Extraordinary at any size

This program was a recap of the Libraries Transforming Communities initiative, a two-year project where chosen libraries implemented a very specific action plan (called the Harwood Method) to transform their community.  

Here are the core COMPONENTS  of the method:

*based on Pebble theory of change- one small change has a ripple effect

*Libraries should be moving outward not inward; not trying to bring community to the library but rather taking the library to the community

*Librarians are no longer just stewards of books, but stewards of knowledge within the community.

*Libraries must tailor their changes to the communities capacity

*The change process is iterative.

Here are the core ACTIVITIES of the method:

*Go outside; talk to "unusual suspects"

*Ask different questions to groups - what is your wish for the community, what do you think is the strength of the community, what are the gaps, etc. (think Appreciative Inquiry)

*Aggregate and digest the data. Share the data.

*develop action plan- who, where, what, when, how

*Take action within the community.  Don't be afraid to fail.

*Repeat!

Three libraries then discussed their experiences with the the Harwood method- San Jose PL, LAPL, Spokane County PL.  lots of successes and failure among the three.

If you're curious how "outward" you may be focused, try this "Turned Outward Quiz":

http://www.ala.org/transforminglibraries/sites/ala.org.transforminglibraries/files/content/LTC_TurnOutward_0.pdf