Increased Community Outcomes or Better Outcomes from Library Partnership: Through an Equity Lens

ABSTRACT

Library programs and services serve communities, and they aim to increase information literacy, knowledge, increase access and decrease barriers. These benefits can be enhanced through partnerships between libraries and outside organizations. To explore what types of partnerships exist among libraries and discover more about resulting community benefits, a literature search was conducted looking for examples of shared experiences of different libraries. The literature search was completed utilizing a health focused database, an educational focused database and a library focused database: PubMed, Educational Institution of Educational Sciences (ERIC) and Library & Information Science Abstracts (LISA). A combination of keywords and controlled vocabulary were utilized that best described the topic of library partnerships and collaboration which support health initiatives. The articles retrieved highlighted three thematic concepts of community benefits from library collaborations such as increased engagement and satisfaction with programs, increased learning for library staff and increased access to resources for community members. Partnerships between individual libraries as well as partnerships between libraries and outside organizations have the potential to provide positive, equitable and tangible benefits for both libraries and the communities they serve. More research and investigation in the area of library partnerships and community benefits is recommended to help continue the progress and success that has already been established.

KEYWORDS:

• Community
• library collaborations
• library partnerships

Introduction

Librarians understand that partnering with outside organizations and colleagues allows library programs and services to go further. Bringing in experts in a particular field provides validity to what is being offered and reduces the load on library staff. Library programs and services are created for the betterment and advancement of the communities they serve. They aim to increase information literacy, knowledge, increase access and decrease barriers – all of which level the playing field for patrons. These benefits can be increased with collaborations.

Partnerships among libraries prove that there is strength in numbers. There are positive effects to these partnerships which manifest themselves in positive outcomes while working to decrease barriers and improve equity.

Webster’s dictionary online defines equity (or as typically described within the library world, equitable practices) as fair and just treatment free from bias (1,2). Duchesneau notes that there are several aspects that are foundational for creating equitable learning environments (3). These mimic the principles of equitable library services as defined by the American Library Association (ALA) within the Library Bill of Rights (4). One principle in particular is the importance of equitable access to resources and services for all people. Duchesneau, in her article, also mentions that adequate professional development for educational professional is essential to advance the mission of providing equitable educational services. Similarly, the ALA’s recruitment initiatives such as the Spectrum Scholarship and the Century Scholarship Diversity demonstrate the importance of the role of professional development in furthering equitable practices and access through educational support (5).

Another aspect of equitable educational environments pointed out by Duchesneau is the creation of an environment in which the community served is part of the process. Likewise, the ALA continues to promote the importance of including a community assessment in planning and providing more effective library services (6).

Partnerships among libraries can increase these desired outcomes by increasing access to services and resources for patrons within communities, expanding professional development opportunities for library staff and ensuring that the communities that libraries serve are actively engaged within the partnership.

In order to learn more about the current state of partnerships among libraries that support communities, a literature search was conducted. This article describes the process taken to conduct the literature review, its findings and recommendations for future work in this area.

Methods

Process for conducting the literature search listed for transparency:

A literature search was completed utilizing a few databases utilizing a combination of keywords such as libraries and collaboration and controlled vocabulary within PubMed utilizing the MESH term Libraries [MESH]. This vocabulary was chosen to be included because each term seemed to best describe the topic of library partnerships and collaborations which support health initiatives. The library databases searched included PubMed, due to the interest in community health-focused library endeavors and a general multi-disciplinary database, Academic Search Complete due to its broad general subject journal content and Educational ERIC Institution of Educational Sciences because of its educational focus, as well as the database, Library & Information Science Abstracts (LISA) which was utilized because of its focus on library science. A set of inclusion and exclusion criteria was created prior to searching to ensure there was a documented strategic process utilized and to ensure that the articles chosen to read would include all of the elements that were of interest. The criteria used for choosing articles for inclusion and exclusion consisted of looking first for articles that mentioned more than one library working in partnership with another, whether or not an outside agency was involved; secondly including those articles which mentioned libraries supporting communities and families; and thirdly including those articles which mention the support of health. All articles could include library services or programs or work processes that were either originally created or adapted from other sources. The only exclusion criteria utilized included excluding those articles which only mentioned one library in partnership with outside agencies and those which did not include any type of health focus. A rubric was also assigned to determine which articles included the most relevant topics. A single point was assigned for each criterion, including those articles mentioning or dealing with families, those which mentioned multiple libraries in partnership including the types of libraries (i.e. hospital or academic or public) and those articles which included of health related topics. The abstract of each article was reviewed to determine if each of the inclusion topics were included within the article. If so, then the article was marked as yes and one point was assigned for each of the inclusion topics. The total points were added for each article, and articles with three or more points were determined to be included. In addition, the date of publication was considered. Articles older than 10 years were removed from the list as the project goal was to provide a current view of what sharing and cooperation is currently happening within libraries. The one exception was the inclusion of articles written by the American Library Association because this association provides foundational directions for providing library service for librarians and some of the dates of these articles were older than 10 years. The final set of articles selected to review totaled five; these abstracts were reviewed for more clarity to determine whether the articles were relevant.

Discussion

Although it is common knowledge that public libraries provide accessible spaces and services for all community members, the author would argue that partnerships among all types of libraries, including hospitals and academic libraries, can be beneficial because accessibility can be increased, professional development and training opportunities expanded, and the potential to reach and engage communities is increased.

