1

ENGAGING COMMUNITIES

IMLS FOCUS

LOS ANGELES PUBLIC LIBRARY : LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
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ENGAGING COMMUNITIES

IMLS FOCUS

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Los Angeles Public Library : Los Angeles, California

Compiled and edited by Chrystie Hill, Sharon Streams, Jackie Dooley and Liz Morris, OCLC
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4 A MESSAGE FROM MAURA MARX, ACTING DIRECTOR

5 UNDERSTANDING DIVERSE NEEDS

7 BUILDING CAPACITY WITH PARTNERSHIPS

10 THE COMMUNICATIONS IMPERATIVE

10 CELEBRATING THE ADA (SIDEBAR) 

12 REASSESSING FOR SUCCESS

13 TAKEAWAYS

14 APPENDICES

TABLE OF 

CONTENTS
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A MESSAGE FROM MAURA MARX, ACTING DIRECTOR

As we prepared for our third and final IMLS focus meeting 

of 2015, I couldn’t have been more pleased that our host, 

Los Angeles Public Library, was selected to receive the 2015 

National Medal for Museum and Library Service. Chosen for 

their success in meeting the needs of Angelenos by providing a 

high level of social, educational and cultural services, LAPL was 

specifically recognized for its programs that help people on their 

path to citizenship, earn their high school diploma, manage their 

personal finances, and access health and well-being services and 

resources. The power of these library services is illustrated by 

the story of Sergio and Francisca Sanchez: 

After moving to the U.S. from Veracruz, Mexico, Sergio and 

Francisca brought their toddler son to the Los Angeles Public 

Library for storytime, and continued to bring him for many 

years. Sergio studied English and history and read the news 

at the library during his free time. While waiting for his son, 

Sergio discovered that library staff and services could help him 

study for and pass the U.S. citizenship test, which he did, while 

Francisca got library support pursuing her GED. Five months 

later, Francisca passed the U.S. citizenship test, and Sergio is 

now pursuing his GED with help from the library. Their son, who 

is in college, volunteers at the library when he returns home. 

Sergio says, “When a new family moves into the neighborhood, I 

tell them the most important place is the library. A place where 

everyone belongs and is welcome, and where your dream can 

come true.” 

As powerful as it is, the Sanchez’s story is but one example of the vital role 

of the library in connecting people to their communities and to essential 

services. We organized this convening to shine a spotlight on the public and 

state libraries that, together with their non-library partners and allies, identify 

the diverse needs of our communities and provide innovative solutions to 

meet them. IMLS has funded a number of projects related to cross-sector 

and federal level partnerships; we’ve worked closely with state libraries that 

provide much of the infrastructure to make this work possible. We wanted 

to hear from libraries on the front lines of community service and learn: 

what are your strategies for assessing and responding to needs? How do you 

cultivate and strengthen partnerships? How can local projects and programs 

help inform the rest of the profession? We wanted to hold up and highlight 

the difference these libraries and their partners make in the lives of users 

across the country, every day.

It was fitting that John Szabo, City Librarian, welcomed us with a reminder 

that community engagement is a critical part of any local service offering. 

This convening gave us the opportunity to showcase inspiring work, engage in 

focused conversation around community needs, and learn from outstanding 

practitioners in the field. 

Maura Marx

Acting Director

Institute of Museum and Library Services
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UNDERSTANDING 

DIVERSE NEEDS 

In June 2015, IMLS convened public, academic and state 

library innovators, government agency representatives, 

library associations, social service and allied organizations 

at Los Angeles Public Library for a day-long forum on 

engaging communities. Representatives of recent IMLS 

investments in workforce services and financial literacy, 

civic engagement and citizenship, needs assessment, 

early literacy, education, and STEM learning gathered 

to share their success stories, lessons learned, and 

suggestions for how to continue to strengthen librarycommunity partnerships. This document summarizes 

the highlights of the day’s conversations and distills 

promising practices from the discussions that took place. 

It ends with high-level takeaways around community 

needs, partnerships, and the profession. A full agenda 

and participant list from the gathering are included as 

appendices to this report. 

UNDERSTANDING DIVERSE NEEDS 

The first panel of the day set the stage by underscoring 

the importance of assessing community needs. The 

library that is embedded in its community can better 

connect the dots about what’s happening and discern 

what is needed. The panelists offered examples of matching resources to the greatest local needs and of 

looking not only outside the library, but also to staff 

development needs. 

