Soft Skills
Libraries around Colombia are using the Services of the National Job
center to bring advisory in their spaces. The national service send
trainedstaff injobseeking strategies and entrepreneur consultancies.
The main objective of these consultations is to teach skills that are not
claimedbythe companiesbutwhomanage the employeetostay in the
job and no quit or have a bad experience, including aspects like
handling pressure and job frustration, technic handling emotional
intelligence through the use of informative tips and personal
motivation.
● Psychological tests
● Job interview
● Pos interview
● Body language
Soft Skill – Mentorships
As a good strategy, libraries can implement Mentorships through
national initiatives of a specific sector of the economic to promote
entrepreneurship among youth.
In Nigeria, Agropreneur is changing the mindset of youth towards
agriculture by promoting it as a business while at the same time
providing support for startups, existing young farmers and
agropreneurs also sharing information and resources that create
opportunities for growth, inspires and provides mentorship.
Take a look at:
http://www.agropreneurnaija.com/category/mentor-ship-corner/
Show your young entrepreneurs how other are doing to motivate and

create networks of small startups and business.
12 Matching jobs and skills
In Ukraine,librarieshave setupjobinformationcornersto help people
findthe informationandresourcesnecessarytoapply for jobs, training
and support programs. These are available at all times to anyone who
comesin,providingacentral locationfor employment information not
available elsewhere in the community.
Matching jobs and skills
Colombia is now developing, in partnerships with companies with
corporate social responsibility programs, a project to hire people with
some disabilities to work in customer service, call center and
manufacturing.
The libraries have served to train these people in the use of ICT and
acquire specific skills for the type of work required by companies.
Librariesalsoserve asa place where companiescantraintheirstaff and
look for new staff.

13 Digital skills
In the Philippines, this library is working with home-based
entrepreneurs. These are women who make products at home, like
peanut butter, sausages, soap. The library is training them to make
business cards and product labels to help them market their products
and work more efficiently.
Digital skills
Libraries can provide courses, based on the needs of users and skills
demanded by companies.
Library becomes the meeting place for young entrepreneurs and
women heads of household with similar interests to strengthen
alliances, improve communication channels, networks and business
fairs.

14 Support finding and using resources
In the Philippines, anyone wishing to work overseas needs to get a
police clearance certificate that says they have no criminal record. The
application is online, but many don’t know how to find it or use it.
Libraries in the Philippines are helping people fill out the online form
accurately,drasticallyreducing the time people used to spend waiting
in lines, or the money they would waste hiring professional ‘fixers’.
Support finding and using resources
LibrariesinUruguay(infocenters) are givingadvisoryand trainingusers,
entrepreneurs and job seekers to use information and search for
criminal, banking and educational record on line.
This is thanks to the Beyond access program which joined the services
of the national agency of e-government (AGESIC) and state-owned
telecommunicationscompany(ANTEL) Theseserviceswere provided in
libraries,librariansweretrainedandequippedwithinformaticstools to
support this effort.

15 Working in the community
In this area, libraries don’t need to and shouldn’t be working alone.
There are alreadymanyprograms in your community that are targeted
at helpingpeople make andtake advantage of economicopportunities.
What many of these programs lack, however, is a convenient
community hub that’s open to everyone, with someone dedicated to
helping people find and use information. That’s the purpose a library
serves.
Here are a few examples of programs in our country that help people
find jobs and improve small businesses.
Farmers markets:
Thismodel beginsasa community initiative. Through the library, state
entities interested in institutionalizing the strategy implementing a
program to support the development of the production of handicrafts
and agricultural sales,offering training, support and grants to farmers.
Once a month they get together in city parks and library parks to
market their products and make networks of distribution of raw
materials.
Thisprogram has been maintainedoverthe time and is now popular in
the city of Medellín, generating income to families of the community.

Working in the community
Start up.
Library becomes the meeting place and information search of new
entrepreneurs.
Through Ruta N (a government agency that promotes innovation and
technology in Medellin), libraries provide training programs to create
business and innovations.
Universities and companies get together to perform the “job fair and
training” in which new jobs and technical programs are promoted.
The library provides the space, call and logistical support in return.

Community members share their knowledge freely with the aim of
improving their communities.
For this, Community uses the facilities of the library and librarian
support to form support groups.
Once cases are presented ask the groups to reflect and provide answers to
questions below. Discussion could be done in small groups if time allows or
addressed with the whole group.
➔ Which of these services could people in your community benefit from?
➔ What organizations in your community are offering similar services, if
any?
➔ What advantage does the library have over other places to get this help?
o Emphasize: open to everyone, assistance from staff, adaptability
to different people’s needs, convenient location and hours.
Conclude with message:
Now that we know the types of ways libraries around the world are
addressing economic opportunity, let’s take a look at the people in our
communities who are most in need of these kinds of services.
Move on to Unit 2.

