Module 8: Developing Partnerships for Support
Introduction
In the previous modules, we looked at some strategies librarians can use to support the literacy needs of young African American male students and patrons. Unfortunately, in this time of shrinking budgets for libraries across the country, it may seem quite daunting to even contemplate making such changes to your service for fear of additional cost. This is where it is important to reach out to the broader community and establish collaborative relationships for both the benefit of the library program and the students or patrons you serve. In this module, we will discuss two types of community partnerships you should cultivate to improve services for African American male youth:
Partnering with community organizations such as local libraries, churches, the YMCA, businesses, museums, and etc. can be very advantageous. First, you can provide your students or patrons with more services at little to no cost to your organization—something that may be really important for getting buy-in from your administrators. Becoming more aware of the services other organizations provide can also help you ensure your library isn't duplicating their services and allow you to connect families with organizations and programs of which they may be unaware.
Engaging mentors, especially African American male mentors, is another really important strategy for providing children and teens with positive role models who can pass on knowledge about both academics and life in general. We tend to think of mentors as adults that come in on a regular basis over a long period of time, but older or more experienced students can be great mentors and the experience can be just as valuable for them as for the person they are mentoring. Mentors can also be temporary in the form of guest speakers and workshop hosts who might have knowledge to pass on about a specific subject.
- partnerships with like-minded community organizations,
- and programs featuring African American male mentors.
Partnering with community organizations such as local libraries, churches, the YMCA, businesses, museums, and etc. can be very advantageous. First, you can provide your students or patrons with more services at little to no cost to your organization—something that may be really important for getting buy-in from your administrators. Becoming more aware of the services other organizations provide can also help you ensure your library isn't duplicating their services and allow you to connect families with organizations and programs of which they may be unaware.
Engaging mentors, especially African American male mentors, is another really important strategy for providing children and teens with positive role models who can pass on knowledge about both academics and life in general. We tend to think of mentors as adults that come in on a regular basis over a long period of time, but older or more experienced students can be great mentors and the experience can be just as valuable for them as for the person they are mentoring. Mentors can also be temporary in the form of guest speakers and workshop hosts who might have knowledge to pass on about a specific subject.
Read: Building Community Partnerships
Community Partnerships by the California Library Association: This page lists additional benefits of establishing community partnerships and provides a detailed checklist of sorts to help you establish a partnership with other individuals or community organizations. There is a lot of great advice here on what sorts of people or organizations to approach for specific types of projects and how to build and maintain these relationships.
Explore: Example Community Organizations
Below are some national examples of community organizations with which you may want to partner. Explore their websites and find out if they have a branch operating out of your community.
Of course, there are also many local groups that would make great partners. Here are some suggestions of organizations you may want to look for and contact.
Of course, there are also many local groups that would make great partners. Here are some suggestions of organizations you may want to look for and contact.
- Radio and TV stations
- Newspapers or local magazines
- Libraries--public, school, university, private
- Colleges and universities
- Museums
- Historical societies
- Businesses--local, national chains
- Faith based institutions
- Governmental departments
Read: Attracting African American Male Mentors
Man Up: Recruiting and Retaining African American Male Mentors by David Miller: Why is there a shortage of African American male mentors? How can mentoring institutions including libraries find and recruit more mentors? This report from the Urban Leadership Institute surveyed African American men and mentoring institutions across the country to find the answers to these questions and more. Parts of the report you may find particularly interesting/useful are "Barriers for Getting Involved in Mentoring Programs" (p. 9-10), the proposed mentoring initiatives (p. 11-13), "10 Strategies to Recruit Men" (Appendix A), and "30 Places to Recruit Male Volunteers" (Appendix B).
Activity: Continued Community Analysis
In Module 1, you began conducting a community analysis by looking at the African American population in your local area or district. For this task, you will continue the analysis by compiling a list of organizations (businesses, libraries, schools, colleges/universities, faith-based institutions, governmental departments, non-profit organizations, and etc.) that serve your community. Don't limit your list to just what you already know. Use all of the resources at your disposal to create a truly comprehensive list. You may want to consult the internet, co-workers, teachers, and library users or even take walk or drive through the neighborhood your library serves to find out what is really there. When you have compiled your list, examine it to see where partnerships or collaboration could take place. Look to the Community Partnerships article (above) for examples. Select one organization that could be a potential collaborator or partner for an upcoming event, and begin following the steps in the Community Partnerships article to start establishing that relationship.
Of course, not all of these institutions are going to be potential partners, but your knowledge of them could still be very valuable for your African American male students or patrons. They could be potential employers for these kids or the employers of their parents. There might be a service you don't provide that another organization does, and your knowledge could help you refer your students or patrons to the service they need. Libraries are community organizations, so it is incredibly important for librarians to be aware of their communities to the fullest possible extent.
Of course, not all of these institutions are going to be potential partners, but your knowledge of them could still be very valuable for your African American male students or patrons. They could be potential employers for these kids or the employers of their parents. There might be a service you don't provide that another organization does, and your knowledge could help you refer your students or patrons to the service they need. Libraries are community organizations, so it is incredibly important for librarians to be aware of their communities to the fullest possible extent.
Summary
Libraries cannot stand alone. As public institutions, they are an imp0rtant part of the communities in which they are based and they need to work with other like-minded community members and organizations to have the highest and most positive level of impact. Librarians should be aware of a wide variety of other community organizations and the services they provide and should develop collaborative relationships with these organizations whenever possible to provide additional services to patrons, avoid the duplication of community services, increase the authenticity and relevance of the library to its members, and save money. Young African American men are also in need of guidance from positive role models, so libraries should work with individual community members to host a variety of mentoring programs featuring adult, student, and temporary mentors to meet the different needs young men have, be they academic or personal.