What you’re doing has incredible importance to the 

individuals that you’re working with every day and to the 

community that you serve, and to the leaders that you 

serve...who are working on some of the most important, 

critical issues for our nation: education, employment, 

workforce development, health, financial security, quality 

of life. —Susan Benton, Urban Libraries Council

FINANCIAL LITERACY

Above: Marlene Zents, University of Montana

Above: Marcia Mardis, School of Information, Florida 

State University

Resistance, reluctance, fear...transformed by 

partnerships + volunteers -- great story from 

@nypl Money Matters program #imlsfocus 

—via Twitter by M.A. Figueroa

The New York Public Library’s Science, Industry and 

Business Library addressed both staff and community 

needs through its Money Matters program, which provides 
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training to branch library staff and community members 

on a wide range of financial topics, such as banking, credit 

and savings, insurance, identity theft, and taxes. Kristin 

McDonough, director of the library, described how the 

success of the program hinged on

	 • training employees to confront their own fears

 and resistance 

	 • forming strong partnerships with organizations that

 bring essential knowledge of both the subject matter 

 and the community

	 • making use of well-qualified and engaged volunteers

	 • collecting candid assessments about the service and

 its impact, and making adjustments where needed.

“HYPERLOCAL” DATA

The Las Vegas-Clark County Library District responded to 

economic downturn and significant population fluctuation 

by doing a deep dive into demographic analysis and needs 

assessment. By layering U.S. Census, market segment, and 

library cardholder data, a detailed, “hyperlocal” picture of the 

dynamics of the county emerged. This hyperlocal view allowed 

the 25-branch system to tailor and prioritize services to meet 

the greatest needs of each branch’s service area. The library’s 

data map helped the county system locate hot spots of adult 

literacy needs, identify the digital divide more clearly, and 

bring to the forefront those community members who may have 

been overlooked. The library district also learned that branch 

managers address incredible demographic diversity, some 

with more than 20 different kinds of households. Among other 

project outcomes, the library was able to 

	 • connect branches with similar segments into a shared

 community of practice

	 • reposition the library to get a seat at tables across

 multiple sectors and become the go-to organization 

 for local data.

VETERANS SERVICES

Libraries don’t always have to conduct their own needs 

assessments. Jacquie Brinkley of Infopeople described a

statewide initiative in California called Veterans Connect 

@ the Library that responded to a needs assessment 

conducted by a non-library partner. The important step was 

recognizing the role of the library in addressing those needs. 

With California receiving more than 10 percent of the 

160,000 newly discharged military service members each 

year, the Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet) realized 

that a significant communication gap existed. In response, 

the library used its trusted relationship with the community 

to help get essential financial, health, education and other 

information and support to veterans. The program positions 

libraries as safe, confidential spaces with professional staff 

who are empathetic listeners for male and female veterans 

of all ages. With guidance from CalVet, the project has also 

	 • developed a suite of resources and programs to

 support a wide range of veterans’ needs

	 • established a corps of volunteers (including veterans

 themselves) 

	 • provided access to computers

	 • designated a staff point of contact in each library to

	 	 field questions

Whether studying a specific population, geographic region, 

or subject area, incorporating a needs assessment can 

deepen our understanding of communities and strengthen 

our ability to match the assets or capacities of library 

organizations to meet those needs. Needs-driven data can 

also enable sharing and scaling best practices beyond their 

original settings.

We don’t have to do so much with managing the 

things; we actually get to do the very, very exciting 

work of building our community. 

—Danielle Milam, Las Vegas-Clark County Public Library

Above: Jennifer Peters, Texas State Library and 

Archives Commission

Right: Susan McVey, Oklahoma Department of 

Libraries, with Rivkah Sass, Sacramento Public Library
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BUILDING CAPACITY 

WITH PARTNERSHIPS

When a community is characterized by ongoing changes 

in its demographic profile, the needs that libraries seek to 

address also change. This makes partnerships essential 

to delivering the solutions. A thread that was carried 

throughout the day was: We will not be successful if we 

hold onto a narrow view of the library’s role or how the 

library can work with others to achieve desired outcomes. 

LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS AND THE ROLE OF STATE 

LIBRARIES

As immigration reform comes, people are going to come to the 

library for this information. We’re trusted, valued institutions...

this is rooted in who we are as libraries. Libraries have 

been about citizenship and helping people on their path to 

citizenship for decades. And so, it’s totally appropriate for the 

public library mission...and strategically important, because 

as people come into our doors for this information, we’re able 

to connect them with all of the other great services that we 

have. —John Szabo, Los Angeles Public Library

Homa Naficy, Multicultural Services Director at Hartford 

Public Library, described The American Place, a library 

program that provides resources on citizenship, English 

as a Second Language (ESL) training and other classes, 

immigration forms, community information and resource fairs. 

The library has prioritized civic engagement by focusing on 

outreach to local schools, faith-based organizations, ethnic 

organizations, media, restaurants, and other businesses, to 

reach targeted immigrant communities. The library strives to 

engage all residents in creating a welcoming environment and 

forging connections with new neighbors and immigrants.

It’s great to host the naturalization ceremony... 

It’s not just the person who is being naturalized, but 

they bring their entire family, and then they can see 

the library as a truly welcoming place. 