Increased engagement and satisfaction with programs

An article written by Engeszer et al. showcased how an academic and public library partnership improved access to health information for an urban community served by the public library (7) Engeszer wrote that in 2011 the St. Louis Missouri Bernard Becker Medical Library at Washington University School of Medicine formed an alliance with the St. Louis Public Library. This work began with an assessment of the community’s interest in health information by engaging the community and making it a partner in the planning and goals setting for their work. The article noted a positive survey response rate of 95%, confirming the communities’ interest in the partnership and the proposed programs. The public library staff were also surveyed during this project with a positive response showing 85% agreeing that there was a need for this type of partnership between libraries which could potentially improve health-related library services and provide health resource educational opportunities for their patrons (7). Of notable mention, the trainings offered through this public library/academic library partnership to the public library staff were provided both by pharmacy residents and the academic medical library librarians.

The outcome of this association between public libraries and academic libraries was phenomenal, resulting in the addition of health information kiosks within the public library which also provided printed consumer health materials to their patrons. Another outcome from this project was the creation of a series of health-related programs which were initiated at the public library users as a result of data gathered from the usage of these popular kiosks and distributed surveys. This partnership also included outside health-focused social service and community health organizations, which provided another avenue in which the library shared a health-focused collection and programs which supported equitable access.

Increased learning for library staff

Although health sciences and public libraries have a long history of creating partnerships to address the health information needs of local communities, the literature search provided few articles describing examples of how successful library partnerships impacted both the education of the communities and the education of the library staff.

One example of such an article was the article written by Taylor et al. described the partnership between the Arizona State University and the Scottsdale Public Library. In this particular instance, the university library partnered with the developmental scientist program to train the public library staff how to create evidence-based programming to support their patrons (8).

This collaboration included training sessions that aided the transfer of knowledge and skills to public librarians. Importantly, the article described the presence of reciprocal educational instances wherein both the academic librarian and the public library staff shared specialized knowledge and skills. It is important to note that the public librarians brought knowledge of community and grant writing experiences while the academic health librarians brought knowledge of the specific health resources that would benefit the community. It was noted that there was a valuable increase in the number of diverse patrons who were reached by this focused programming. In addition to anecdotal outcomes reported, there were more measurable positive outcomes provided through a survey provided to staff members which showed the interactions and training had been effective in improving the perceptions that public library staff members had of themselves as confident educators for the community on health topics (8). There was even a plan to increase support for interacting with diverse families. This article was an example of shared reciprocal training for academic and public librarians which also impacted the reach of services.

A separate article, written by Malone and Clifton, describes three workshops and a virtual reference service initiated for public librarians that was created as an offshoot of the collaboration between the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center Robert M. Bird library and the public libraries at multiple Oklahoma sites (9). These workshops, geared toward the library staff, were focused on consumer health resources with the goal of National Institute of Health (NIH) Consumer Health Certification for the participants. The success of this training was assessed both by participants successfully obtaining certification and by the participants perception of knowledge gained, the program’s impact, the materials and projects initiated and future plans. All participants reported positive results. Participants reported feeling improved confidence and comfort in providing health information services to their patrons and an increased ability to find and evaluate consumer health information. These results add to the body of evidence and the importance of partnering between libraries.

Increased access

Public libraries are viewed as trustworthy places to obtain information. Additionally, libraries are not new to the work of increasing access and decreasing health disparities through accessible health information literacy programs and tools. The Network of the National Library of Medicine (NNLM) provides one example. It serves regionally divided member libraries, developing and providing freely available programs to help build partnerships that serve the health information needs of community members which include training for librarians (10).

Searching the literature on this topic of increased access through library partnerships yielded an article written by librarians at the Auburn Hills Public Library and Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine (OUWB) (11). This dynamic library pair revealed increased access to services and resources during a time, immediately before and during the COVID pandemic, when access was severely limited in which the two libraries were able to provide consumer health information through a library partnership. The authors noted that public libraries are community centers for accessing free trustworthy health information to the general public and the authors believed that strengthening partnerships between health libraries and public libraries could only positively benefit the health literacy of the post-pandemic community. This partnership successfully reached their community and shared reliable and accurate health information on the pandemic including vaccinations, personal protective equipment and details about the coronavirus. Examples were shared within the article of how the outreach and programs consisted of circulating family activity kits, adult workshops, and child and family programming (11). This interprofessional collaborative approach combined the expertise of both the academic and public librarians to ensure that development of the programs would be most beneficial for their focused community population. The collaborating libraries conducted a post-program survey with a 75% response rate in which participants noted that they felt they had learned something new by participating in the event. This article was an excellent example of how partnered libraries through programming can increase access to quality health information to equitably support communities.

Conclusion

There is an opportunity to make real and tangible impacts for communities through partnerships, not only between one library and an outside organization but also through partnerships between libraries. The benefit of varied library staff and personnel sharing their knowledge, unique skillsets, and specialty experience and knowledge for the benefit of increasing access to health resources and information is limitless. These partnerships further the library’s mission of improving access to needed resources for everyone and to providing a platform for engaging with the community to provide a voice and shared governance for learning. Interprofessional library partnerships enhance the profession through teamwork and support providing increased education and training through shared experiences.

The common thread found among the articles retrieved in the literature search was how the true impact of each initiated program affected the communities of library staff and community patrons in a positive and equitable way. Increasing access, providing education and engaging community members made real positive changes in community health.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).