Best Practices
Affinity Centres – A Tool for Reaching Diverse Communities: The San Francisco Model
[San Francisco Public Library, USA]The Library Foundation, a separate non-governmental organization, raised $32 million (U.S.) from private donors to furnish and equip this “state of the art” facility. The private
fundraising effort was called: The Main Campaign. A major success factor in the private fundraising effort for the Main Campaign was the creation and marketing of “affinity centres” as a tool for attracting donor contributions. Affinity centres were proposed as dedicated spaces in the building program that would house collections and sponsor programs designed to meet the library needs of various underserved segments of the community. This strategy proved successful, not only because of the financial contributions that were received, but additionally because of the high level of engagement and participation by various underserved segments of the community in the Main Campaign and ultimately in the future of the new library, its programs and collections. By the conclusion of the Main Campaign, affinity group participation resulted in the creation of dedicated spaces in the library: African-American, Hispanic/Latino, Chinese, Filipino-American, Gay & Lesbian and environmental communities.
Example of services in a centre:
The African American Center is a collection of in-library-use materials that serves as an introduction to African American and African history and culture throughout the Black Diaspora.
Collections and Services Available
- Staff and information services available at the General Collections & Humanities Center desk
- Encarta Africana (CD ROM)
- Rotating exhibitions in the African American Center
- Exhibitions
- Events
Helpful Resources
* African American Web Sites
* Decoding Identity: I Do It for My People
* The Hewitt Collection of African American Art: African American Artists from 1949-1998
* Readings on Slavery
* AFRICA.dot.COM
* Double Exposure: African Americans Before and Behind the Camera
* African American Interest Urban/Contemporary Fiction
* Let Your Motto be Resistance: African American Portraits
Sources:
Affinity
Centres - A Tool for Reaching Diverse Communities: The San Francisco
Model
Martín Gómez
CONTACT:
San Francisco Public Library
100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 557-4400