Unit 2. Who Needs Services?
Day Time Duration Topic Content Responsibility Method

KEY TAKEAWAYS — Unit 2
Library is an important place from where
people can receive guidance related to finding
a job or becoming an entrepreneur.
Librarians need to be able to understand the
needs of people coming to the library so they can
provide to them the right advice.
Unit 2 learning outcomes
➔ Be able to categorize the needs of different people in their communities relevant to economic opportunity.
➔ Have new ideas about how to understand and respond to their employment and entrepreneurship needs.
Who can benefit from
economic opportunity
services at the library?
When introducing new services into your library, it’s important to understand the
needs and motivations of those in your community that will benefit from the
service, including existing library patrons and those people who don’t yet use
your library.
In this unit, we’ll discuss the personas that characterize different types of
community members.
PREPARE AHEAD:Review the Training Toolkit section on personas
and review the persona template »
This module provides four sample personas. As a facilitator please
make sure that each persona provided is adjusted and relevant to
typical community members in the country where the training is being
conducted. Update the slide deck so personas match the local context
and have relevant backgrounds.

Activity—Who are the potential job seekers and those who need
information about entrepreneurship?
TIME: 20minutes
MATERIALS:
Flipchart and markers
The goal of this exercise is to get participants to think through their current
library users and about different types of community members that need help
finding and making use of economic opportunities. Start by dividing participants
into four small groups and ask them to take 10 minutes to answer the following
questions in their groups. Each group should record responses on flipchart paper:
1. Who are the people who have come to your library looking for
information related to getting a job and/or generating income?
2. If no one has approached yourlibrary with that type of request, then
who in your community could potentially benefit from the access to this
type of information?
If the participants are struggling ask them general questions about the
employment situation in their community:
Q: Does the majority of youth have jobs in your community?
Potential answers:
● No, most of the time youth graduate from schools then are
unemployed.
● They try to leave our community for bigger cities in hopes of
getting jobs.
Q: Who are the largest employers in your community?
Potential answers:
● We have a factory that employs most of the people in the
community. Besides the factory most of the people sell goods on
the market or fromtheir home. It is alwayshard to know who is
hiring and when and how as this information is not available.
Maybe there is a way to learn howlibrary could help advertise
availability of jobs or the types of skills that they are lacking.

Q: Are there micro-entrepreneurs in your community? What type of
entrepreneurship is there?
PA: There are people who work in the local market. We also have people
who do tailoring or bake cakes but information usually spreads from
person to person about who does what and is not easily accessible.
Q: Do people have tech skills? Who doesn’t have it and could benefit from it?
PA: Youth have some technology skills because they are using cell
phones all the time. Adults don’t knowmuch. Civil servants are supposed
to be using online forums but most of them are self-learners and often
struggle. I don’t think many adults in the community know technology.
Q: Who in your community is not working and not generating income?
PA: There are many young mothers that can’t find part time jobs or
don’t know how to get back into the workforce.
When the time is up, ask one presenter from each group to present and review all
the users that were identified with the participants. Ask each team to hang the
flipchart paper and leave it on the wall. What are some of the similarities and
differences in the users that each group has identified?
Wrap up
Economic, social or technological events affect the way in which people can lose
or find jobs and generate income. For some of them for example the evolution of
technology and access to it is a great opportunity, for some of them it’s not the
case because they may need to have new skills or develop abilities so they can
face the progress. Technology is also changing the way jobs are now being
advertised and how the hiring and recruitment happens, it is also allowing people
to have virtual jobs and tab into more resources. Similarly to jobs, technology is
also changing the way business is being done where entrepreneurs have
opportunity to sell goods online and or become more efficient and expand their
business. People could just come naturally to the library in their quest to find
information and thus the library can promote its resources. However, some of
them may not be aware about what the library has to offer and so the librarian
needs to be aware that there are patrons in risk situation that could benefit from
library resources provided they are receiving the proper guidance.
Activity — Introducing Personas
TIME: 15 minutes

