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Moving from Community Outreach to Engagement

An Infopeople Online Learning Course

Start:
April 2nd, 2024 12:00 PM
End:
April 29th, 2024 4:30 PM
Fee per learner $200.00
Note for CA residents: the California Libraries Learn (CALL) project is sponsoring a limited number of seats for California library staff in this Infopeople course. Please complete this form to request one of these no-cost-to-you seats. In order to gain the most impact from learning events sponsored by the CALL grant we ask that all participants engage fully (attend, participate, discuss and share). If you are unable or not willing to agree to this, please be kind and leave a seat or place for someone else.

 

​Course Instructor: Fatima Perkins

 

Are you looking to revamp your outreach efforts to strategic community engagement? This course will help attendees transform community outreach to create impactful engagement through planning meaningful interactions with your library community.

By the end of the course learners will:

  • Position your organization as a community focal point and identify community concerns.
  • Identify community concerns.
  • Connect with partners and other stakeholders.
  • Transition outreach efforts to support community engagement.
  • Explore community engagement models that yield results.

Course Description: Revamp your outreach efforts to strategic community engagement. Transforming community outreach to impactful engagement requires meaningful interactions and a solid plan. Community engagement is vital to resolving today's critical concerns—Social Determinants of Health impact all our communities. Position your organization to successfully partner with communities to address pressing issues like health disparities, food insecurity, homelessness, housing, and economic concerns. In this course, participants will learn how to identify community concerns and evolve community engagement to focus on impactful strategies. This interactive 4-week course will be presented asynchronously with the integration of readings, video, discussion forums, online meetings, and assignment options. The instructor will be accessible to assist attendees as needed.

This 4-week course will include 2 interactive online sessions:

  • Tuesday, April 9th from 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM PT
  • Tuesday, April 23rd from 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM PT

Please make every effort to ensure that you are able to attend these 2 meetings before enrolling in the course. If this is not possible, archived recordings will be made available.

In addition to the scheduled sessions, the instructor will provide resources and guidance that will help you build a foundational understanding of this important topic. During the course, you will participate in discussion forums, with an opportunity to share your experiences and questions, alongside fellow learners. Through assignments, you will apply the concepts to your own library and community.

Course Outline: When you log in to the Infopeople online learning site, you will see weekly modules with these topics:

  • Week 1: Position your organization as a focal point while identifying community concerns.
    • Tools for becoming a community focal point.
    • Understanding your community role while embracing community values and needs.
    • Resources to identify community concerns – national, state, and local.
    • The impact of Social Determinants of Health.
  • Week 2: Connect with partners and other stakeholders.
    • Defining community engagement vs outreach.
    • Failproof efforts to build mutual trust to address community concerns.
    • Identify key stakeholders and community influencers.
  • Week 3: Transition outreach efforts to support community engagement.
    • Illustrate your commitment to the community.
    • Tailoring marketing to align with community preferences.
    • Conducting inclusive outreach strategies that build trust and impact.
  • Week 4: Explore community engagement models that yield results.
    • Five Basic Approaches.
    • Stages of Community Life.
    • Active Community Engagement Continuum.
    • Community engagement checklist.

Time Required: To complete this course, you can expect to spend 2 1/2 hours per week, for a total of fifteen course hours. Each week's module contains readings and various options for assignments, discussions, or online meetings. You can choose the options most relevant to your work and interests. Although you can work on each module at your own pace, at any hour of the day or night, it is recommended that you complete each week's work within that week to stay in sync with other learners.

Who Should Take This Course: Library staff at public libraries

Do you work in a rural or tribal library? If so, you may be eligible for a course fee waiver for this course. This Infopeople course has up to five no-cost seats allocated for rural or tribal libraries. Fill out a fee waiver request, and if a no-cost seat is available you will be notified via email.

Keywords: Community engagement, Outreach Partnerships, Programming