—Rivkah Sass, Sacramento Public Library

From these panels, I’m hearing partnerships 

are pivotal to engaging communities

—via Twitter by Madison B

Above: MaryKay Dahlgreen, Oregon State Library, 

with Greg Lucas, California State Library

In Oklahoma, the state library initiated partnerships 

with local libraries that planned and implemented their 

own citizenship programs. This evolved to partnering 

with literacy councils, which were already connected 

to the target audience through their ESL programs 

and could better inform libraries about the literacy 

and information needs of those seeking citizenship. 

The resulting library services included resources to 

help people prepare for the U.S. citizenship test, as 

well as provide related transportation. The program 

also included outreach efforts to reach the immigrant 

community and position the library as a safe, welcoming 

place that can provide assistance. 

I do think that relationship is what it’s all about, and 

having trusted intermediaries who...will speak on 

behalf of the library... There is a tipping point; once 

you reach that, and the library is accepted as a safe 

and supportive environment, then they come to you 

for practically everything. —Susan McVey, Oklahoma 

Department of Libraries

Janet McKenney, Director of Development, Maine State 

Library, also spoke to the eagerness of those not already 

affiliated with the library to become involved with key 

initiatives. In the state’s work to help libraries serve as 

science centers by providing children access to science 

and technology in their own backyards, McKenney didn’t 

expect that science and technology educators in the 

community would be willing and eager to provide support 

for the program. In contrast to her expectations, she 
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found that “Astronomy groups were just dying to present at 

the library!” 

Jamie Markus, Library Development Manager at Wyoming 

State Library, spoke about the role that state libraries 

have as connectors for federal partnerships: they are key 

stakeholders and can serve as informed intermediaries. 

State libraries can effectively promote the way libraries 

already serve their communities as well as the work 

of the partner agencies through libraries. When the 

Affordable Care Act went into effect, for example, IMLS 

called on state libraries to support patrons in their health 

information needs; and state libraries helped local libraries 

become effective partners by training library staff, creating 

handouts to give to local patrons, and connecting them to 

health care navigators. 

CROSS-SECTOR PARTNERSHIPS AND EARLY LEARNING

Yolie Flores, Senior Fellow with the Campaign for GradeLevel Reading, shared one example of a need that 

cannot be met without the concerted efforts of multiple 

stakeholders: ensuring that children can read by the 

third grade. Eighty percent of low-income children do not 

achieve this milestone, and the situation is even more 

devastating for African-American boys. Left unchecked, 

this urgent need will undermine our nation’s commitment 

to end intergenerational poverty. The Campaign for GradeLevel Reading has galvanized 160 communities in 41 

states, together with IMLS and many others, to take on this 

unacceptable reality. No one organization or even sector can 

solve this problem on its own. 

Sherri Killins, Director of Systems Alignment and 

Integration, BUILD Initiative, shared her organization’s work 

to connect librarians and museums to early literacy systems 

in five states. Libraries are often forgotten during planning 

and outreach around early learning initiatives, so although 

time-bound grant projects are useful for specific initiatives, 

it is more important to establish long-term relationships 

that will have an impact beyond the life of the project. All 

stakeholders should ask themselves, “What are our key 

needs and priorities? What should we work on together?”

Kyle Zimmer, President, First Book, shared how her 

non-profit organization ensures that local schools and 

community programs have a steady supply of books for 

low-income children up to 18 years of age. First, they 

aggregated the market of buyers serving low-income 

children—those most in need. Then they negotiated with 

the publishing industry to take excess inventory through the 

First Book network and get ten million “unwanted” books 

into the hands of people serving low-income kids. The 

“buyer” pays only shipping and handling costs, which total 

about 45 cents per book. Through its simple, free, online 

registration process, First Book guarantees to its publishing 

partners that they are serving children in need. 

Zimmer noted that access to books doesn’t solve the whole 

problem. These kids are hungry: they need access to healthy 

foods with long shelf life. They don’t have appropriate 

clothing and shelter; they need things as simple as a winter 

coat. Zimmer shared how central partnerships have been to 

her organization’s success in looking at the whole system 

of early literacy development for young children. In recent 

years they’ve 

	 • joined forces with IMLS and the Obama

 Administration to get e-books to low-income children

	 • worked with publishers to establish and incentivize

 the development of diverse content so that low-

 income children can see themselves in the stories

	 • collaborated with early childhood researchers who

 can support professional development via “tip 

 sheets” for teachers and others who are building 

 literacy for children. 

We want to be your lab retriever. “What do you need? We 

can broker the deal ... we are a millionfold more powerful 

together over putting detached rescue ropes into these 

populations. —Kyle Zimmer, First Book 

Remember libraries. We exist in nearly every location. 

We are everywhere. We have meeting rooms, Internet, 

and we’re available to all ... we are excellent connectors 

for partnership opportunities.