MATERIALS:
Persona packs (from slide deck, one for each participant)
Laptop + Projector
Slide
Number
Facilitation Guide
1-3 Look through the personas on the wall from the previous exercise and
mention how now that we have learned the type of people in our
communities that would benefit from training services on economic
opportunities I want to introduce you to these community members which
in this training we will refer to as “Personas.”
Personas are fictional characters created based on real information which
represents a bigger group of people with particular values, identifications,
lifestyle and interests.
In our training we will be using personas to distill what we know or
assume about a group, providing team members with a common
language and understanding. By focusing on one individual and laying
out details about them — their dreams, struggles, experiences — we
build empathy and are able to think more deeply about their needs,
emotions and day-to-day life. Using personas will help you come up
with innovative service and engagement ideas, and they will make it
easier to explain to others the reasoning behind your decisions. For our
training I have created four personas which I would like you to meet.
4 The first – timer
Name: Adebi
Age: 16
Location: Urban area
Occupation: Recent graduate
Gender: Female
Backstory: Adebi is a middle child in the family of 5.
She just recently graduated from high school with
good grades but is not sure what to do next. She
would like to get a higher education but the spots are
limited and it is expensive to pay for education.
Characteristics: Adebi is a hard worker, quick
learner and an enthusiastic person. She would like to
learn things on her own in order to be better educated
but doesn’t know where to go and where to start. She
is also not sure who she wants to be and what type of
career is right for her.

Goals and motivations: Adebi would like to have a
higher education and a good stable job that could help
save up some money for education. She doesn’t want
to be burden for her family and instead would like to
be helpful. Otherwise, she is also worried that in
couple of years she will need to get married unless she
is able to support herself.
Barriers: School curriculum doesn’t provide
sufficient skills to help her be employable. Adebi
wants to work but doesn’t know how to enter
workforce and where to start.
Trusted Sources: Friends, her favorite teachers at
school, parents.
Technology Access: Adebi has a regular phone that
allows her to make calls and send/receive text
messages. At school, she attended computer science
class but it didn’t provide any skills that are useful.
She knows how to use social media.
5 The digital novice
Name: Bakari
Age: 40
Location: Semi-Urban
Occupation: Unemployed
Gender: Male
Backstory: Bakari has a wife and three children all
under the age of 14. He is the only breadwinner in the
family and has to support everyone. His wife has been
out of workforce taking care of children for over 15
years. He has worked many hard labor jobs, but the
conditions are bad and keep him away from his
family.
Characteristics: Bakari is a serious, focused, hard
worker and committed to ensuring that his family is
taken care of. He is not afraid of new challenges and
work. He is depressed and worried about the future
and not being able to provide for his family.
Goals and motivations: His goal is to find a job and
have ability to take care of his wife and his children.
John needs to find a job fast.
Barriers: Bakari has primarily worked hard labor

jobs since his youth and he doesn’t know what to do
next. He lacks skills and experience in other fields and
will need time for gaining new skills and reorienting
himself.
Trusted Sources: His family, friends, former co-
workers, newspapers and TV news.
Technology Access: Bakari had regular cell phone
and uses it for calling and texting. He is interested in
computers but thinks he is a bit too old to learn.
6 The informal entrepreneur
Name: Hinya
Age: 45
Location: Ruralarea
Occupation: Fruit Stand
Gender: Female
Backstory: Hinya is from a rural area. Her family has
a small plot of land that they use to grow fruit and
crops. Hinya operates a roadside stand to make money
for her family.
Characteristics: Hinya is a hard worker and works
long days to take care of and provide for her family.
Goals and motivations: Hinya wants more resources
to support her family with. She wants her children to
be able to go to get an education. To do that she needs
to be able to save money to cover school fees and
expenses.
Barriers: Hinya has troubles keeping track of the
finances for her fruit stand so it is hard for her to save
money and plan for the future. She has heard that
others are learning how to use computers, but she isn’t
sure if they are for her. She doesn’t understand how a
computer might be able to help her.
Trusted Sources: Her husband, family, news and
friends.
Technology Access: The family has a mobile phone,
but it is mostly used by her husband and children.

7 The small-business entrepreneur
Name: Elewa
Age: 25
Location: Urban area
Occupation: Recent graduate from college
Gender: Male
Backstory: Elewa has just graduated from college
and he always wanted to start his own business and
work for himself. He has some ideas for starting up a
business but isn’t sure how to pursue it. He has some
computer skills and knows how to do basic searching
online. He comes from a family of carpenters and
Elewa himself knows how to do work with wood and
create things.
Characteristics: Elewa is young, enthusiastic and
wants to learn and be successful.
Goals and motivations: He wants to grow his own
business and have an ability to provide employment to
people in his community.
Barriers: Although Elewa has some business ideas he
doesn’t have a startup capital and doesn’t know where
to start. Some of his ideas might be very ambitious
and he needs help and guidance.
Trusted Sources: Internet, friends, his parents.
Technology Access: Elewa has basic computer skills
and owns a smartphone
Next, randomly assign one persona per small group so that each group is working
with a different persona and explain:
- Each group now has a persona with whomthey will work throughout the
next few activities.
- (Optional, based on time.) In your groups, please study your persona
carefully and ‘personalize’ it with information you think is helpful and is
missing fromthe description orneedsto be modified based on the people
specific to your community that represent this specific persona.
- Some modifications might include:
● The region or neighborhood where they live or work.
● Which schools they went to
● What jobs they might have tried before

