community outreach – OPEN SHELF

Supporting communities through successful engagement

The pandemic has challenged the way libraries connect and engage with their local communities. Here are some of the exciting findings shared by presenters as part of the OPLA Community-Led Think Tank's Community Conversation and what they might mean for the future of community librarianship.

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Back to blogging: Revitalizing blogs in the age of COVID

Staff at the University of Toronto Music Library have gone "back to blogging" and this form of outreach has proven to be a successful way to keep in touch with patrons during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Finnish public libraries integrate diverse services to support equity & inclusion

Finnish public libraries are mandated to provide equal access to materials and services for all citizens, and staff are pushing the boundaries of how access is defined, by widening the scope of service offerings.

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Connecting students to seniors: Channelling exam stress into creative card-making at U of T Libraries

Sabrina Macklai, Kaitlin Fuller, and Vincci Lui share a project that combined student wellness and community outreach during the winter holidays.

InsideOCULA

Reviewing The public

The public is my kind of movie. The hero is a flawed character who has been given a second chance that he uses to help those who are also in a bad place.

Open for All?

Retrogames revisited

By Aleksandra Minic and Robert Smith What happens when retro becomes modern and vintage is more than just the “cool past?” Well, you might…

InsideOCULA

Teen Lunch Bunch: Building trust and community at the Niagara Falls Public Library

It all started in the fall of 2017. Teens from the nearby high school mysteriously started appearing at one of our small branch library locations over the lunch hour. Week by week, the group grew, and so did the noise and food … and the sidelong looks from adult customers.

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The Spark: Community-led initiatives at Brockville Public Library

In endeavoring to to meet the needs of our communities, we as library staff have to ignite the sparks.

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Many hats, a door that’s hard to close: Life in small(er) libraries

There are approximately 380 public libraries across Ontario. The majority of these libraries serve smaller, frequently rural populations, with 258 serving resident populations under…

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Instastacks: Promoting Collections and Community through Instagram

By Jillian Sparks In January 2016, we established our Instagram account, @jordan_library, for the W.D. Jordan Rare Books and Special Collections at Queen’s University.…

InsideOCULA

IFLA/UNESCO manifesto & toolkit: Creating multicultural libraries

As the out-going chair of the IFLA Library Services for Multicultural Populations Section, I shared this manifesto with participants at the IFLA 2017 conference, held…

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Welcoming LGBTQ+ people

How can we demonstrate, through action, that LGBTQ+ people are welcome in libraries? In the first article in this limited series of conversations, Amanda…

LGBTQ+

Pokémon GO! 7 Ways a Library Took on a Phenomenon

Did you get caught up in Pokémon GO! fever? While the pace was frantic, Halifax Public Libraries was able to stay astride, and we…

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