Building Programs With Your Community (Not Just For Them)

*Due to limited funding all library workers are limited to 2 course enrollments through CALL annually.

Important Notes:

• Mandatory CALL-facilitated discussion on Thursday, April 23, from 11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. (PT)
• Self-paced course, access to materials for 2 months
• Time Commitment: 16 hours

Co-design, also known as participatory design or co-creation, is a process that brings together designers and end-users to collaboratively develop solutions, products, or services. Co-design is crucial for library programs and outreach because it places patrons and community members at the center of development and decision making, ensuring that their perspectives, experiences, and needs inform the final outcome.

In this fully self-paced, interactive online course, you will gain the knowledge and practical skills needed to engage with patrons, stakeholders, and community members to rebalance power dynamics and collaboratively shape your library’s services, programs, and outreach. Join us and learn how co-design—based in empathy, iteration, and multidisciplinary collaboration—can help you create programs and outreach strategies with tangible impact in the communities you intend to serve.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the foundations of co-design.
• Understand how co-design can be applied to libraries.
• Acknowledge implicit bias throughout your co-design process.
• Know tactics to gather community interest and input.
• Use data to understand and reach your community.
• Understand methods for enacting co-design.
• Establish appropriate metrics for evaluating success.

Course Outline:

• Module 1: Co-Design Foundations
  What is co-design and in what contexts is it appropriate to use? How might co-design revolutionize your outreach processes? This introductory module will lay the foundations of and methods for community co-design.
• Module 2: Understanding Co-Design and Implicit Bias
  What is co-design, and why might it help you create more inclusive and equitable programs and services? Why is identifying implicit bias - both personally and institutionally - crucial to effective co-design work? This module will discuss how you can embrace co-design as a mindset in order to transform how you approach community-based programs and services. Leave with an understanding of the foundation for the theory and methods of co-design and practical ways co-design can enhance your library work.
• Module 3: Knowing Your Community and Growing Their Involvement
  What do you need to know about your community to get started with a co-design project? How do you gather community interest, support, and input? This module will discuss practical strategies for researching and connecting with your community. We will also discuss methods for outreach and data collection, survey design and response analysis, as well as how to ensure you gather diverse perspectives that fully represent your community.
• Module 4: Implementing Co-Design: Tools and Methods
  What are different ways you can enact co-design? And how do you know if your co-design process is successful? This closing module will showcase a model of co-design from beginning to end, focusing on adaptable and tangible tools you can use in the co-design process. We will discuss ways to iterate and refine the project, as well as how to establish effective metrics for evaluating progress.

Accessibility:

All video recordings feature auto captioning. Please email course-support@libraryjournal.com upon registration if you require accommodations. We will make our best effort to support your needs.

Presenter: 

• Dr. Audrey Barbakoff, CEO, Co/lab Capacity

  Dr. Audrey BarbakoffDr. Audrey Barbakoff is the CEO of Co/lab Capacity, which provides community-centered consulting for libraries and social good organizations. She brings more than a decade of experience in public libraries, where she worked in inclusive community engagement and leadership. Her innovative work has been recognized by Library Journal Movers & Shakers, the Kitsap Peninsula Business Journal 40 Under 40, the Freedom to Read Foundation, and the Urban Libraries Council. In addition to her MLIS from the University of Washington, Dr. Barbakoff holds an EdD in organizational change and leadership from the University of Southern California. Her dissertation research focused on building organizational capacity for equity, diversity, and inclusion in public libraries through community-led programs. She is the author of Adults Just Wanna Have Fun: Programs for Emerging Adults and the forthcoming book Twelve Steps to a Community-Led Library. Find her at www.colabcapacity.com.

CALL Training Partner for this Event: Library Journal

Track: Co-design