This activity should suggest to
librarians the kinds of information
they will need to gather from
visitors to learn more about how
they can help them find new
economic opportunities.
- If you think the persona is complete, there is no need to add any
additional information.
When the time is up, ask a representative from the group to explain whether they
have modified their persona and what changes have they made.
Next, selected participants will role play each of the personas.
1. One at a time, ask for a volunteer from each group, so that each persona
is represented.
2. Ask the volunteer to come to the front of the room, and introduce him or
herself as the persona. You may say:
● “Adebi, please tell us a little about you and where you’re
from.”
To get the volunteer in the proper mood to present, you may ask some
introductory questions, like:
o What’s your favorite food?
o What’s your favorite football team?
o What do you like to do on weekends?
3. Next, ask some more specific questions about the persona’s economic
conditions:
● What would you say are your most valuable skills?
● What are some skills you feel you lack?
● What do you feel is preventing you fromgetting a better-
paying job?
4. Next, ask the larger group to follow up and learn more about the persona.
Encourage participants to ask questions related to jobs and income.
Questions might include:
● Where have you been looking for jobs or ways in which
you could generate income?
● How long you have been looking for a job?
● Where do your friends work?
● What kind of work are you most interested in doing?
● Have you asked for help and assistance if so where?

5. After each persona has presented, ask the volunteer to hang the persona
card on the wall, so that it is visible throughout the rest of the training.
6. After all the personas have presented, conclude the activity by asking and
discussing with the group following questions:
● Did you recognize the struggles of each persona?
● Is your library able to meet some of their needs and help
them?
● Is your library currently doing that?
● What kinds of thingscould the library do that would meet
their needs?
Next, we’ll talk about ways your libraries can systematically serve these kinds of
people in your community.

➔ Understand the concrete services that libraries typically offer to meet economic opportunity needs
➔ Be able to assess the employment and skills needs of different community members and consider how their library could respond
Using the Service Templates
In this unit, we will introduce ‘service templates’. These are succinct descriptions
of services libraries can offer to support economic opportunities in their
communities.
PREPARE AHEAD: Sample service templates are provided as part of
this module. For each one, you will need to insert relevant local details
such as local websites, names of government agencies or NGOs, or types
of laws affecting different groups. Make sure to review each and conduct
the relevant research to localize ahead of time. Blank templates in Word
are provided for creating new service templates.
Activity — Introducing Service Templates
TIME: 60 minutes
MATERIALS:
Service templates. You will only need one of each for this exercise, but you
may want to print out individual copies for everyone to distributeafter the session.
Persona cards, printed in number so that there are equal numbers of each
represented and enough for all training participants
Sticky notes
Pens
Projector (optional)
PURPOSE: To introduce services targeted towards economic opportunity

Before this session starts, such as during a short break, hang one example of each
service template on the walls around the room.
1. Start by explaining the following:
➔ We’ve looked at some wayslibraries around the world are helping
people in their communities access economic opportunities.
➔ We’ve had a chance to meet some of the people in our communities
who need this kind of help.
➔ Now we’re going to explore how libraries can plan and offer specific
services, and what those services look like when they are put into
practice thoughtfully.
2. Introduce the service templates by walking over to each one and/or
projecting them on a screen. Briefly explain each one, for example:
➔ This card describes how to create a dedicated job corner in your
library.
There is no need to read the details from each service, as participants will
have the chance to do this on their own next.
3. After you have introduced each service, explain that you’re now going to
give each a card with one of the personas you discussed in the previous
session. Distribute them to the participants.
➔ Now, when I tell you to go, I want everyone to get up and walk
around the room reading about each service.
➔ When you encounter a service that you think your persona would be
interested in, take one of your sticky notes, write their name on it,
and stick it on the wall next to the service.
4. Give the participants enough time to circulate, reading and thinking
about each service. Be available for questions or clarifications. After
everyone has completed the activity, visit some of the services and ask
individual participants questions about their choices, for example:
➔ You thought [Adebi] would visit the job information corner. Why?
➔ Which needs of her could be met this way?
➔ What specific things would she be looking for there?
➔ What help might she need while she’s there?
➔ How would she find out that it’s there?
➔ What would she gain from the corner that would keep her coming
back to the library?

