This is to enable the free flow information. But we share below some of the key resources and conversation points. Click below to learn what we discussed in earlier conversations.
The first half of the meeting was dedicated to a discussion about storytelling, data, and community partnerships, including how we tell stories of impact that result from partnerships, as well as how do we tell the story of the library as a potential and actual community partner. Storytelling strategies shared by members included:
Co-sponsorship program agreement - written in all partnership agreements that any promotional materials always include both partners’ logos and names
Having partnerships written into library strategic plans and annual reports - with stated goal of increasing partnerships and a means to track that growth over time
Requesting letters of support from partners for grant applications and reciprocating by writing letters of support for partners’ grants
Staff training based around the Urban Libraries Council’s Data Fluency curriculum
Seeking stories of impact resulting from partnerships using things like Customer Impact Forms
Developing bullet points that clearly convey how the world will be different because of this partnership, as well as what changed as a result of the partnership - having a shared language articulated both by the library and its partners
Use staff intranet to collect facts, figures, and stats so that staff feel comfortable responding to questions the public has about impact
Invite both actual and prospective community partners to a one hour breakfast - first thing on a Monday morning - begin it with a quick intro to the library and how it works as a community partner, then open up the breakfast to networking and collaborative problem solving
Spread the story that the public library is a perfect venue and partner in community convening - especially in rural communities
Learn from your partners about storytelling! One member shared that they work with a non-profit that is very good at storytelling and marketing - the library has learned a lot from them
Do shout outs on social media for your partners, and ask them to do the same for you
The second half of the meeting consisted of an open discussion on Coalition marketing, growth, and programming. The Marketing Committee shared the phenomenal work they’ve done, including the creation of a PLCPC Marketing Folder that has an email template you can use to share about the coalition on library listserves/intransets, images you can use for social media posts, and a spreadsheet where you can indicate where you’ve shared about the coalition.
Another new feature we are getting ready to launch is a Members’ Directory. This will be a space where all members of the coalition can see who else is a member, make connections, share ideas, and spark synergies. All new members will be asked if they wish to share their contact information in the members directory. We also ask all current members to indicate if they would like to opt-in to the directory.
Craig Buno of the Kent District Library started the meeting by engaging members in a discussion about his work as Community Engagement Manager, with a focus on managing and supporting community partnerships both in his unit and in the library as a whole. He shared the following helpful links and resources:
After that discussion, the meeting opened into a wide-ranging discussion on staffing for community partnerships, focused on the different staffing models used in different libraries, and on the importance of centering wellbeing in the work of building and sustaining community partnerships. This discussion included a mention of different Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems libraries use or want to use to help manage their network of community partnerships. Specific tools mentioned included: Monday.com, Visible Network Labs - Visible Network Labs, and SalesForce
During the business part of the members’ meeting, we discussed the launch of the new members’ directory that members can use to contact other members. This is a work in progress and we will discuss in future meetings how to build and improve this directory.
During our January 2026 meeting, Kristy Smith, Director of the Scottdale Public Library in Pennsylvania, shared with the group her experiences developing and leading the Scottdale All Together community group. Scottdale All Together is a quarterly gathering of representatives from local nonprofits, businesses, organizations, and the school district. Among other things, the group has produced a shared database and shared calendar to coordinate resources and events in this small town community.
After that informative discussion, during which participants shared their own experiences working in community coalitions -- like the Communities of Hope in Anne Arundel County and Healthy Grand County Colorado- the meeting transitioned into a discussion of resources participants have found useful to the work of partnership in their communities. Resource shared included:
Community Resources Webpage of the Red Deer Public Library
Anne Arundel County Public Library’s highly visual Community Impact Report
Finally, the meeting concluded with a discussion of next steps in building the coalition, including a reminder that all are invited to share resources they find useful to our open-access resource spreadsheet. We also discussed launching a more official webpage this Spring, and building a case study template to make it easier for public libraries and their partners to share their stories of collaboration to inspire and encourage others. This idea is in part inspired by the work PLCPC Co-Founder Zachary Stier has done to interview librarians about their partnership experiences. Watch Zach’s interviews on his YouTube Playlist. The case study idea is also modeled on the American Library Association’s Advocacy Case Study template.
This discussed prompted members to share some of their stories of community partnerships, including:
This story about the partnership between Wellspring Alberta and the Red Deer Public Library
This story about the Activating Community Voices initiative at the Ericson Public Library.
