News
-
Pima County Library: Building Community through Cultural Humility
It’s no secret that a lot of really wonderful people work in libraries. I learn so much from having regular access to motivated, smart people who are so passionate about helping others. The best librarians possess a unique blend of conviction, commit...
-
Skills for Community-Centered Libraries Curriculum Available
Like many libraries across the nation, the Free Library of Philadelphia is undergoing a paradigm shift. Increasingly, our focus is not only on extensive collections but on how we are engaging with our communities. To address this shift, the Free Libr...
-
Library as a Social Assistance Office
With a determined stride and a big smile, Ida Abolins walks over to the writing desk at the window of the library in San Francisco and asks a young man bending over a pile of paper, "How are you doing?"
Overlooking the lavish City ... -
Prioritizing Accessibility and Disability Inclusion at Your Library
Putting a focus on accessibility helps create a library that can be enjoyed by more people and can connect more people to the information and resources they need. Opportunities to make libraries more accessible can include decisions about your collec...
-
Customer Service in Libraries: Meeting Evolving Needs
Customer service is one of the most consistently popular topics on WebJunction. From attendees at live webinars to users of the content in our Course Catalog, it is clear that customer service is on the minds of library staff. The interest extends be...
-
Community Engagement: Redefining the Library as Town Square
Libraries are evolving, leaning outside of our walls, connecting with our communities in new and powerful ways. Defining our "why" requires understanding how to shift our focus from books to people. Our purpose is to support people and thei...
-
Blessing Box: Take What You Need, Leave What You Can
This is the second article in a series published in collaboration with the Association for Rural and Small Libraries (ARSL), highlighting innovation shared on ARSL's amazing and active Listserv.
ARSL member Jennifer Johnson-Spence, serves as... -
Resources on Libraries and Homelessness
A collection of resources, webinars, courses, video, and articles on libraries and how they can serve community members experiencing homelessness.
-
Librarians Leave "Fort Ref" and Reach Out with Reference
The role of reference is changing, and librarians at Douglas County Libraries in Colorado, United States, took an active approach to examining what reference could look like for their community. Through a series of small projects and collaborative ef...
-
Approaching Conflict as an Opportunity for Growth
Before the webinar "Growing Through Conflict: Healthy Workplace Communication," was even over, the participants were already asking for more! WebJunction's own, Anna Shelton shared techniques and skills to approach conflict in our lives. Be...