Aim to force participants to see library services through the eyes of the
personas, considering what obstacles the library might currently be
presenting to its community in maximizing the value of its services.
➔ Your library is now only open until 5pmon weekdays, but [Hinya] is
selling fruit at the market until 4pm. If she wants to improve her IT
skills, how might you serve her?
➔ What’s the first thing that [Hinya] sees when she enters the library?
How would she respond to that? What might you change to let her
know she’s welcome and that you have something relevant to her
needs?
Activity — Persona needs and interests
TIME: 40 minutes
MATERIALS: Post-it notes, pens
Flip chart, marker pens
Persona stacks, Handout “Self-assessment Checklist” (A Word version for
editing is located here.)
PURPOSE: Determining what typeof services from which users can benefit from and what
typeof skills he/she needs to gain in order to be employed or to generate income.
Choose top threeservices that library can offer based on persona’s needs.
Start this activity by explaining and highlighting that:
➔ Sometimes it is obvious what type of services people could benefit from
as we learned from the previous exercise. [Bring up example of how
Persona XX will greatly benefit from Service A]
➔ There are different types of skills that help people move forward and get
a better paying job, get employment or learn how to generate income but
sometime people will not know where to start or what they need to get
there.
➔ The library of course can’t focus on developing every single skill and
meeting all the needs of each persona but there are simple services that
we discussed earlier that would connect people to those who can help

them, open up networking opportunities and help people learn where else
to look for the information they need.
➔ Now that we know about these services, we need to help users
understand which ones they can benefit from.
➔ In the next exercise, we will learn how to assess user needs and interests
in a simple way to help you match the right services to the right people.
Provide copies of the self-assessment checklist handout to each participant and
explain the following instructions:
➔ I just distributed a sample checklist that can help you as a librarian
assess yourvisitor’s background and needs. The answers should help
you match your library’s services to the user. They will also help you
understand if there are different services you should be offering.
➔ Please take 2-3 minutes to review them individually and think about
whether this checklist could benefit from additional questions.
Ask whether participants have additional suggestions. Record questions on the
flipchart and then evaluate which of the questions are really important to add.
End by asking everyone to add additional questions that were agreed on to the
evaluation checklist. Next, explain the following:
➔ Now I would like you to go back to the personas that you were assigned
to earlier when you had to choose which service your persona could
benefit from. Taking on this persona I would like you individually answer
self-assessment checklist questions. Please take around 10 minutes to
complete it.
When the individual assignment is completed, divide participants randomly into
four groups, ensuring that each group has representatives from all the personas.
Explain the following:
➔ You group now representsa library. As librarians you now have a pool
of questionnairesthat were filled out by users and you now need to make
sense of them all.

➔ As a group please reviewthe answers in the questionnaires and decide
what the library can offer to meet the most users’ needs.
➔ As a group representing one library, choose the top three services you
should start offering and answer these questions:
➔ Why is this service responding to my community’s needs?
o Encourage participants to make clear references to the
questionnaires they have just reviewed.
➔ How often and when?
Use the chart below [you can project this on a screen or use a pre-
prepared flipchart] to record your answers.Please take 20 minutes for to
fill out the chart and nominate one presenter.
Name of Service Why is this meeting my community’s needs? How often and when?
Provide each group with the template to fill out. While groups are working,
circulate to guide them through the process and help them if they are struggling.
When time is up, ask one presenter from each group to present.
Finish this activity by asking the following questions:
➔ When is a good time to give out questionnaire?
➔ How will you encourage users to submit it?
Listen to the answers,drawing the discussion to the following conclusions:
➔ Have it always available in a convenient place

➔ Make it clear at the library that services are available, and how to get
more information
➔ Offer the questionnaire each time new users visit and sit down with the
user to review answers and services.
Now, pose a few hypothetical questions.
➔ Think about the [digital novice persona]. She’s now completed their
training in basic IT skills.In a month, she comes back to the library and
say the training was great, but she still can’t find a job. What could the
library do? What should the library do about those who participated in
the training who didn’t return to the library?
● Elicit: the library could help them navigate job search sites,
create resumes,and apply for suitable jobs. They could match
them to books on preparing for job interviews.
● Follow-up with trainees to learn about how they’ve applied their
skills and find out what else would be helpful.
➔ Think about the [small-business entrepreneur]. He makes peanut butter
now, but soon a major international brand floods the market with
cheaperpeanut butter and he starts losing sales. How could the library
serve him?
● Elicit: the library can help him research other products that are in
demand in the market that he also knows how to make. It could
help him develop and print labels that distinguish his peanut
butter as gourmet or more natural than the international brand. It
could help him find distributors elsewhere in the country that are
seeking homemade peanut butter. It could help him apply for a
grant from a small business agency to support wider marketing
and promotion.
➔ Think about the [first-timer].She interviewsfor a couple of jobs at local
hotels, but isn’t selected. How can the library help her now?
● Elicit: the library could establish a group for interview practice.
They could search for interview tips online and then meet to
interview each other. The library could invite some managers
from the hospitality industry to the library to give a seminar on
what hotels look for in staff and interviews.

