Libraries as Community Catalysts
Libraries as Community Catalysts is an OCLC research and programming initiative that seeks to support libraries and cultural institutions as catalysts for positive change. This work understands libraries as crucial community hubs with dynamic spaces for learning, collaboration, and community engagement.
OCLC Research partners with libraries and cultural institutions to offer the resources needed to meet changing community needs. This approach emphasizes the evolving and expanding role of libraries as essential contributors to a community's well-being and development.
Publications
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Redefining the library experience: Findings from the 2023 OCLC Global Council Survey
29 August 2023
Lynn Silipigni Connaway, Joanne Cantrell, Peggy Gallagher, Lesley A. Langa, Christina Rodriques
This report presents findings from a global survey of libraries that explored themes such as community engagement, collaboration, and innovative programs that meet library users’ continually evolving needs and expectations.
Libraries model sustainability: The results of an OCLC survey on library contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals
8 February 2023
Lynn Silipigni Connaway, Brooke Doyle, Christopher Cyr, Peggy Gallagher, Joanne Cantrell
This author accepted manuscript presents findings from a global survey of libraries that investigated if and how libraries are incorporating the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals into strategic planning.
Public Health Crisis Management Playbook for Archives, Libraries, and Museums
1 September 2022
REopening Archives, Libraries, and Museums (REALM) project
Develop a plan for your institution to navigate and recover from a public health emergency with the Public Health Crisis Management Playbook for Archives, Libraries, and Museums. This free resource supports cultural heritage institutions in planning for a significant public health emergency.
Reimagine Descriptive Workflows: A Community-informed Agenda for Reparative and Inclusive Descriptive Practice
5 April 2022
Rachel L. Frick, Merrilee Proffitt
This community agenda contextualizes the challenges facing the library and information field in inclusive and reparative metadata work and offers a framework of guidance can help frame institutions’ local priorities and areas for change.
Call to Action: Public Libraries and the Opioid Crisis
26 February 2020
Scott G. Allen, Larra Clark, Michele Coleman, Lynn Silipigni Connaway, Chris Cyr, Kendra Morgan, Mercy Procaccini
OCLC has partnered with the Public Library Association (PLA) to issue Call to Action: Public Libraries and the Opioid Crisis, a report that offers strategies for public libraries to consider as they determine a local response to the nationwide opioid crisis. This is the culminating output from the IMLS-funded project Public Libraries Respond to the Opioid Crisis with Their Communities.
Public Libraries Respond to the Opioid Crisis with Their Communities: Summary Report
29 October 2019
Scott G. Allen, Larra Clark, Michele Coleman, Lynn Silipigni Connaway, Chris Cyr, Kendra Morgan, Mercy Procaccini
As the impact of the opioid epidemic is felt in communities across the US, public libraries are choosing to be part of the community response. With funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and in partnership with the Public Library Association (PLA), OCLC is sharing knowledge and resources that will help public libraries and their community partners develop effective strategies to address the opioid epidemic in America.
Public Libraries Respond to the Opioid Crisis with Their Communities: Case Studies
28 October 2019
Scott G. Allen, Larra Clark, Michele Coleman, Lynn Silipigni Connaway, Chris Cyr, Kendra Morgan, Mercy Procaccini
This report includes eight research-based case studies highlighting varying opioid response efforts across eight locations in the US. The report details each library's response, the partnerships formed, reactions of the community, outcomes of the efforts, as well as challenges, needs, and opportunities.
Equity, Diversity, Inclusion: Seattle’s ‘Loud at the Library’ Collaboration
19 September 2019
CiKeithia Pugh, Brooke Doyle
Pugh and Doyle share how the Seattle Public Library (SPL) has explored new paths in pursuit of racial equity, and the lessons that all libraries can take from this effort. This article shares an illuminating example of community engagement efforts at SPL that led to the creation of a new storytime program, Loud at the Library.
WikiCite 2018-2019: Citations for the sum of all human knowledge
17 July 2019
Phoebe Ayers, Daniel Mietchen, Jake Orlowitz, Merrilee Proffitt, Sarah Rodlund, Elizabeth Seiver, Dario Taraborelli, Ben Vershbow
WikiCite is an initiative uniting the Wikidata, linked data, and library communities to create an open repository of bibliographic data. This WikiCite 2018 conference overview examines the future of open bibliographic data and the impact that WikiCite achieved over the past year.
Public Libraries Respond to the Opioid Crisis in Collaboration with Their Communities: An Introduction
27 April 2019
Michele Coleman, Lynn Silipigni Connaway
OCLC is partnering with the Public Library Association on the Public Libraries Respond to the Opioid Crisis with Their Communities project to identify, synthesize, and share knowledge and resources with public libraries to develop effective strategies to address the opioid epidemic in America.