—Jamie Markus, Wyoming State Library

Think about those most vulnerable families. They 

need you. They are hungry for reaching you.

—Yolie Flores, Campaign for Grade-Level Reading

Left: Norine Han, USCIS, with Susan McVey, Oklahoma

Dept. of Libraries
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FEDERAL PARTNERSHIPS AND ADULT LEARNING

As the federal agency that oversees lawful immigration to 

the U.S., the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services 

(USCIS) raises awareness of the rights and responsibilities 

of citizenship and encourages civic integration and 

involvement with a person’s new community. A partnership 

between USCIS and IMLS initiated in 2013 supports 

public libraries through public information and engagement 

activities. The agency provides library staff training, 

informational webinars, electronic and print resources, 

and expertise. In turn, libraries provide feedback to the 

agency about common questions that they receive from

patrons; they also assist with ensuring that patron-facing 

material is as user-friendly as possible. Norine Han, 

Citizenship Outreach Specialist with USCIS, invited forum 

participants and the professional community at large to 

provide the agency with suggestions for what the USCISIMLS partnership should do next, and identify needed 

improvements in its outreach and educational partnerships 

with libraries. 

Los Angeles was the first city to partner with USCIS, and 

all 73 branches of the public library have been engaged, 

initially with Citizenship Corners and USCIS materials. The 

program swiftly expanded to a variety of events, ceremonies, 

training and information sessions, and dissemination of 

materials, which has since led to library partnerships with 

22 other local non-profit organizations to work on both 

citizenship and related issues such as public health.

Adult education needs encompass broader issues as well. 

Heidi Silver-Pacuilla, Office of Career, Technical, and Adult 

Education, U.S. Department of Education, noted that even 

though the Department had reached nearly two million 

students, many of whom take English classes, the need is 

still great. A 2013 survey showed that 48 million adults 

in the U.S. still have low math skills, and 36 million have 

minimal literacy skills. Partnerships that seek to create 

collective impact are a key strategy to “stretch resources for 

reaching a busy adult” with learning opportunities. 

Steve Reder, Professor, Department of Applied Linguistics, 

Portland State University, shared his experiences working 

with federal partners on digital literacy initiatives. Through 

a Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) 

grant, he worked with a national network of partners in six 

states and their local partners. In conjunction with locally 

designed computers labs, his group provided content to 

develop digital literacy skills. Reder’s partnership ultimately 

trained 800 volunteers and 13,000 adult learners. He noted 

that using standard metrics, while having the freedom to 

implement project details to suit local conditions, has been 

very important to the success of his partnerships.

Collaboration and partnership mean different things to 

different people. It’s very important to know what they mean 

and to work with them. Position everyone, all the partners, 

as learners. It’s not just the end user that needs to learn 

in order for this to be successful; especially with the new 

technologies that are being used. —Steve Reder, Portland 

State University

Denise Dombek, Employment and Training Administration 

(ETA), U.S. Department of Labor, shared information about 

the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act passed in 

July 2014, which focuses on the evolving nature of the 

workforce and economic needs in local areas. It aligns 

workforce, education, and economic development partners 

for increased, and more flexible, collaboration opportunities. 

Locally, the One-Stop Career Center (coordinated by the 

ETA) helps individuals connect to the local labor market. 

The library system is now an eligible provider for training 

and could also be a One-Stop partner.

Discussion surfaced the question of whether partnerships

are getting easier or more complex as we look at them from 

the local level all the way up to national. Panelists agreed 

that it’s important to choose partnerships wisely in order to 

be able to go the distance and meet long-term goals. In this 

context they advised libraries to limit the number of shortterm projects that they take on. 

Panelists also acknowledged the opportunities and 

the tensions that can be factors in partnerships at any 

level. Federal agency representatives urged libraries to 

actively partner to support federal initiatives, while library 

representatives urged federal agencies to “remember the 

library!” The will to partner was evident from all sides, but 

successful partnerships require understanding the landscape

of available partners, getting to know them, choosing wisely, 

and being deliberate in how we will engage together.

In partnership, their work becomes the way you meet 

your mission. That’s the goal. And vice versa. This is the 

only path to sustainability. 

—Heidi Silver-Pacuilla, U.S. Department of Education

We cannot do this alone, so we highly rely on partners, 

especially libraries. Our partnership with libraries is 

really a requirement to our success. 

—Norine Han, U.S. Citizenship 

and Immigration Services (USCIS)

Above: Miguel Figueroa, ALA’s Center for the Future 

of Libraries
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THE 

COMMUNICATIONS 

IMPERATIVE

While the centrality of partnerships 

was clear, communicating effectively 

to that end was discussed as a 

particular challenge. 

