BY BRINGING PEOPLE TOGETHER

• from the Portsmouth (NH) Public Library mission statement: "planning for new and better services ... driven... by our need to gather together, to teach, to learn, and to have fun."
• Wilton Library's community concert
• One City One Book programs: Chicago Public Library's To Kill a Mockingbird promotion
• Community festivals: Queens Public Library, <http://queenslibrary.org/>; Merrimack Library's Cardboard Boat Festival (and fundraiser); the Chesley Memorial Library's participation in the Edible Book Festival <http://www.books2eat.beatricecoron.com/>; Richards Free Library's Fairy Tale Float in the Newport Winter Carnival parade
• Intergenerational programs: MetLife Reading America program, <http://www.lff.org/TellingTheirOwnStories.pdf>, intergenerational reading groups, like Cuyahoga County Library's "It's a Guy Thing" discussion group for boys and men; Bemis Public Library's veterans oral history project <http://www.littleton.org/history/mem.asp>; Barrington (NH) Public Library's Mother-Daughter tea; Lakewood Public Library's Parents Page, <http://www.lkwdpl.org/parents/>; Wiggin Memorial Library's "Children First Mediation" program
• Use of community rooms and cable for public issue and local interest programming: Princeton Public Library, Southfield Public Library -- soccer world cup matches, election night coverage, Olympics, etc.
  
  
  

  BY GIVING EVERYBODY A STAKE IN THE COMMUNITY

• Inclusiveness: extending services, programming, and exhibits honoring the heritage and/or creative work of ethnic groups, children and teens, seniors (Cleveland Public Library's SeniorsConnect, <http://www.seniorsconnect.org/>), new Americans, homeschoolers, people with disabilities (see King County Library's Access for All program, <http://www.kcls.org/usingthelibrary/ADA/index.cfm>
• giving teens a voice in designing and running their own space, <http://www.pps.org/tcb/teen_central.htm>, with opportunities to display their abilities and win the respect of peers and adults: Hooksett Public Library's open mic nights, Milton Free Public Library Fan Fiction contest, Nashua Public Library's Teens Go Green concert; male mentoring program and cybernavigators at Chicago Public Library; Teen Leadership Assistants at the Free Library of Philadelphia, opportunities to learn film, video, computer and animation skills (Austin Public Library's Wired for Youth, <http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA232351.html>, Charlotte Mecklenburg County Public Library's Teen Center, etc.)
  
  
  

  BY COLLABORATING WITH COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS

• Providing training and resources for nonprofit organizations
• Providing web space for community organizations: Lakewood Public Library <http://www.lkwdpl.org/>
• Partnerships with cultural organizations for programming, collection building (Harris County Library and the Mercer Arboretum, Chicago Public Library and the Chicago Botanical Garden, Indianapolis Public Library's InfoZone branch inside the children's museum), passes to museums, concerts, parks, zoos.
• Working with local social agencies and organizations: Prospect Heights Public Library decorating for Christmas with mittens and caps to be given to needy children; Deering Public Library Plant Sale to benefit both the library and the Hillsboro Food Pantry; Manchester City Library food drive for the New Hampshire food bank
  
  

  BY TELLING THE COMMUNITY'S STORY - AND LISTENING TO IT

• Gathering oral history, pictures, stories from residents - Picture Ann Arbor; Arapahoe Library District's Capture Centennial Photo and Poetry Contest; Stevens County Wiki, <http://www.scrldwiki.org/index.php/Main_Page>; Hopkinton Town Library's digitization of the Contoocook Village Quilt and the story behind it; A Day in Allen County on Flickr <http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelsphotos/434085021/>
  
  
  

  BY PLACEMAKING THAT ENCOURAGES HUMAN CONNECTION

• Eleven Principles - Project for Public Spaces, <http://www.pps.org/info/placemakingtools/casesforplaces/11steps>
• Cerritos Library, <http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA281685.html>, <http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6299751.html>; Mt. Laurel Library, <http://www.sjrlc.org/tradingspaces/>
  
  
  

  BY HELPING THE COMMUNITY ARTICULATE ITS VALUES

• Through focus groups, community meetings, online surveys, interactive blogs, to hire new directors, set goals for strategic planning, plan building programs: Portsmouth (NH) Public Library's new building process
• Community forums and programs addressing local issues: Fairfield (CT) Public Library's seminars on peaceful conflict resolution; Johnson County Library's Community Issues 101 program series, Princeton Public Library's "Politics New Jersey" series of events; Laconia Public Library's upcoming presentation aimed at understanding refugees.
  
  
  

  BY HELPING THE COMMUNITY COPE WITH CRISIS

• Healing: How Wilton Library helped the community deal with a racist incident
• Mourning together: September 11
• Practical assistance: The Oakland fires; Hurricane Katrina; revitalizing a dying downtown (Kankakee Public Library, <http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA510557.html>)
• See my column, "Emergency Responders," <http://marylaine.com/exlibris/xlib281.html>
• Missed opportunities - see my article, "One with the Community," <http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6471071.html>