ALA 2015 Midwinter Meeting programs will help libraries lead positive community change

CHICAGO — All communities have challenges. Libraries are uniquely positioned to help conquer them — given the right tools.

The American Library Association (ALA) will offer a series of free learning sessions at its 2015 Midwinter Meeting that will help libraries leverage their trusted position in the community to engage people on issues that matter.

The 2015 ALA Midwinter Meeting & Exhibits will take place Jan. 30 to Feb. 2 at McCormick Place in Chicago.

Offered in partnership with The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation, the four “Turning Outward to Lead Change in Your Community” sessions will demonstrate practical tools to aid in decision-making, facilitation and leadership. Each stand-alone session focuses on a single tool; taken together, they become a powerful framework for engaging community and leading change.

All sessions will be held on Saturday, Jan. 31, in McCormick Place West W178. Attend one session or all four.

• “Turning Outward to Lead Change in Your Community: Aspirations” (8:30 to 10 a.m.) will help libraries focus on community aspirations, identify next steps for change and create an aspirations-based story for their community as a starting point for library action.

• “Turning Outward to Lead Change in Your Community: Turn Quiz” (10:30 a.m. to noon) will introduce librarians to the “Turn Quiz” tool, enabling them to assess the focus of their efforts in the community as they shift their orientation from internal to external.

• “Turning Outward to Lead Change in Your Community: Intentionality” (1 to 2:30 p.m.) will enable participants to test the external orientation and mindfulness of their community engagement choices and decisions.

• “Turning Outward to Lead Change in Your Community: Sustaining Yourself” (3 to 4:30 p.m.) will help librarians personally map the components that feed their motivation and commitment for community work.

View the learning materials from these sessions, as well as free webinars, training guides and more, at ala.org/LTC/resources.

These sessions are offered as part of Libraries Transforming Communities (LTC), an ALA initiative that seeks to strengthen libraries’ roles as community leaders and change-agents by developing and distributing tools to help library professionals connect with their communities in new ways. The initiative is made possible through a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Learn more at ala.org/LTC.

The community engagement techniques shared in LTC are based on the Harwood Institute’s “turning outward” practice, which emphasizes shifting the institutional and professional orientation of libraries and librarians from internal to external.

Generally held in January, the ALA Midwinter Meeting & Exhibits draws nearly 10,000 leaders in the library and information industry for some 2,400 meetings, while more than 450 exhibitors will showcase the latest innovative products, services, and technologies for libraries and their users. For more information on ALA Midwinter Meeting events and speakers, visit ala.org/midwinter.