Renee Hill, Assistant Professor of 

Practice at Syracuse University’s School 

of Information Studies, told a story 

from early in her professional career, 

of a school librarian who blocked a 

class of 15 students with disabilities 

from coming to the library. She held 

up this example to illustrate the 

importance of asking, “Who is using 

our library, and who wants to use the 

library?” Becoming educated about 

those marginalized communities, and 

learning how to welcome them into the 

library is essential. Project ENABLE, 

which is designed to help educators 

and library staff connect with and meet 

the needs of patrons with disabilities, is 

an example of this mindset. 

Rivkah Sass, Director of the 

Sacramento Public Library, gave a 

rallying cry for library staff to confront 

their own mindset first, especially 

around the assumptions that libraries 

lack a connection to community 

issues. By becoming firm in our belief 

that libraries can be community 

leaders, we become primed to pay 

attention to community needs and 

talk about what the library can offer to 

address them. Sass attends Chamber 

I think sometimes we’re our 

own worst enemies. Truly the 

number one barrier [to effective 

partnerships] is ourselves...We 

don’t always think of ourselves 

as being relevant to solving a 

community problem or an issue.

 —Rivkah Sass, Sacramento 

Public Library

It’s not an obligation to serve; it’s 

our privilege. If we think about it 

this way, we’ll be more innovative. 

—Renee Hill, Syracuse University

Above: Robert Karatsu, California Library Association; Marcia Mardis, 

Florida State University; Julie Walker, Georgia Public Library Service; 

Michelle Perera, Rancho Cucamonga Library

CELEBRATING THE ADA 

July 26, 2015, marks the 25th 

anniversary of the Americans 

with Disabilities Act (ADA), a 

civil rights law that prohibits 

discrimination based on 

disability. The ADA addresses the 

reasonable accommodations and 

accessibility requirements that

employers and public entities 

must implement to ensure that 

people with disabilities have 

access to the same opportunities, 

jobs, and services as everyone 

else does. The numbers speak to 

the need: 

	 • an estimated 43 million

 people currently have a 

 disability, and this figure 

 is growing 

	 • by 2030 there will be 75

 million people over the 

 age of 65 projected to have 

 disabilities.

Lisa Wadors Verne, Educational 

Program Manager at Benetech, 

pointed out that 57 percent 

of accommodations can be 

made at no cost; institutions 

are not required to provide

accommodations that are 

significantly expensive or 

difficult. But in addition to 

making physical spaces and 

structures ADA-compliant, 

changes in mindset and 

communication are still needed. 

Many devices now incorporate 

features—such as volume 

control, magnification, audio 

books—that all users can benefit 

from, not just people with 

disabilities. More information is 
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necessary to inform purchasing 

decisions, however; and it is 

important that it becomes easier 

and less expensive to offer 

accessible content. Through 

her work with publishers on the 

Born Accessible Initiative, Verne 

strives to build accessibility into 

published content at the outset. 

It’s about 800 times more 

expensive to convert digital file 

back into an accessible digital 

file. If you can create those 

things in advance, then we won’t 

have to do any retrofitting. —Lisa 

Wadors Verne, Benetech 

Participants agreed that the 

library community needs to 

bring its services to people with 

disabilities to the forefront, so 

that libraries can learn from 

each other and build a shared 

investment in the outcomes. 

Now we realize it’s everyone’s 

responsibility and it’s 

everyone’s task to serve these 

patrons, and to serve them well, 

and to make sure they get to the 

services they need. 

—Julie Walker, Georgia Public 

Library Service

I find that librarians who come 

to me do not have that working 

knowledge in their formal 

training. The 2010 Census says 

that one in five people have a 

disability, and that is a huge 

number of people who do not 

always have inclusive, equitable 

access to library information and 

activities...So there is a need to 

understand disabilities; there’s 

a need to understand the everevolving assistive technologies.

—Marlene Zentz, Univ. of 

Montana

of Commerce civic engagement 

committee meetings every month; and 

while people at first asked why she 

was there, they now call on the library 

for various needs. Sass helps connect 

the business community with city 

and state initiatives, which reinforces 

the library’s “brand” as being 

knowledgeable and informed.

Jennifer Peters, in her role as 

Community Engagement Administrator 

for the Texas State Library and Archives 

Commission, also stressed that 

community engagement is less about 

what you do, and more about a mindset 

and intention. Having moved from the 

non-profit sector, Peters had observed 

that libraries were not at the table on 

critical issues such as education and 

workforce. She attends non-library 

literacy events, non-profit meetings, 

and workforce meetings to add a library 

presence. To aid communication, 

the state library has developed more 

heightened awareness of its use of 

library jargon and tries instead to 

adopt the vocabulary that other sectors 

use when doing outreach. She also 

cautioned libraries to think strategically 

and prioritize our messaging so that 

we do not overwhelm people with our 

“all things to all people” tendency. 

