Chicago Stories of Community Building

ABOUT THIS REPORT In late summer, 2005, Co-Director Jody Kretzmann and researcher Susan Rans from the Asset-Based Community Development Institute at Northwestern University agreed to visit several Chicago Branch Libraries to investigate the role of public libraries in neighborhoods. This report illustrates a variety of ways local libraries contribute to community development, looking at multiple layers of involvement: individual, voluntary associations, institutions, economy, place, and, importantly, the stories they tell about themselves in their communities. The Urban Libraries Council hopes this report will spark other communities to investigate the catalytic work of libraries in their communities, to understand the rich contributions being made, and to tell their stories. THE Engaged Library: Chicago Stories of Community Building ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS Idea: The Urban Assets Strategy Group, Executive Board, and Martín Gómez, President of the Urban Libraries Council, EXECUTIVE SUMMARY . 2 and Mary A. Dempsey, Commissioner, Chicago Public Library. INTRODUCTION . 4 Research and Publication Copy: Jody Kretzmann and Susan Rans at the Asset- CHAPTER 1 Based Community Development Institute, Northwestern University, Evanston IL DEEPLY EMBEDDED . 7 Editing: Danielle Milam, Urban Libraries Council, Evanston IL CHAPTER 2 INSTITUTIONAL PARTNERING . 10 Underwriting: The Chicago Community Trust, Chicago Public Library Foundation, and the Institute for Museum & Library CHAPTER 3 Services. CULTURE CONNECTIONS . 13 Copyright © December 2005. The Urban Libraries Council, Jody Kretzmann, and CHAPTER 4 Susan Rans. All rights reserved. The U.S. Institute for Museum and Library Services FOR THE YOUNG PEOPLE . 16 (IMLS) reserves, for Federal government purposes, a royalty-free, non-exclusive, and CHAPTER 5 irrevocable license to reproduce, publish, or otherwise use the work and authorize oth- FITTING TOGETHER . 19 ers to reproduce, publish or otherwise use the work. CHAPTER 6 Printed in the United States of America FUELING THE ECONOMY . 22 ISBN: 1-885251-33-5 CHAPTER 7 COMMUNITY SPACE . 24 CHAPTER 8 BRIDGES AND WEBS . 26 URBAN LIBRARIES COUNCIL LESSONS LEARNED: “GOOD THINGS HAPPEN HERE” . 28 Chicago Public Library Foundation ENGAGED LIBRARY TOOLBOX . 31 TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE 1 THE Engaged Library: EXECUTIVE Chicago Stories of Community Building SUMMARY NO LONGER A PASSIVE repository of books and information or an outpost of culture, quiet and decorum in a noisy world, the new library is an active and responsive part of the community and an agent for change. In Better Together: Restoring the American Community, Harvard Sociologist Robert Putnam and community activist Lewis Feldstein make this obser- vation, calling libraries a “bridge” for building social connections. In the world of community building, local libraries have a unique and powerful role. While many places and organizations “bond” together people of like mind, libraries also have the capacity to “bridge” – bring together different types of people who may not share experiences with each other otherwise. Putnam and Feldstein describe how ‘planting’ a library in a community can turn a place around physically, encouraging new social networks and attracting further reinvest- ment and development. This report takes that line of inquiry further. The Urban Libraries Council, with generous support from The Chicago Community Trust and Chicago Public Library Foundation, commissioned researchers in the Asset- Based Community Development Institute at Northwestern University to investigate several branches at the Chicago Public Library, looking closer at the role of libraries in building community. Researchers followed the “people” trail to see how social networks are discovered, nurtured and expanded in different public library scenarios (new, renovated and estab- lished) and diverse community settings. THE ENGAGED LIBRARY THE ENGAGED 2 The researchers began with the premise that suc- Reading local papers, asking long-time residents, cessful community building involves discovering and attending civic events—all can be ways to find and mobilizing layers of assets already present in every work with the people who are already at the center community: of community activities. G the skills and resources of its individuals, 3. Be creative about what the library can contribute. G the power of relationships in voluntary associations Go beyond the obvious and be prepared to say G assets present in the array of local institutions “yes” to new ideas that fall within your mission. G the physical infrastructure of the community 4. Discover and contribute to the unique capac- G the profile and dynamics of the local economy ities and conditions of the community. G the stories