The Social Library, Volume 18
Jennifer Peterson
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23 June 2015
In Volume 18 of our Social Library we surfaced a number of wonderful events hosted by libraries who are creating opportunities for communities to come together, broaden minds, and exchange ideas. From a 5K fundraiser to a public forum, these libraries are demonstrating the power of partnerships and the role libraries can play in lifelong learning and community buildiing.
- The Lexington Public Library in Kentucky, along with their partners, hosted the Second Annual World Refugee Day Summit on June 18. The event brought 171 attendees to 16 sessions, exploring how they can better serve refugees in Lexington. #LexWorldRefugeeDay helped build awareness around the experiences of community members from Iraq, the Congo, and Bhutan, the three major refugee groups in Lexington.
- The Kitsap Regional Library in Washington is hosting an event, Using Their Powers for Good: How Geektivists, Geek Grrls, and Gaymers are Creating More Inclusive Communities, sponsored by Humanities Washington Speakers Bureau and the East Bremerton Friends of the Library. The speaker, Jennifer K. Stuller, explores the people and organizations that are using community-building to create alternative spaces, crowd-sourcing to circumvent traditional modes of production, media criticism to challenge and raise awareness, and performance to subvert gender norms.
- The Keene Valley Library along with the Clinton-Essex-Franklin Library System in New York announced they had a successful fundraiser on Sunday. The Keene Valley Fun Run/Walk for Books helped to raise funds to purchase e-books and audiobooks for all of the 33 libraries across three counties. A wonderful video by Keene Valley Library Director, Karen Glass, encouraged the community to take part in the 5K, to show their support. The $25 entrance fee included breakfast and a commemorative mug, along with raffle prizes and a cheering crowd at the finish line.
The Westchester Library System in New York, along with a number of community partners, is sponsoring a Public Forum on Family Issues. The community will be gathering at the library for free pizza, and the public forum led by the Westchester County Board of Legislators, Task Force on Families. The flyer invites the community to come help develop a bill of rights for Westchester families, welcoming input on ways to make life easier.
- The Hartford Public Library will be screening 9 films this summer as part of their annual Global Lens Series. The films are provided by the Global Film Initiative through their Global Public Library Program. "Libraries work with the Initiative and other partners on vibrant presentations of the series in their communities and after exhibition, libraries are invited to keep films for their permanent lending collection." If you are interested in hosting a series in your community see more on partner requirements and invitation guidelines at Global Public Library Program.
We look forward to seeking out next week's treasures from those we follow on Facebook. If you have innovative and impactful programs going on at your library that you'd like to showcase, let us know at [email protected], or find us on Facebook.
Thanks to all of this week's featured libraries for such outstanding service to your communities!