Conclude by emphasizing: what differentiates the library from one-off programs
or trainings is the potential for libraries to develop an ongoing relationship with
the people in their communities, so that it can provide services at multiple stages
of their career path.
While many employment or workforce programs serve people once off with a
training or task, the value of the library is that it’s always there. People’s
situations change. Economic conditions change. The economy itself changes. In
order to be an asset and to distinguish itself, the value of the library is that it can
offer a range of services that serve people as their needs change.
CONCLUSION
With the right tools and resources, the librarian can help direct the user to useful
services. It can be simple – from showing a website where jobs are posted to
regular trainings in basic skills – the library can open the doors to new
opportunities.
You now have a template that can help you evaluate your users and their needs
so that you can point them to right services and resources. By collecting this
information you also have data that will help guide the process of selecting
services that are most in demand in your community.

Putting Services into Action
Read learning outcomesaloud with participants.
➔ Understand and be able to plan for the details of the most common and useful
services
➔ Be able to help users navigate job opportunities effectively online, including by
using job search engines and avoiding scams
➔ Understand how simple changes in the library could make it more
appealing and user friendly for job seekers and those looking for income
generation
In order to be effective guides for economic opportunity services,librarians must
have first-hand experience of using the most common resources themselves.
Activity 1 — Using on online job-search engine
TIME: 60 minutes
MATERIALS:
Laptop + Projector
Internet connection
One computer per participant, though if fewer are available, you can put theminto
small groups (no more than 3) around one computer
Persona cards (enough copies for step 9 of theactivity as described below)
PREPARE AHEAD: You will need to select 2-3 common, relevant job
search sites from your country in advance, and become familiar with how
to use it. Below, an example is provided for how to navigate an
illustrative site, but the specifics of navigation will need to be edited
before your training.

In nearly every community, one of the most useful services the library can
provide to job seekers is help in finding and successfully using job search
engines. Librarians should have at their fingertips a standard orientation that can
be conducted either during organized events, or individually as needed. In this
activity, librarians will gain a first-hand familiarity with the major sites so they
can then help visitors use them efficiently.
In this activity, you will ask participants to explore job search sites themselves,
and then you will ask them to consider how the personas would approach or use
them. To warm up, start by asking participants to each share any online job
resources that they know or that they use. What was their experience? Was it
easy to use? What was the result?
1.Using the projector, give a brief introduction to the job search sites chosen for
this activity. Explain that these are some of the most common job search
engines in the country, and that together you’ll become familiar with them. Are
there any major differences between them, such as:
➔ Are certain types of jobs (technology, hospitality, overseas) more
common on this site?
➔ Does the site focus on particular job locations?
➔ Does the site have any important requirements, such as paying for
some kinds of functions?
➔ This way each of the participants can, in turn, help others to use
them.
2.Explain that we’re going to visit severalsites that list job openings and provide
information on how to most successfully apply for jobs.
3. Give each participant/group one of the websites to visit. Ask them to find an
announcement for a job in the following fields (adapt as appropriate):
➔ Marketing and Sales executive
➔ Construction
➔ Restaurant
➔ Tourism

4. Allow about 5 minutes. Ask:
➔ How did you search in that field?
➔ What information did you need to enter?
➔ In what order are jobs listed?
➔ How would you most easily find the ones that interest you?
5. Go through the main search options on the sites, including ‘accountant’,
posted in the last month, name of the organization recruiting, job position,
location of the work, etc.
➔ Say, for example, “Find how many accountant jobs in Abuja were
posted in the last two weeks”, or “List the jobs Coca-Cola is hiring
for in Lagos right now.”
➔ Discuss the different meanings and outcomes when you select each.
Have participants click through to a job based on the criteria you
requested.
6. Then ask some of the following questions:
➔ which company is the job with?
➔ when is the application deadline?
➔ what experience is required for candidates?
➔ what documents do you have to send in order to apply? Where would
applicants get or create these documents? (Such as transcripts,
CV/resume,letters of reference,certificates.) In what ways could the
library help visitors obtain common documents most efficiently?
➔ using what method do you have to apply? (online, in person, email,
send letter, etc.)
7. Emphasize that one of the most important aspects of applying for jobs online
is following the application instructions exactly. Applications that don’t
follow the process and include all the documents and information requested
are usually discarded.
8. To complete this activity, come up with a list of tasks for participants to
complete in a specified period of time. To gamify this activity, have small