that define the community, its history Cultural attributes, family requirements, the particu- and its dreams lar situations of neighborhood youth all provide opportunities to make the library indispensable. The stories gathered here uncover webs of connections and successful strategies for building social 5. Support local businesses and institutions. networks, based on conversations with the admin- Set up reciprocal relationships with them, advertise istration and several branch managers of the your services to them, spend discretionary funds Chicago Public Library. The themes around the les- locally. All of these activities will rebound to the sons learned stimulate thinking about how to posi- library’s and community’s benefit. tion libraries at the center of the local community’s life and how to support community engagement in 6. Make the library building a community cen- a variety of ways. The “toolbox” at the end of the ter. publication provides exercises, activities, and Public buildings are community assets in many inquiries that libraries can use to decide how and ways beyond simply being meeting spaces. The where to engage in the fabric of community life. more people feel ownership, the more integrated Libraries come to the table with a wealth of assets: the library becomes in community life. free community space, technology resources, con- 7. Create a community-minded culture among nections to the local economy, a sense of owner- library staff and volunteers. ship by the community and, above all, a level of community trust. With these assets, they can con- All staff should be encouraged to learn names, nect to all parts of a community, building those rela- attend events, develop relationships, and pay atten- tionships and networks that contribute to strong tion to community issues. Make the library a bridge social infrastructure. They are important community to and among community populations. engagement catalysts. 8. Support library investments that jump start community redevelopment efforts. LESSONS LEARNED A new library in a neighborhood brings hope and 1. Get outside the doors. Successful community/ attention to areas that may have experienced disin- library relationships are proactive. vestment. Support new branches with resources for building social networks. Branch managers and staff that take an active role in the civic life of the community create the ‘two- When libraries engage their communities, the best way street’ that positions the library at the center of characteristics of both library and community are community. This activity outside the library should mobilized. Individual gifts, local associations and insti- be encouraged at every level. tutions, the neighborhood culture, economy and physical environment all come together to create 2. Find the leaders. A concerted effort to discover unique neighborhood communities. With supportive who’s who in a community makes all the differ- leadership in City Hall and at the central library admin- ence. istration, there is no limit to the role local branch libraries can play in building vibrant communities. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3 Introduction NOT LONG AGO, a series of funeral announcements were being issued for public libraries. They were dying or already dead — killed by the internet, television, large chain book- stores and cafes. Local elected officials began ques- tioning the outlay of scarce tax dollars for these patients on life support. Hours were cut, staff reduced, acquisitions postponed. Deep sighs and hand wringing accompanied the proclaimed loss of another pillar of community life. Similarly, much was made of the loss of community in today’s busy, impersonal world. We were warned about increasing isolation, disconnection and passivity. We were bombarded with images and stereotypes of failed communities; impoverished places, dangerous places, neighborhoods that lack vitality. Places that were empty, lacking the buzz of local relationships that make communities thrive. The future appeared bleak, with the loss of libraries just another symptom of the disease. BUILDING VIBRANT COMMUNITIES The countervailing evidence coming in from hundreds of communities is that active, strong neighborhoods exist everywhere. They come in all shapes and sizes, all economic levels, urban and rural, and they possess many assets, which, once mobilized and connected, make community life rich and vibrant. Successful community development involves redis- covering and mobilizing layers of resources already present in any community. THE ENGAGED LIBRARY THE ENGAGED 4 No plan, solution or organization from outside assets that are connected and mobilized, the the community can duplicate what is already stronger a community becomes. Vibrant local there. Successful

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