Library Leaders – Community Conveners

Format: Meeting Room

Fee: This program is supported by an LSTA grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, administered by the California State Library, and is free to participants. The grant covers lodging and meals at a two-day workshop in Sacramento as well as workshop registration. Participants are expected to pay their own transportation expenses.

Communities are increasingly turning to their public libraries to serve as community centers and places for civic (and civil) discourse on a variety of important topics. Would you like to:

• Learn techniques for facilitating community conversations?
• Foster strong new collaborations with other community organizations?
• Stimulate innovation in your community?
• Strengthen your library's position as an indispensable community resource?

If you have answered "yes" to any of these questions, then you will want to register for this program.

Workshop Description: This two-day workshop will provide library leaders with skills and competencies as community leaders who will help solve their community's challenges. Through a variety of hands-on activities, you will explore the role of a community convener and practice the skills needed to help a varied group of community stakeholders move forward through even difficult issues. You will leave with both a plan tailored for your community, and the skills to implement it.

Pre-workshop assignment: There will be a pre-workshop reading no longer than 10 pages on convening and facilitation.

Preliminary Course Outline

Day One

• What is Convening?
  • Why should libraries consider the role of convener?
  • How community leadership differs from organizational leadership
  • How mental models and the drive for specific solutions limit our thinking
• Roles and Responsibilities of Conveners
  • Inclusion, neutrality, and impartiality
  • Purpose, direction, and movement
  • Demonstrating commitment and ensuring an outcome
• Systems Thinking as a Primary Tool of Conveners
  • Using the whole system to create solutions based on common ground
  • Taking on responsibility for a problem vs. taking on responsibility for the discourse
• Selecting an Issue: How Do I Know if it's Right?
  • Scope and relevance to the community
  • What to do if you already know the issues, and what to do if you're not sure
  • Leverage your position in the community by mapping your community connections and building on previous successes

Day Two

• Getting Your Group Started
  • Developing a statement of purpose
  • Building trust in a group
  • Stages of group development
• Facilitation Skills for Conveners
  • Personal skills and emotional intelligence
  • Developing agendas and ground rules
  • Brainstorming and prioritizing ideas
• Managing Disagreement Constructively
  • Consensus-building and decision-making skills
  • Conflict resolution
• Are We There Yet? What Success Looks Like
  • Goals for the convened group
  • Accountability
  • Evaluating the group's work and your involvement

Who Should Attend: This program is open to California public library leaders (directors, assistant directors, and top administrators).

Prerequisites: People who are planning to play the role of convener in a library setting.

Note Special start and end times:
Day 1 Check-in: 9:30 to 10:00 AM Instruction: 10:00 AM to 5:30 PM
Day 2 Check-in: 8:30 to 9:00 AM Instruction: 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM

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