treats on hand as prizes (candy, promotional paraphernalia) to toss to those
who are quickest. Some sample tasks are:
➔ Find an office manager job in Lagos for a company starting with the
letter ‘M’.
➔ Award a small prize, such as a candy or trinket, to the first
participant/pair who completes the task.
9. Finally, reference the personas. Putting participants into pairs or small
groups, give each a random persona card. Give 15 minutes to:
➔ Search for and find a job appropriate for this persona, and then
explain to the group
i. which job you found that was appropriate for the persona
ii. why you chose that job
iii. what difficulties would the persona have had in going
through the search process
iv. how, as a librarian, do you think you’d be most helpful to
him or her
Activity 2 — ECO Resources at the Library
TIME: 90 minutes
MATERIALS:
Arts and crafts supplies to make posters and signs such as: markers, old magazines,
paint, scissors, stickers, flip chart papers.
Newspapers and/or other resources with local job ads
Service Templates for Job Information Corner
Handout – Useful online job resources in my country
PURPOSE To help participants understand theway they can create resources that could be useful
for unemployed.
Explain: To make the space more welcoming and useful for those who are
looking for jobs or economic opportunities, we need a dedicated space in the
library. There’s no excuse for a library in the 21st
century to not have this kind of
resource. Let’s take a look at the Job Information Corner service template.

Please take a few minutes to review the service template. When time is up, ask
the group the following questions:
➔ Do any of yourlibraries currently have job boardsor a dedicated space
for job seekers?
➔ How often do you update the resources there? How often do you think
they should be updated?
➔ Where do you or could you find information for the job boards?
➔ For those of you who don’t have job boards currently, is it something
you think you could easily create? What resources would you need?
➔ What would be some of the obstacles or challenges?
Explain that in order for the job boards to be useful and used they need to have
relevant and up-to-date information. Your role is to make sure that
announcements on the board are always targeted at your community’s needs. We
will now go back into small groups and do an activity that will help you learn
how to make job boards useful.
Then, divide participants into small groups preferably by regions or by putting
librarians from the same library together explain the following:
➔ One can learn about jobs by going to sites online. [Distribute the handout
of major online job resources.]
➔ And there are local publications such as newspapers and magazines
where jobs and opportunities are posted and here are some newspapers
where you can see the jobs listed.
o Ask: are there any other local resources for job announcements?
Possible answers could include local employment offices or job
agencies. Discuss how librarians might consolidate these
announcements, if they are only available in specific locations.
➔ Now that you know where to find information for the job boards, in your
group take 30 minutes to complete the following activity:
1. Your job is to find at least 3 online job announcements and 3
announcements fromoffline resources that are relevant to the personas

we have been using throughout this training. [If necessary, reference
the persona cards].
2. Also find at least one training or business support opportunity
online and one offline. This could be a class offered by a local training
institute or NGO, or a small loans or grants program.
3. Once you do that, take the corkboard and othersuppliesand create
a sample job board posting these ads.
4. Ensure that yourboard is appealing, interesting and useful for the
personas that we have been working with throughout this training.
When the time is up, ask each group to hang their job boards on the walls and
invite everyone to take five minutes to walk around the room and review each
other’s boards. Ask everyone to take their seats and have a discussion using the
following questions:
➔ Which sites did you find the most useful for this activity?
➔ Why did you select the jobs that you posted? What’s the purpose of posting
specific jobs on a board, when there are thousands listed online?
o These draw the attention of the key personas in your community, and
help you direct their attention to searching online.
o They provide visitors with ideas and prompting to search for job
opportunities.
o They demonstrate the library responding to their community’s needs.
➔ What resources beyond the job board would you like to put in your job
information corner?
o Some examples might be: computers, books on particular skills,
training manuals, pamphlets or resources from local organizations.
Ask what participants have already, and what they would need to get.
➔ Did anyone use additional resources that were not suggested in the handout?
o If yes, ask them to share what type of resource it was and record the
answers on the flipchart that was prepared ahead of a time. If by the
end of this question, you are able to gather enough resources, ask
participants to record them on their handouts so that they could
remember to use them later.
Ask the following question to wrap up this activity:

