Abby Schreck
Research Mentor(s): Deborah Robinson
Department or Program: Institute for Social Research
Authors: Abigail Schreck, Deborah Robinson, PhD, Karin Schneider
Session: Session 2: 1:00pm-1:50pm
Poster: 45
Abstract
The National Impact of Library Public Programs Assessment was conducted by the Public Programs Office of the American Library Association in 2019. That assessment identified Knowledge of the Community (K of C) as one of nine competencies librarians who conduct public programming should have. Competency in knowledge of the community would encompass knowing the needs of the community, building reciprocal relationships, and ensuring that library programming serves and is relevant to all community members. Despite librarians being integral players in the development and health of communities, their knowledge of the community has yet to be studied systematically as an important competency. The second pilot study of the Developing a Model of Black History Month Programming in Public Libraries included 23 survey questions to create a scale to assess librarians’ knowledge of the community. An analysis of two of the knowledge of the community items indicated an increased confidence among survey respondents was associated with both longer tenure as a librarian and time spent working in their specific community. This suggests that such competency is associated with longer-term and sustained community engagement which may foster trust and connection between librarians and community members, leaders, and groups. With an eventual goal of understanding factors that influence the implementation and scope of Black History Month (BHM) programming in public libraries, analyzing how librarians’ confidence in their interactions with and knowledge of the communities they serve is crucial to not only understanding the factors that contribute to BHM programming but also to growing scholarship about community-engaged praxis.
