Community Outreach

 Meet kids where they are—on the red-hot video-sharing app.

As the country continues to deal with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, there is a growing need for volunteers across many sectors. The following roundup of ideas and resources, including online volunteer databases where you can search by activity and location, will help you get started.

Libraries' initiatives range from loosely structured book clubs and virtual places to talk to meeting children’s fundamental needs: providing Wi-Fi and reading material.

Make equity about people, not stuff. Rethink library policy. More than 120 library staff have signed on to advance next steps in the COVID-19 Reimagining Youth Librarianship project, a crowdsourcing effort to create a framework for youth services during times of crisis.

It might seem daunting or challenging, but with the help of a few resources, it’s possible to develop rich connections between young booklovers and authors right in their own community—and schools and libraries are the key.

More U.S. librarians are using this interactive programming model, in which human "books" speak with patrons about their life experiences.

An accurate count in this year's controversial census is critical to securing library funding and keeping school and health programs going. Use these resources to create teachable moments with students and host a census count at your library. 

In an award-winning internship at the Boulder Public Library, underserved youth work in the makerspace to design and create projects that can improve the community. This year, two teens built board games that are inclusive of players with visual disabilities.

Increasingly in recent years, members of library teen advisory boards have sought to work on community and social justice issues as they help staff with programming, events, and other tasks.