Libraries can play a vital role in building social cohesion and promoting community resilience, especially in challenging times. The Surgeon General’s 2023 Advisory on Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation brings even greater urgency to the need for us to connect. This engaging session explores ways to intentionally design for social connection in library services and programs, from passive to hosted. These innovative and practical strategies can deepen engagement with staff, trustees, local officials, volunteers, and community members of all ages and backgrounds. Through the lens of "social connector," we explore how libraries can invite the community in with intention, build relationships that enhance social infrastructure, put community at the center of the library, and demonstrate the library’s impact.

Strengthening social cohesion can be accomplished in ways that adapt to libraries of all sizes and budgets. Engagement strategies can support many facets of library work, from strategic planning and community assessment to programming and partnerships. The strategies are highly scalable – you can start small, build skills, and maintain flexibility. 

Presented by: Brooke Doyle, Senior Project Coordinator, OCLC; and Jennifer Peterson, WebJunction Community Manager, OCLC

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• Session Resources and Action Guide (doc) Use alone or with others to extend your learning.

Related Resources and Links

• A version of this session was presented at the 2023 ARSL Conference. Learn more: WebJunction at the Association for Rural & Small Libraries Conference
  
• Surgeon General’s 2023 Advisory on Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation
• Press Release New Surgeon General Advisory Raises Alarm about the Devastating Impact of the Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation in the United States, May 2023
• Video overview: https://youtu.be/B8pa506BFk4
• Factors That Can Shape Social Connection (pdf)
• WHO launches commission to foster social connection, 15 November 2023
• Australia's Loneliness Awareness Week
• Victoria Libraries
• Libraries for Health and Wellbeing: A strategic framework for Victoria public libraries towards 2024 (pdf)
• Libraries for Health and Wellbeing: A Partnerships Toolkit (pdf)
• Socially Connected Communities: Solutions for Social Isolation
• In this WebJunction article, Noah Lenstra reflects on a report on Socially Connected Communities: Solutions for Social Isolation published by Healthy Places by Design highlighting how libraries and other leaders can work together to address this issue.
• Palaces for the People: How social infrastructure can help fight inequality, polarization, and the decline of civic life, Eric Klinenberg, 2018
• Dalmer, Nicole K.; McKenzie, Pam; Rothbauer, Paulette; Martin-Yeboah, Ebenezer; and Oswald, Kevin, "Palaces for the People: Mapping Public Libraries' Capacity for Social Connection and Inclusion" (2022). FIMS Publications. 375. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/fimspub/375
• Project unlonely: healing our crisis of disconnection, by Jeremy Nobel. See also Project Unlonely, Project Unlonely Films and Colors & Connection. Nobel unpacks our personal and national experience of loneliness to discover its roots and take steps to find comfort and connection.
• What Organizations and Communities Can Do to Promote Social Connectedness, CDC
•  The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters, by Priya Parker
  
• Building Connections: The Gathering Toolkit
• Learn the art of gathering (pdf), a short summary of the art of hosting created by WebJunction
• Favorite Prompts: Icebreakers and other engaging questions (doc), collected from conference attendees
• Ignite Your Meetings: Bringing All Voices to the Table (pdf), handout by Erin Suda & Katrina Carabba, from Whatcom County Library System (WA) showcasing fantastic approaches to facilitating meetings and other events.
  
• Program Model: Coffee & Conversation from Dallas Public Library on the Programming Librarian
• World Café Method and Hosting Tool Kit
• Madison Public Library
• Tell Us!, a community-led planning process
• Tell Us Packet (pdf)
• Beyond the Survey – Basket of Discovery Tools (pdf) and webinar, Getting to the Heart of the Community Through Discovery, WebJunction
• The Bridgebuilding Resource Hub offers tools for bridging and other civic strengthening activities. See Case study for Lighthouse in the Library.
  
• Libraries Transforming Communities (LTC) Facilitation Skills for Small and Rural Libraries, a free asynchronous six-part e-course and facilitation guide from the American Library Association
• Loneliness, a collection of information and resources from The Social Work Graduate
• Additional links shared in chat
• Oregon Post Adoption Resource Center's Culture Connection Collection
• Museum of Loneliness with a call for artists of visual media
• Books2Eat: The International Edible Book Festival
• Death Cafe