The Chicago-based Urban Libraries Council (ULC) unveiled its list of 2011 Top Innovators during the 2011 Annual Conference (June 24th and 25th) held concurrently with the 2011 Annual Conference of the American Library Association (ALA) in New Orleans. A panel of expert judges selected eleven outstanding library programs from over 200 applications.
“These innovations reflect the real work that occurs in libraries every day – work that goes well beyond the traditional role of libraries as book lenders," said ULC President & CEO Susan Benton. “The submissions we received this year were all worthy of recognition. These programs emphasize the foundations of 21st century library success and demonstrate how innovative programming can transform communities.”
Last year, ULC launched its first Innovations Initiative. According to a ULC press release, they did this to “showcase creative programs that have achieved significant results and can be implemented in other libraries. Categories for this year's winning innovations are civic engagement; collections; economic and workforce development; education; health, wellness, and safety; literacy; organizational change; operations; positioning the library; sustainability; and user experience.”
In the category of Civic Engagement, the winner is the Calgary Public Library’s Civic Literacy program that educated voters about the 2010 municipal elections, which resulted in a 25% increase in voter turnout.
In the category of Collections, the winner is Johnson County Library’s Streamlining Materials Handling program. According to the ULC, it “overhauled library operations leading to significant annual savings in operations and staffing and a new business culture for ensuring cost-effective services.”
In the category of Economic and Workforce Development, the winner is the Houston Public Library’s WeCAN Works program. Since 2009, it has delivered drop-out prevention, GED, digital literacy, and workforce skills training to more than 320,000 residents.
In the category of Education, the winner is the Chicago Public Library’s YOUMedia program, which has provided a 21st century learning space for more than 5,000 teens. It led to a dramatic increase in the use of CPL resources, an increase of the teens’ media production skills, and a new Chicago educational hub where learning happens anyplace, anytime.
I have covered YouMedia, which was created by the CPL in partnership with Digital Youth Network,before, in my article on the Chicago Public Library Foundation, but it is worth relaying ULC’s take on the program. “YOUmedia at the Harold Washington Library Center, virtually at the ym.iremix.org social learning network, and 3 branch library sites opening in June 2011, links high school-age youth to adult mentors, digital resources, books, relevant programming and engaging workshops. By working both collaboratively and self-paced with a variety of digital media, young adults have an opportunity to engage in projects which support critical thinking, creativity, skill-building and ultimately civic engagement. Based on research by Dr. Mimi Ito at University of California-Irvine, YOUmedia was designed to address new implications for youth interaction and learning with digital media by becoming a model ‘out-of-school’ environment created by and for teens.”
In the category of Health, Wellness and Safety, the winner is Pima County Public Library’s Refugee Health Fair program, which reached more than 1,500 refugees living in midtown Tucson offering both immediate medical care and connections to primary care to serve longer-term health needs.
I have to ask, “What were they refugees from?” I still do not know the answer to that, but I did find out the Refugee Health Fair was the brainchild of Margaret Guerrero, Managing Librarian of the Martha Cooper Branch Library (MCBL), who noticed a sizable number of the refugees who patronized her branch library had untreated health problems. The MCBL partners with the International Rescue Committee, Pima County Health Department, and the University of Arizona’s Eller School of Business Management to organize and implement this fair.
The Refugee Health Fair offers refugees free health screening for diabetes, cholesterol, hearing, vision, asthma, blood pressure, and the like, along with information on health and wellness topics in thirteen languages. Interpreters were hired to assist medical screeners and refugees. Fifty U of A volunteers assisted organizers with advertising, transportation, interpretation, donations, and operations. About 500 refugees attended the first wellness fair in 2009 and twice that number attended in 2010.
This is a worthy initiative, but I have a better idea. Every American citizen and (legal) resident alien who cannot afford private health care from a personal fortune or is not insured by an employer should be screened for common, treatable health problems. Many Americans seem willfully ignorant about how much poverty there is in our own midst, in our own cities and suburbs, rural hamlets, and Indian reservations.
In the category of Literacy, the winner is Pierce County Library System’s Our Children are Ready for Reading program. According to the ULC, this program “produced significant gains in pre-literacy skills for a group of toddlers whose in-home care providers received training, literacy tools, and coaching from the library.”
In the category of Operations, the winner is San Francisco Public Library’s program Gen PL: The Next Generation of Library Leaders. It is building the next generation of SFPL leaders through a multi-year leadership development strategy.
In the category of Organizational Change, the winner is Edmonton Public Library’s program Building Our Brand from the Inside Out. It “led to new values, mission, and promise statements and a renewed passion among staff for the library’s exciting ‘we share’ vision,” according to the ULC.
In the category of Positioning the Library, the winner is Springfield City Library’s A Brighter Future for Springfield Today program. [This is the public library in Springfield, Massachusetts.] The ULC states A Brighter Future for Springfield Today “is a long-range planning process which addressed how to reverse the city’s downward economic spiral – rather than library needs – leading to a new city-wide focus on building Springfield’s ‘brighter future’ and a new library stature as a core public service.”
In the category of Sustainability, the winner is Greensboro Public Library’s Kathleen Edwards Environmental Education Center. The ULC states the Kathleen Edwards Environmental Education Center“has become a respected and valued environmental education hub by modeling green practices and providing environmentally focused programs that reach more than 7,000 people annually.”
In the category of User Experience, the winner is Orange County Library System’s program Right Service at the Right Time. It helps residents successfully navigate e-government services through library computers and kiosks.
“We congratulate all of our winners and every library that submitted programs for this award,” ULC President & CEO Susan Benton said. “Collectively they provide great examples of how public libraries play an important role as the most trusted public institution in local government – a safe, welcoming, and innovative resource for everyone in the community.”
Rebecca Miller wrote in her coverage of the event for Library Journal’s Web site, “Such awards help identify models for librarians to adapt to local settings, but they can also act as a powerful advocacy tool when taken back home, noted Miami-Dade Public Library’s Raymond Santiago, outgoing chairman of the ULC board.” Her article “ALA 2011: Urban Libraries Council IDs 11 Innovative Models” was posted on LibraryJournal.com on June 26, 2011.
ULC also named the recipient of the 2011 Urban Player award, James E. O'Donnell, Board President of the Bridgeport Public Library in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Ms. Miller wrote, “He was honored for his leadership in turning around the library's budget outlook, most notably with winning a 2009 referendum to establish a dedicated a 1-mill tax.” She quoted Santiago as saying, “This is a gentleman we all need in all of our communities.”
ULC members are American and Canadian urban and suburban public libraries and the corporations that support them. The organization points out “its work is widely used by all libraries,” meaning it isn’t just urban and suburban libraries that benefit from its projects.
“ULC strategically addresses issues important to all communities including education, workforce and economic development, public safety, environmental sustainability, health, and wellness. ULC's members are thought leaders dedicated to the continuous evolution and strengthening of libraries to meet changing community needs. As ULC celebrates its 40-year anniversary, its work focuses on helping library leaders develop and use skills and strategies that match the challenges of the 21st century.”
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