➔ Now that you know how to create a good job board and where to find
information for your board so that it is regularly updated, where would
you physically hang your board at the library?
o Ensure that you highlight the following:
➔ Make sure that job boards is visible right away to the users
by:
▪ placing it in a prominent space in the library
▪ making it colorful and easy to follow
Activity 3 — Making Library Signs
TIME: 60 minutes
MATERIALS:
Arts and crafts supplies to make posters and signs such as: markers, old magazines,
paint, scissors, stickers, flip chart papers
Hand out “Evaluating Library Signs”
Small prizes for thecompetition
Small dot stickers for voting.
PURPOSE: To help participants understand thevalue of having good and useful signs for the
library. Help participants understand how to evaluate whether thesigns they have are
good.
Explain:
In order for people to know that you are offering services related to economic
opportunities, you need to tell them about it. One easy way to start doing that is
by putting up signs, which we are going to prepare right now. After this activity,
no one will have an excuse for not having appropriate welcoming signs in and
around the library.
Here are some supplies [point at the arts and crafts table] that you can use to
prepare your signs. Each group should create four signs: one in each of the
following categories:
➔ A sign intended for outside of your library and clearly explains what the
library offers for those who are looking for jobs or economic
opportunities. (This sign could be put up at a bus stop, a market, a
school, or elsewhere in the community.)
➔ A sign that goes inside your library to direct visitors to where they can
find resources and information related to employment and skills
➔ A sign that encourages users to sign up for services offered for them at
the library

➔ A sign that encourages users to leave feedback and recommendations
related to economic opportunities.
In your groups, first discuss each category and then start designing each sign.
Questions to discuss include:
➔ What audience is the sign intended to reach?
➔ What information needs to be on the sign?
➔ What images are important for attracting attention?
You will have a total of 45 minutes for this activity. This is a competition and the
winner group will get a prize.
[45 min]
While groups are working, walk around and provide additional guidance as
necessary. Some common problems with signs to look out for include:
➔ Lack of specific information (hours, days, description of activity) that
will help users make a decision
➔ No contact or location information for library
➔ No arrows pointing visitors to the correct place
➔ Lots of multi-colored design elements, but little information
When the time is up, ask each group to choose a space on the wall and to put up
their signs. Have separate spaces on the walls to cluster each category of signs.
Each group should nominate one presenter. Once groups are finished presenting
their signs, explain the following:
We are now going to vote on the best sign. You each have 10 points and
you are free to distribute them as you want. For example, you can give
all 10 points to one sign that you absolutely liked, or you can assign
different points to different signs.
Hand out the “Evaluating Library Signs” handout to use as a guide, as well as 10
dot stickers to each participant.
Sum up the votes and select the winner. Award the prize to the winner group and
ask the following questions:
➔ How did you evaluate the signs and chose them?
Summarize:

➔ You now have ideas for signs. I would like you to go around the room,
and copy or photograph the signs that you liked the most and would like
to see in your libraries.
➔ You also have a simple chart that can help you evaluate signs at your
library.
➔ When you go back, make an inventory of signs at your library noting
where they are located, if they are friendly, and if they are helpful. Make
changes as necessary.
Activity 4 — Avoiding scams and pitfalls on the web
Time: 60 minutes
Materials: Flipchart
Whiteboard
Blackboard
internet connection
laptop/tablets
PREPARE AHEAD: Prepare a brief slide deck using this template of
four local job announcements following the examples below. Two should
be of genuine opportunities, and two should be of fraudulent
opportunities. They should help you lead a discussion identifying the
differences between them.
Librarians also have an important role in helping their users effectively use the
information they find online. Particularly around job opportunities, there is a
wealth of deceptive information that can entrap more inexperienced users.
Libraries are an ideal venue to educate people seeking opportunities about how to
avoid these dangers.
1. Ask the participants if they have ever encountered or know of someone
who was a victim of any online scams or hoaxes, particularly while they were
looking for a job. Let them share stories or experiences.
➔ Note that the common thread is users’ lack of awareness about how to
analyze the information.
➔ Ask if they are able to detect possible scams on the internet. How do they
know if an ad or an e-mail is true or not?

For this activity, show a series of slides announcing job opportunities relevant to
the country.
Online Job Opportunity:
Real or Scam?

T
h
e
n
e
x
t
s
l
i
d
e
f
e
a
t
u
r
e
s
an e-mail letter to a potential employee.

E
-
M
A
I
L
F
O
R
A
N
A
P
P
L
I
C
A
N
T
: Real or Scam?
Show participants each slide, and let them guess if the information in the
webpage or e-mail is real or a scam. If participants say that the webpage is a
scam, ask them about red flags or signs that led them to come to this conclusion.
You can refer back to the list that you made.
After this activity, you can summarize the session by providing them quick tips
on how to detect online job scams.

You can use the 3 prepared slides on “Characteristics of Online Job Scams”,
“Red Flags” and “How to Protect Yourself”. These can be used by librarians as a
guide to properly curate their online content, and to also provide advice and
guidance to their users, especially for those who are using the Internet to look for
a job.
Useful resources to share:
http://mashable.com/2013/10/05/10-signs-a-job-is-a-scam/
http://thecareerbeat.com/blog/2013/07/09/new-data-on-online-job-scams-and-
how-to-avoid-them/

Libraries Boost Economic Opportunities

Libraries Boost Economic Opportunities

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