Librarians Build Communities (LBC)A volunteer program proposal for WLA

Easter DiGangi

What is LBC?

A national ”skills-based” volunteer program Project of ALA Chapter Relations Office Mission: ”[t]o connect librarians and community

organizations in need of skills volunteers in order to form meaningful volunteer opportunities and to improve awareness of the expertise librarians possess.”

History

Origin: 1998 Volunteer Day at ALA MW in New Orleans

– co-sponsored by the Louisiana Library Association

– Initiative of former ALA president Barbara Ford 2006: Volunteer Day at ALA Annual called ”Libraries Build

Communities” in New Orleans Continued from 2007-2011 2011: Emerging Leaders (EL) Project F expanded to a national

program which was renamed to “Librarians Build Communities” 2012: EL Project G will continue work on the program

Implementation in WI Volunteer Day

– Location-based• Annual Conference, Library Legislative Day, or

other assigned day

• Collect Volunteer Opportunities

• Volunteers register for event and select among opportunities

• Option to organize transporation & food if desired

– State-wide (like ”WI Libraries Say Cheese!”)• Promote to Volunteer Hosts and Potential

Volunteers

• Sample press release and encourage pictures

On-Going

– List Volunteer Opportunities on WLA website

Tools

Project Description Form (Word)

Online Volunteer Opportunity Form (powered by GoogleDocs)

Volunteer Sign-up Form (powered by GoogleDocs)

Volunteer Waiver

Partnerships

Marketing

And more.....

Benefits

Easy, flexible program Illustrate importance of librarians and libraries of

all types in Wisconsin communities Great networking opportunity for librarians Great way for up-and-coming librarians to get

experience Allow retirees to continue to use their skills

Testimonials

“I truly believe these experiences bring librarians closer and we gain a sense of pride in what we do. The Libraries Build Communities experience exemplifies what we value as librarians: cooperation, volunteerism, and professionalism. Thanks for all you do to makethis possible.”--Barbara Fiedman, 2010 Volunteer at Johnson Middle School (D.C.)

Thanks to your efforts, each of the 294 books in the data base now has a spine label, a barcode and a plastic cover (if needed) and has been stamped with the school address and then shelved. Everyone who saw the room originally marvels at the transformation taking place and your hard work has really pushed us forward in the effort to create a

library. The kids in this school have been shortchanged in school and in life and appreciate all you have done to improve their educational experience.

– Terry Blackwelder, 2010 Site Facilitator at Johnson Middle School (D.C.)

LBC in pictures & videos

Pictures 2006 (New Orleans)

– Video 1

– Video 2 2007 (D.C.) 2008 (Anaheim, CA) 2009 (Chicago) 2010 (D.C.) 2011 (New Orleans)

Questions

Website: https://sites.google.com/site/librariansbuildcommuniti

es/

ALA EL 2011 Progress Report: http://connect.ala.org/node/151700

Easter DiGangi easter (dot) digangi (at) uwalumni (dot) com www.easterdigangi.com