Building Equity-Based Summers

Has the lasting impact of the pandemic led you to reevaluate traditional services and programs?

Finished the Project READY curriculum and wondering what's next?

Does "equity" feel too big to tackle by yourself?

If so, please consider applying to participate in year two of the Building Equity-Based Summers Through Libraries and Communities initiative.

The Office of Library and Information Services is one of six state library agencies piloting the IMLS grant funded initiative Building Equity-Based Summers Through Libraries & Communities (BEBS). Led by the California Library Association (CLA), this project will build on the work of CLA and the California State Library (CSL) in developing a shared equity language and a set of tools and resources for library staff to use to build community-centered equitable summer services for youth, families, and communities.

As part of this work, OLIS and participating state library agencies are:

• Engaging in equity-based co-design processes to reach a shared understanding and language related to this work.
• Reviewing, discussing, and customizing materials developed as a part of the CLA/CSL project.
• Co-designing sessions for library staff in pilot states on equity and summer services.
• Recruiting public libraries, selected to represent a diversity of communities, to work with on equity in summer services planning and implementation.
• Working with selected public library staff and supporting implementation - through coaching, mentoring, and a community of practice - of equity-based summer services.

OLIS is seeking five public libraries to participate in the second year of this three-year initiative. Each participating library will be represented by one staff member or a team of up to three people. Team members should have roles in summer services work and may be youth services staff, adult services staff, supervisors, directors and community partners outside the library.

Through working sessions and co-design, participants will address the following questions:

• Do summer programs demonstrate attention to equity?
• How are libraries determining how and if summer programs are achieving equity goals?
• What impact are summer programs having on those that need them most?

BEBS team members will be asked to:

• Participate in eight 1.5 hour working sessions with other RI cohort members. The sessions will run from October 2023-February 2024.
  
• Participate in a Community of Practice (CoP) with the teams and state youth services coordinators from year one states (Connecticut, Idaho, Maryland, Ohio, Washington), year two states (Massachusetts, Oregon, New Jersey, Montana and Pennsylvania) and the BEBS project coordinators. RI BEBS team members will be invited to this national COP following the end of the statewide working sessions.
  
• Work within your library to begin considering and assessing your existing and planned summer programs and services with an equity lens.

Participation in BEBS will be a commitment of approximately 3-5 hours a month, October - February. Participants will benefit by:

• Being part of a national initiative impacting summer services nationwide.
• Learning and developing new ideas, resources, and tools with a network of library staff throughout the country.
  
• Tackling equity with the support of a cohort representing a diversity of libraries and communities.
  
• Testing and assessing new tools and resources as early as summer 2024.
• A $500 stipend to support summer equity work.
  

A virtual information session will be held on Wednesday, September 6 at 1pm. Learn more about the project, the working sessions, and the "why" of summer with a participatory activity. This session is open to all library staff who coordinate/facilitate summer services for youth, families, and adults. The project overview and Q&A sections of the session will be recorded, the participatory activity will not be recorded.

Libraries interested in participating in this project are asked to complete an application by September 22, 2023. Only one application should be submitted by libraries intending to participate with a team.

Please contact Danielle Margarida with questions related to BEBS participation.

• Building Equity-Based Summers Web Site

• Building Equity-Based Summers Through Libraries & Communities Grant Proposal
• California BEBS Work

This project is made possible by a grant from the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Email: danielle.margarida@olis.ri.gov
Website: http://www.olis.ri.gov/
Location: 1 Capitol Hill Providence, RI 02908
Phone: 401-574-9309 401-400-3006
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/olisri
Twitter: @olisri