Library works to tell new stories

In 2022, the Findlay-Hancock County Public Library starts the second year of our three-year strategic plan. This plan was created using a model designed specifically for public libraries. A group of community members, library staff and the Board of Trustees all worked through a process to identify community needs that the library could address. The board ultimately selected four service responses to serve as the backbone of the library's strategic plan. Working in teams, library staff then wrote goals and objectives centered on these service responses. This month, I'd like to provide an update on the library's progress on our first service response, Celebrate Diversity: Cultural Awareness. This service response is all about providing access to programs and services that help the community appreciate and understand their heritage and the heritage of their neighbors. The staff approached this service response in three ways: they focused on the items in the library's collection, the way those items are promoted and the programs we offer to the community. One of the first projects accomplished was a diversity audit of the adult, teen and youth collections. This audit was conducted by Ingram, the company that supplies the majority of our print material, and reviewed the collection for several areas of interest, such as Asian Interest, Jewish Interest and Neuro and Physical Diversity. Now, as an ongoing project, library staff are using lists created from that audit to help update the records for our materials. This allows those diverse items in our collection to be more easily discovered by staff and patrons alike when using our online catalog. This common language is used as new items are added in these diverse areas. While this behind-the-scenes work is exciting for library staff, our patrons are more likely to notice the impact of our efforts to promote our diverse collection. There are around 35 separate display spaces in the library, most of which are changed on a monthly basis. Sometimes these displays are focused on diverse items, such as a display for Black History Month, Ohio Deaf History Month or Poverty Awareness Month. However, our plan also noted the importance of providing a diverse variety of materials in all of the library's displays. This might mean selecting an Indigenous character for a cozy mystery display or including a book by a LGBTQIA+ author in a display on finding a new hobby. While it is impossible to build a single display that will have something for everyone, we hope the large variety of displays, and of books selected for them, will give all of our patrons the opportunity to find an item that is a good fit for their interests. Finally, the library is deliberately offering diverse programs for all ages, as well as including diverse materials in our general library programs. One such event was a program series for youth offered in partnership with the Black Heritage Library and Multicultural Center that discussed the Cinderella story in different cultures. For adults, our first annual Human Library was a great opportunity for community members to learn more about the diverse backgrounds of their neighbors. Unsurprisingly, books are an important part of much of our programming. From using a memoir by an autistic author in a book discussion to including a picture book featuring a main character who uses a wheelchair in a pop-up StoryWalk, our staff are working to provide a variety of backgrounds in the materials they feature in programs. The next time you are browsing in the library or checking out our upcoming programs, I hope you notice the wide variety of materials and events we offer. Maybe one will inspire you to learn a little more about your heritage or that of a fellow community member. Clevidence is director of the Findlay-Hancock County Public Library.