Understanding Community Goals Leads to Success for Libraries and Communities – A post from the 2016 Library of the Year

By Leah Sewell, Communications Editor,Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library

Have you ever been on the other line of a survey call? I haven’t, personally, but I’ve often wondered if I would be a willing participant. Perhaps in the midst of a particularly juicy book, soaking up one-on-one time with my fast-growing 9-year-old or closely watching a new recipe simmer, what would compel me to answer the phone, but also to converse with a researcher for an indeterminate spell? Well, for one thing, I’d pretty much drop everything and let dinner burn to gab with any stranger, on the phone or otherwise, when the topic is libraries.

你看，在我的职业生涯作为Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library’s Communication Editor, I am enamored with the “public” part of the public library. How does the public feel about our services? How will they react to a minor or a major change? How can we woo them, engage them, help them feel a part the community through literacy and learning, and subsequently change their lives for the better?

My library is focused on the public and the public good. It’s asking the right questions, discovering people’s goals and needs and assisting them so they can reach them. Ultimately, it’s about making a difference in the community by working with our fellow citizens to make their lives better. That’s a good chunk of the reason why we’re theLibrary Journal/ Gale, a part Cengage Learning 2016 Library of the Year. We have our ears to the ground.

当2016年Pew Research Centerreport,Libraries at the Crossroads, was released in September 2015, I wondered about the people on the other end of those cell phones and land lines. Those individuals that Pew cites variously as “a share of Americans” or “a majority of Americans,” or “low-income Americans” are real individuals with busy lives, loved ones and their own dinners to prepare. Yet, they all sat a spell to gab about libraries.
在我的图书馆，我们进行了大池的调查了。但是，我们也采访了谁生活在我们中间，我们的客户，我们的政治家和领导人的人。我们采访了谁住在市中心的人 - 我们的邻居，其实，因为我们从流动图书馆车队的单市区建设和运营的。我们亲自会见了人在县城的郊区农村，并在城市的心脏地带的社区中心和教堂的地下室。在我的图书馆，我们就像一个皮尤调查，但对类固醇皮尤调查。我们感兴趣的......不，罢工。我们obsessed什么我们的客户所想。

As our library’s dynamic CEO, Gina Millsap, says, “great libraries align their goals with the dreams and aspirations of their communities.”

Like Pew, we also love to ask our community questions, such as, “What are your hopes and dreams for yourself and your family?” “What kind of community do you want?” “How can the library support and make a difference for you and the community?”

我们投资了一个大型调查，从人口的统计显著池拉动。我们进行分析SOAR（优势，机遇，愿望，结果），我们的委托人，我们的图书馆董事会和我们的基金会董事会之友委员会。我们问我们的工作人员225是什么他们认为。然后，我们举行了一系列遍布城市社区会议。我们的管理团队和图书馆促进了会议，与他们有效的主持人/高超会议™便利化培训武装。

We went beyond the impersonal questionnaire and rolled up our hems to wade into the needs and wants of our community. While our brand of questioning in our home community differed from how Pew conducted their research, what we found mirrors a lot of what the Pew Center reported in their wider study.

Here are three ways in which the people of Topeka and Shawnee County和the people of America agree about the role of libraries:

• Libraries should offer free early literacy programs to help young children prepare for school.

• Libraries should offer programs to teach people, including kids and senior citizens, how to use digital tools such as computers, smartphones and apps.

• Libraries should create services or programs for local businesses and entrepreneurs.

像皮尤报告显示，事实和数字很难忽视，图书馆真的是“处在十字路口。”Here in Topeka, we’ve managed to get a map before we’ve reached the intersection between tradition and innovation, and so we’re confident we’re headed down the right path as we hone our goals and plans of action to improve the lives of everyone in our community.

Our leader Gina believes libraries can change the world, and says “we’ll do that by helping make our communities be better places to live, work, play and learn.”

As we accept the laurels of our Library of the Year designation, we keep on believing in the world-changing capacity of libraries, yes. But beyond that optimism, we have concrete evidence of what our community wants. Now is the time for action.

The Library of the Year Award is a prestigious recognition that goes to a public library that profoundly demonstrates service to community, creativity, leadership and innovation in developing community programs. It is sponsored by Gale and图书馆杂志。

About the Author

Leah Sewell is happy to gab with you about libraries anytime. Leah is the Communications Editor for the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library, which basically means she’s an observer, collector and creator of library stories. She’s a veteran publisher and magazine editor who has brought her passion for all things literary and writerly to library communications. Leah has an MFA in writing from the University of Nebraska, is a published poet and author, a graphic designer, and has a very healthy obsession with books, podcasts, art and from-scratch cooking. She lives in Topeka, Kansas with her two wily kids and a similarly unruly to-read pile.

图书馆照片通过阿利斯泰尔Tutton摄影。