She suggested having a strategic 

communications plan to identify key 

stakeholders to really focus in on 

in Year 1, Year 2, etc., rather than 

“just throwing out everything and 

seeing what sticks.” This focused 

communication strategy extends to all 

their externally focused messaging, 

including the library website.

[P]art of what the community 

engagement initiatives can do is help 

raise our profile so that when these 

kind of groups are coming together, 

it’s just automatically assumed that 

libraries should be at the table; and 

I think sometimes that’s something 

that we struggle with as a profession. 

—Jennifer Peters, Texas State Library 

and Archives Commission

QOTD @GregLucas20 “too many 

public library websites look like 

ransom notes” #imlsfocus 

—via Twitter by Andrew Pace

Center: Sarah Rosenblum, Marshalltown Public Library, and Maria 

Carpenter, Santa Monica Public Library

Bottom: Renee Hill, Syracuse University, with Marcia Mardis, Florida State 

University
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REASSESSING 

FOR SUCCESS 

Robert Karatsu, President of the California Library 

Association, framed the discussion around evaluation 

and sustainability by describing a situation he often 

encountered with grant applicants. While many might 

have a firm grasp of needs, partnerships and even 

outcomes, sustainability would often trip them up. 

Marcia Mardis, a professor in the School of Information 

at Florida State University, discussed the evaluation 

and sustainability aspects of her Web2MARC project, 

which automates the creation of catalog records for 

web resources. The tool garnered an early fan base 

from around the world, which obligates her to find 

a sustainable path for it. Through participation in a 

funding incubator program, she’s had the opportunity 

to truly grapple with market needs, and questions about

whether or not to take the tool commercial. 

We really need to prove to them that something is 

going to be effective before we ask every library in the 

state to participate ... —Julie Walker, Georgia Public 

Library Service 

Julie Walker, State Librarian, Georgia Public Library 

Service, shared that her state library has a reputation 

for “leaping in,” but in reality they put a lot of thought 

into scale and sustainability at the outset of projects. 

In developing their statewide integrated library system 

(Georgia PINES), the state completed a thorough 

environmental scan on whether to “buy or build.” 

They couldn’t identify any product that would work off 

the shelf, and so they embarked on an open-source 

development project. This required a huge amount of

time to build the support to sustain the project, as their 

parent agency was skeptical of open-source at that time. 

The project managers had to be transparent, thorough 

and communicate frequently. To obtain buy-in, they

had to show how the system would benefit constituents. 

They organized focus groups with member libraries and 

involved them in development of the specifications. Now 

Georgia PINES goes well beyond the library community 

in Georgia, serving the U.S. through what is now known 

as Evergreen.

Walker also shared that it’s important to know when to 

stop pursuing a project, as was the case for another 

Georgia endeavor. Attempting to obtain buy-in as the 

recession began to hit would not have been prudent, so 

they put it on hold until a later time. 

Michelle Perera, Director of the Rancho Cucamonga 

Library, discussed the development of their “Play and 

Learn Islands,” which are now trademarked. Starting 

with a needs assessment, they planned to make the 

extra space on the second floor of their library a 

place for kids to interact and learn through play. Even 

though the economy crashed and the original plan was 

no longer feasible, they realized they could still do 

something with the assessment data. The result was the 

“Play and Learn Islands.” The concept was first piloted 

in local libraries and proved popular and intuitive to 

kids. Once the library realized that the concept was 

a hit, they wondered whether it might work in other 

environments. Several types of play islands were created 

and California libraries could check them out. Perera 

and her team learned quickly that the libraries didn’t

want to give them back, and finally created a plan to 

sell them. 

Now they earn money, and this allows them to sustain 

the project. But money is not the hardest thing to find. 

They spend time training staff on how to pitch ideas 

and go after their own grant funding. Perera emphasized 

that staff development and engagement are key to the 

sustainability of library programs. 

This is a tough period we’re all living through. Major 

institutions that we thought were bullet proof, that 

we hoped were bullet proof, like the courts, and law 

enforcement, are showing vulnerabilities and failures. 

Our currency is controlled by six guys in a private 

chat room. With significant disillusionment going on, 

libraries are standing in complete, stark contrast to 

those failures.

—Kyle Zimmer, First Book

A good evaluation and good ongoing dialogue with your 

evaluator is a way that you can keep the faith in your idea. 

—Marcia Mardis, Florida State University
13

TAKEAWAYS

The day’s rich discussion offered these high-level 

takeaways, which are framed as responses to the 

questions Acting Director Maura Marx posed at the

outset of the convening:

What are your strategies for assessing and responding 

to needs?

	 • Conduct needs assessments that look both within

 and outside the library, to identify the needs of

 both your community and your staff members.

	 • Identify and convene a variety of stakeholders and

 regular users from whom to collect candid 

 assessments and feedback about library services 

 and impacts, and to learn how you can work 

 together toward common goals.

