Partnership Models in Libraries

Libraries have long served as the pillars of society by serving as information centers, embodying knowledge, learning, and community engagement. However, with the advancement of technology and the changing landscape of society, libraries’ roles are shifting, especially as they strive to meet the diverse needs of their communities. To keep up with the ever-changing landscape, libraries can implement partnership models. In a partnership model, libraries can extend their reach, enhance their services, and foster a more inclusive environment. 

Mathews, Metko, and Tomlin (2018) offer examples from Virginia Tech Libraries of how libraries can transition their services from a transactional (i.e., library staff provide access to information and assist patrons) to a partnership model. 

1. Digital and Information Literacies: Renee Hobbs mentions that literacy involves sharing meaning through symbols, underscoring the library’s role in promoting digital and information literacy. A new digital literacy framework and ePortfolio program have been developed at Virginia Tech Libraries to address this by integrating technology with teaching and supporting student success while aligning with core library values such as openness, curation, preservation of student work, and the idea of a library as a platform.
2. High–Impact Practices (HIP) Librarians: To foster high-level personal connections, Virginia Rech Libraries piloted a liaison model that embeds library faculty within interdisciplinary teams based on AAC&U (Association of American Colleges & Universities) HIP. These librarians engage in partnerships in undergraduate research, service learning, first-year experiences, and living-learning communities (LLCs). HIP librarians served as community builders and campus partners by providing insight for campus programs to serve their students better. 
3. Studios: Virginia Tech Libraries have made a conscious effort to create spaces that frame the library as a creative partner that promotes collaboration and engagement with emerging technologies, which they have called studios. Each studio has a unique purpose, ranging from media production to data visualization. The goals of these studios are to foster skill-building, problem-solving, and creativity. Studios such as the 3D Design Studio and Fusion Studio have proven to be instrumental in students’ experiential learning, thus demonstrating the library’s role as a creative partner in education.
4. Exhibits and Programs: They also created the Course Exhibit Initiative (CEI), where students and faculty collaborated in conjunction with the CEI curator to conceptualize and build interactive exhibits. These exhibits allow students to present their assignments in innovative ways and provoke questions that otherwise may not be addressed in a traditional classroom setting. Similarly, the Active Learning Curation Program showcases innovative teaching methods that encourage the academic community to reflect on the teaching and learning processes. These initiatives have increased the library’s visibility and recognition as a dynamic educational partner and co-creator in learning.

According to a survey conducted by Knology (2023), these are the five things that libraries found valuable about the partnerships that they made:

1. Program design: increase the variety of programs offered, expand non-traditional programming (i.e., concerts, field trips, food drives, mobile dental clinics), make existing programs multi-lingual, and increase the number of programs offered
2. Program planning: increased access to professionals such as performers, facilitators, and educators, opportunities to tap into partners’ networks and expand promotion, marketing, and outreach campaigns, access to partners’ collections and resources leading to more diversity in programming
3. Program implementation: shared workload and a better division of labor, partners assisted with recruitment and registration, new perspectives into programming, additional staff or volunteers, expanded publicity efforts, more supplies, and equipment, access to more programming spaces, better transportation
4. Program impact: increased interest in and attendance at programs by having greater reach to underserved populations
5. Capacity building: partnerships led to long-lasting changes such as expanded funding, and new opportunities for staff training on topics such as DEAI, cultural competence, and technology.

The partnership model is particularly interesting and relevant to today’s social landscape. Understanding and implementing effective partnerships can enhance the services libraries offer and ensure that libraries remain relevant and up-to-date within their communities. These collaborations can help address resource constraints, provide access to new technologies, and create programming that can cater to the unique needs of the communities that they serve. The goal for all libraries should be to create inclusive, engaging, and resource-rich environments that empower patrons and strengthen the community as a whole.

References

Knology. (2023, April 24). Better programs, deeper impacts, and expanded capacities: What makes library partnerships valuable. Programming Librarian. https://programminglibrarian.org/articles/better-programs-deeper-impacts-and-expanded-capacities-what-makes-library-partnerships

Mathews, B., Metko, S., & Tomlin, P. (2018). Empowerment, experimentation, engagement: Embracing partnership models in libraries. EDUCAUSE Review, 53(3), 52-53.