During our March 2026 meeting, Lisa Joyce, outreach librarian at South Portland Public Library, Maine, shared with the group her experiences developing and leading community partnerships over her 35 year career in public libraries. Especially notable are Lisa's partnerships with other city agencies in South Portland, and how those partnerships have transformed how the library is seen within the city of South Portland.
After that informative discussion, the meeting transitioned into a discussion of how we can grow the coalition, with a major point of business being the public release of our new website at plcpc.org. We discussed how to improve the website, including by ensuring it is ADA accessible, and having a map of where our members are located. One member shared that they use Padlet for creating Story Trails in Oklahoma - we will look into using Padlet for our members' directory.
Next, the meeting concluded with a discussion of the importance of conference outreach, with one member sharing that the Coalition was discussed at the 2026 Southeast Collaborative Online Conference, leading new individuals to join the coalition. Based on this discussion, two action items emerged:
1) Creating a slide-deck that anyone could use to share the coalition
2) Creating a single slide that anyone could insert into a presentation to share the coalition
We will create these things before the next members' meeting, to be held in mid-May 2026.
Finally, we discussed the creation of a new tool, the Nominate a speaker for a PLCPC Meeting form, which anyone can fill out to nominate someone they think would be a great voice to feature at an upcoming members' meeting. Our hope is that through this form we can democratize and expand the voices featured during our bi-monthly discussions.
This month’s featured speaker was Sara McDonough, Outreach and Partnerships Specialist at Prince George's County Memorial Library System (PGCMLS) in Maryland. Sara walked the group through what it looks like to run a centralized partnerships system in at a large urban library system. Her position was created in 2021, and she is the first person to hold it. Before this role she was an English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) instructor.
Sara very generously compiled notes on her work into a document that she shared with the group. This document includes a description of the partnership processes used in PGCMLS.
Some of the points covered during Sara’s discussion with the group include:
1. Using forms to manage and formalize requests
Intake forms cut down on staff feeling pressured to say yes to someone standing in front of them
PGCMLS uses a Presenter Interest Form and a separate Tabling Request Form, plus a public collaboration landing page on the PGCMLS website.
Build lead time into the form: PGCMLS asks for 3 months' notice for programs and a 4-week minimum for tabling.
A shared performance agreement form is useful for liability and to make things official — a little formality means everyone has the same details.
Additional forms shared during the meeting include:
Pierce County Library System — partner-as-presenter landing page
Chesterfield County VA program interest form — select "Program Presenter Interest" from the Request Type menu.
Potential Presenter Form — Kent District Library — KDL's potential-presenter form
2. Saying "no" strategically
PGCMLS can sometimes receive many requests — sometimes more than one a week from the same source.
Don't be afraid to pick and choose. Strong preference for non-profits and educational organizations over for-profits.
No long-term commitments before a trial — cap new partners at ~3 programs until proven.
Sara uses email signatures to have pre-loaded responses to partnership requests
3. Centralization vs. branch autonomy
Branches can be invited to opt in (no forced volunteering).
Branches often handle their own tabling requests; Sara said she is "not a stickler about which door they come in."
Centralizing referrals takes coordination load off branch staff, especially for big strategic events, and makes the experience seamless.
We then had an opportunity for members to share some of their partnership “wins” and some shared included:
Pierce County (WA) Library System (PCLS): food-insecurity partnership expanded to a second set of refrigerated lockers in front of a library in a food desert.
Anne Arundel (MD) County: expansion of health-to-go vending machines with the county health department.
Human-I-T: distributed 50 laptops and hotspots at the Rhinelander Library (WI). Erin Lorandos also joined the meeting and said she would love to talk more with any interested public libraries about partnering with her non-profit organization.
Chatham County Library (NC) more county agencies (Courts Diversion, DSS) are coming to the library for partnerships, specifically around reentry and poverty simulations.
We then discussed the possibility of in-person PLCPC meet-ups at upcoming conferences, including the American Library Association conference in Chicago in June 2026. Members also shared that in the Fall they are going or hope to go to the conferences of the Virginia Library Association, Association for Rural & Small Libraries, Association of Bookmobile and Outreach Services, and the National Organization for Arts in Health.
We also shared that we have created a Slide that anyone can use in presentations to advertise the coalition. That slide was revised based on discussion during the meeting, and we have also created a mobile friendly version of the slide. These resources are all on our website.
Looking to our next meeting, we discussed the importance of evaluation and assessment, and members also expressed a desire to hear from a non-profit organization that has worked with a public library. We will work to achieve these goals for our next meeting. Finally, don’t forget that on our website you can Nominate a speaker for a PLCPC meeting using this form to suggest future speakers (including yourself!).