	 • To learn more about your local population, do

 environmental scans and demographic analyses; 

 or make use of pre-existing data from the U.S. 

 Census Bureau, market-based studies, and 

 other sources.

	 • Partner with literacy councils to become better

 informed about literacy and information needs in 

 your community.

	 • Collaborate with federal agencies, state

 organizations, professional associations, and non-

 library partners who can help you identify the 

 needs of different groups and develop strategies 

 for addressing those needs.

	 • Familiarize yourself with the landscape of available

 partners so you can be deliberate about how you 

 engage with them to strategize around assessing 

 and responding to needs.

	 • Become educated about marginalized communities

 in particular, and understand your staff’s 

 pre-existing mindsets and assumptions about 

 those communities.

	 • Don’t just gather assessment data, do something

 with it!

How do you cultivate and strengthen partnerships? 

	 • Keep a broad view of your library’s scope and what

 kind of changes in the community demographic 

 will shape their needs.

	 • Do research: get advice and information about

 prospective partners to assure you have similar or 

 complementary long-term goals.

	 • Cultivate long-term relationships that will have an

 impact beyond the life of one specific project.

	 • Look to local organizations that are already trusted

 and used by your target communities.

	 • Turn to federal agencies as a helpful source of

 information about important laws and regulations. 

	 • State libraries can play a key role as connectors

 and intermediaries to partners.

	 • Be aware of capacity: limit the number of short-

 term projects you pursue.

	 • Consistently monitor the health and success of a

 partnership by using standard metrics.

	 • Having the freedom to implement changes to

 project details to suit local conditions is important 

 to success.

How can local projects and programs help inform the rest of 

the profession?

	 • The most pressing community needs often point to

 library professional development needs. 

	 • A deep understanding of community needs can

 reposition the library and open new doors.

	 • Needs-driven data can help to scale best practices

 beyond their original settings.

	 • Libraries have a reputation as trusted institutions

 and should choose their partnerships with care.

	 • Long-term, systems-based approaches are often

 the most appropriate for deep-seated needs.

	 • An internal mindset that limits the library’s

 perceived role in the community may be its 

 biggest barrier.

	 • Messaging that offers the library to be all things to

 all people can actually overwhelm our users. 

	 • True market needs are complex, but understanding

 them better would benefit libraries greatly.

	 • It’s crucial to address project sustainability at the

 outset, but also to know when to let a project go.

	 • Not money, but staff development and engagement

 are the key to library program sustainability.

Readers can view each panel and discussion session of 

the IMLS focus meeting on engaging communities at 

www.imls.gov/news/imls_focus.aspx; you can also follow 

or join the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag 

#IMLSfocus. 
14

APPENDIX A

Tuesday June 2, 2015

Forum Agenda

9:00 – 9:30 

Welcome and Framing the Day

	 • Speaker: John Szabo, City Librarian, Los Angeles Public Library @LAPublicLibrary

	 • Introduced by: Maura Marx, Acting Director, IMLS @mauramarx / @US_IMLS

9:30 – 10:30

Assessing the Needs of Our Communities

	 • Moderator: Susan Benton, President and CEO, Urban Libraries Council @ULCSusanBenton / @UrbanLibCouncil

	 • Panelists:

	 	 Jacquie Brinkley, Library Consultant, Infopeople @infotweets 

 Danielle Milam, Development Director, Las Vegas-Clark County Library District and Foundation @taliswoman7 

 Kristin McDonough, Director, Science, Industry, and Business Library, The New York Public Library @NYPL_SIBL 

10:30 – 10:45 

Break 

10:45 – 11:30

Building Capacity with Programs and Partnerships

• Moderator: Norine Han, Citizenship Outreach Specialist, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services @USCIS 

	 • Panelists:

 John Szabo, City Librarian, Los Angeles Public Library @LAPublicLibrary

 Susan McVey, Director, Oklahoma Department of Libraries @ODLtweet 

 Homa Naficy, Multicultural Services Director, Hartford Public Library @HPLCT 

11:30 – 12:00

Celebrating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

	 • Speakers: Michele Farrell, Senior Program Officer, IMLS @US_IMLS

 Lisa Wadors Verne, Educational Program Manager, Benetech @Benetech 

12:00 – 1:00 

Working Lunch

1:00 – 1:45

Leveraging Partnerships, Part 1: Cross Sector

	 • Moderator: Yolie Flores, Senior Fellow, Campaign for Grade-Level Reading @itsyolie / @readingby3rd

	 • Panelists:

 Sherri Killins, Director of Systems Alignment and Integration, BUILD Initiative @BUILDInitiative 

