Best Practices
Working together project
[Vancouver Public Library, Canada]Each library system hired a community development librarian, which developed new ways of collaborating and partnering with community members, while addressing questions of service equity, systemic barriers, and inclusive library practices.
The Community-Led Libraries Toolkit
The Community-Led Libraries Toolkit discusses the techniques used by the Project staff as they worked with their communities both to identify and eliminate barriers to service and to develop and test a service model in which socially excluded people can actively participate as equals in library decision making and planning.
The toolkit has some specific objectives:
• To increase libraries’ understanding of the unintended consequences of traditional library policy, procedures, and practice.
• To improve our understanding of the different ways libraries have traditionally involved communities and to promote a community-led approach for service to socially excluded communities.
• To support lasting improvements in the provision of inclusive and accessible library services for socially excluded communities
• To facilitate the empowerment of socially excluded community members through participatory service planning processes
• To foster constructive and collaborative working relationships between libraries and socially excluded communities
Source: Annette Defaveri (Vancouver Public Library) World Library and Information Congress: 74th IFLA general conference and council
The complete version is available at www.ifla.org
Project website www.librariesincommunities.ca
CONTACT:
Vancouver Public Library - for more information about the project contact Ms. Sandra Singh
350 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, V6B 6B1 Canada
