A community development approach encourages and
promotes philosophies, strategies and empathies that
build and strengthen relationships between socially
excluded community members and the Library. At the
same time a community development approach
contributes to the growth of responsive and relevant
library services and models that focus on library
community connections.
- Libraries in Marginal Communities: A Demonstration Project
“Bad libraries build collections. Good libraries build
services. Great libraries build community.”
-
David Lankes, Expect More
OPPORTUNITY
Central Library Construction Project
Opening Doors Immigrant Settlement Project
The Working Together Project – 2004-2008
 A joint project of Vancouver, Regina, Toronto and
Halifax public libraries
 Explored social inclusion, connection to
communities, service barriers
 Creating a new service model for inclusive
community libraries
 Resulted in the Community-led Libraries Toolkit
But the project was not the end…
Director of
Public Services
Director of
Branch Services
Manager of Diversity,
Literacy and English
Language Learning (ELL)
Branches
Manager of Community
Development
Community-Led Service Philosophy was applied in
pilot projects with
 Immigrant communities
 First Nations communities
 A rural community, geographically isolated from
mainstream service
 An urban community of socially excluded, economically
disadvantaged people
Success provided encouragement that we were on the
right track…
Strategic Planning
 A collaborative process engaging the Library Board,
senior staff and managers at every level of the Library
 Rethinking our values, our mission, our role in the
community
 Identifying challenges, opportunities, risks,
organizational changes needed
 Setting goals – determining objectives, implementing
action plans
 Communicating the Strategic Plan to every staff
member
Connecting people,
Enriching communities,
Inspiring discovery.
THE ACID TEST
Why not apply the community-led philosophy to
designing the new $55 million Central Library in
the downtown core?
 Peer Leadership Program (an 18-month program of
behavioral exploration and leadership development)
 Restructuring (all managers engaged in a complex task to
reorganize management structure)
 Reinforcing team-based, cross-functional management
 Implementing participative, employee-led management
meetings
 Art of Hosting training (to develop skill in leading public
engagement consultations)
But the structure wasn’t right…
 It was seen as external to branches and project-driven
 The vision needed to be better integrated into the branch
network and more meaningful to daily operations
Director of
Community Engagement
Manager of
Diversity and
Accessibility
Manager of
Community-Led
Service
Branches
What do your rules say about you?
 Does a long list of prohibited behaviours indicate
inclusiveness?
 Do your rules create a good customer experience?
 How often do we question why a rule is needed?
To answer these questions, a Policy Revision Team was
formed with these goals:
 Remove negativity in all our public messages
 Make the customer experience easy and pleasant
Step 1
 Flew in Markham Public Library staff to present their customer
service revolution program in 5 workshops
 IMPACT: Immediate staff engagement
Step 2
 Staff were invited to respond to the statement “Today I bent a
rule (or wanted to) for the sake of good customer service,”
followed by 3 questions:
 Describe the situation and how you handled it or how you wished you
could have handled it
 What policy / procedure / rule got in the way?
 If you know the policy number, include it
 96% staff response – ‘front line staff are often not asked
about what works and what doesn’t
 Identified the policies and practices most in need of revision
 Provided immediate and on-going opportunities for staff at
all levels to become more engaged in library decisions
Unexpected Bonus
 Caused library to reconsider why library shelvers were not
permitted to answer public questions - the customer does
not make a distinction between staff ranks
 Immediate positive public feedback
Replace the Negatives with Simple Positive Statements
 “Halifax Public Libraries is a place of discovery where people
gather to create, to explore and to learn. In order to achieve
safe and welcoming shared spaces we expect everyone to treat
customers, staff and property with respect.”
 “Conduct that is disruptive, unsafe, prevents the enjoyment of
the library by others or interferes with library operations is not
permitted.”
Only 3 specific unwelcome behaviours were retained
 Soliciting, canvassing, unauthorized selling
 Use of strong scents and odours
 Unreasonable noise
BEFORE
AFTER
 Bringing animals into the
Library except to assist people
with a disability or in an
authorized program
 Service animals and animals in
authorized programs are
welcome in the library.
 Disrupting others by using cell
phones in meeting rooms or
quiet study, reading, computer
or stack areas or by playing
music or other media at a level
that interferes with other
customers.
 Dropped entirely – in an era of
mobile technology, this seemed
unreasonable and is covered
under the general unreasonable
noise provision.
“Immigration Integration Through
Engagement with Public Libraries”
 Funded by Citizenship and Immigration Canada
 Operated from November 2012 – March 2013
 Hired three staff positions – two Immigrant Services
Coordinators and one Program Facilitator
 Funding for programming, website, production of resources,
translation, staff training, etc.
 Based at the Keshen Goodman Public Library
 Most diverse community served by Halifax Public Libraries
 From 1996-2006, immigrant population increased by 49.5%
 In 2006, Keshen Goodman’s catchment area population has
almost 24% of HRM’s total immigrant population
 12% of Keshen Goodman’s catchment area population was
immigrant – HRM’s overall percentage was 7.4% (2006)
 Halifax West High School – next door to the branch – 50
languages spoken
 Trends continue – new Bhutanese community, etc.
Sohelia Hashemi
Youmei Chen
(Iranian – Farsi)
(Chinese – Mandarin)
Heather
MacKenzie
(Manager, Diversity &
Accessibility)
Huwaida Medani
(Sudanese – Arabic)
 Community Advisory Group and sub committees of
immigrants and agencies
 Women’s Knitting Group
 Multi-lingual computer classes
 Outreach visits
 The Art of Belonging
Connecting people, enriching communities, inspiring discovery
 “It was amazing that we had an opportunity to see our
cultural heritage in Canada. Thank you”
 “My wife and I have enjoyed all four days with the Persian,
Arabian, Chinese and Nepalese/ Bhutanese cultures. We
enjoyed talking to them about their culture, loved listening to
their music and really loved the food. We are of one heart
with the world and learn so much from each other. Thank
you for a wonderful week.”
 The beauty of our human family tree has been expressed
this week in all its diversity. Thank you to this very special
library for creating a village – each day has felt like a special
family picnic. Where else can we experience dance, song,
food, friends AND table tennis? In our local library! Sincere
thanks!”
 Absolutely amazing. All week! We just need as Nova
Scotians / Canadians to open our eyes and our hearts!
Thank you for all your work.”
 Building funding capacity is critical – beyond grants
 Cultural attitudes to volunteering differ among cultures
 Importance of food
 Outside funders can restrict participants or spark turf wars
 Negative attitudes still exist
 Translation is less important than was thought – simple
English is a common bond between cultures
 Developing next 3-year plan
 Building funding capacity in the budget
 Expanding to other branches – focusing on those with
English Language Learning programs
 Citizenship preparation course
 Growing volunteer opportunities
 Create permanent Employment Equity positions – union
refused to accept project staff as internal applicants;
concession to include “applicants must be an immigrant
whose first language is not English” in posting for Immigrant
Services Library Assistant.
QUESTIONS
?