 Janet McKenney, Dzirector of Development, Maine State Library @MaineStLibrary

 Kyle Zimmer, President, First Book @KyleFirstBook / @FirstBook

1:45 – 2:30

Leveraging Partnerships, Part 2: Federal

	 • Moderator: Heidi Silver-Pacuilla, Team Leader, Applied Innovation and Improvement, Office of Career, Technical,

 and Adult Education, U.S. Department of Education @LINCS_ED 

	 • Panelists

 Steve Reder, Professor, Department of Applied Linguistics, Portland State University @Portland_State

 Jamie Markus, Library Development Manager, Wyoming State Library @WyoLibraries 
15

 Denise Dombek, Division Chief, Division of Workforce Investment, Employment and Training Administration, 

 Region 6 – San Francisco, U.S. Department of Labor @USDOL 

2:30 – 2:45

Break

2:45 – 3:30

Communicating With and Beyond Our Communities 

• Moderator: Greg Lucas, State Librarian, California State Library @CAStateLibrary

	 • Panelists

 Renee F. Hill, Assistant Professor of Practice, School of Information Studies, Syracuse University @iSchoolSU 

 Rivkah Sass, Director, Sacramento Public Library @Rivkah / @saclib 

 Jennifer Peters, Community Engagement Administrator, Texas State Library and Archives Commission 

 @JenniferBPeters / @TSLAC

3:30 – 4:15

Reassessing for Success: Evaluation and Sustainability

	 • Moderator: Robert Karatsu, President, California Library Association @RKaratsu / @CalLibAssoc

	 • Panelists

 Marcia Mardis, Associate Professor, School of Information, Florida State University @FSUlibIT 

 Michelle Perera, Director, Rancho Cucamonga Library @CityOfRC 

 Julie Walker, State Librarian, Georgia Public Library Service @georgialibs 

4:15 – 4:45

Closing Remarks

	 • Speaker: Robin Dale, Associate Deputy Director, IMLS @rldale / @US_IMLS
16

APPENDIX B Attendee List 

IMLS Focus Forum on Engaging Communities

BRIAN ALBRITON, Braille Institute Library Services

SUSAN BENTON, Urban Libraries Council

MADISON BOLLS, Institute of Museum and Library Services

JACQUIE BRINKLEY, Infopeople

MARIA CARPENTER, Santa Monica Public Library

JOAN CLARK, Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records

DUBIS CORREAL, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

MARYKAY DAHLGREEN, Oregon State Library

ROBIN DALE, Institute of Museum and Library Services

DAPHNE DELEON, Nevada State Library and Archives

TERI DEVOE, Institute of Museum and Library Services

DENISE DOMBEK, U.S. Department of Labor

MICHELE FARRELL, Institute of Museum and Library Services

MIGUEL FIGUEROA, Center for the Future of Libraries, ALA

YOLIE FLORES, Campaign for Grade-Level Reading

EDITH GAVINO, Braille Institute Library Services

NORINE HAN, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

KATHY HARRIS, Department of Applied Linguistics, Portland State University

CHRYSTIE HILL, OCLC

RENEE HILL, School of Information Studies, Syracuse University

LEANNE JENKINS, Jamestown S’Klallam Tribal Library

IVAN JOHNSON, Braille Institute Library Services

ROBERT KARATSU, California Library Association

SHERRI KILLINS, BUILD Initiative

MICHELLE LIGHT, UNLV University Libraries

JAMES LONERGAN, Institute of Museum and Library Services

GREG LUCAS, California State Library

PAULA MACKINNON, Califa Group

MARCIA MARDIS, School of Information, Florida State University

JAMIE MARKUS, Wyoming State Library

MAURA MARX, Institute of Museum and Library Services

KRISTIN MCDONOUGH, Science, Industry, and Business Library, New York Public Library

JANET MCKENNEY, Maine State Library

SUSAN MCVEY, Oklahoma Department of Libraries

DANIELLE MILAM, Las Vegas-Clark County Public Library

KATIE MURRAY, Institute of Museum and Library Services
17

HOMA NACIFY, Hartford Public Library

ANDREW PACE, OCLC

MICHELLE PERERA, Rancho Cucamonga Library

JENNIFER PETERS, Texas State Library and Archives Commission

STEVE REDER, Department of Applied Linguistics, Portland State University

JUDY RENO, College Depot at Phoenix Public Library

KATHY ROBINS, Billings Public Library

SARAH ROSENBLUM, Marshalltown Public Library

RIVKAH SASS, Sacramento Public Library

HEIDI SILVER-PACUILLA, U.S. Department of Education

SHARON STREAMS, OCLC

MAUREEN SULLIVAN, Maureen Sullivan Associates

JOHN SZABO, Los Angeles Public Library

SANDRA TORO, Institute of Museum and Library Services

LISA WADORS VERNE, Benetech

JULIE WALKER, Georgia Public Library Service

MARLENE ZENTZ, University of Montana

KYLE ZIMMER, First Book
18

IMLS FOCUS

ENGAGING COMMUNITIES