A reading course project by MLIS students, Jenna Knorr & Elizabeth O’Brien

“A basic goal of library service is that it be designed to meet the needs and interests of users. For any information organization to function effectively and usefully, there must be a match between the services offered and the needs of the users themselves. A community development approach, as applied in the Community-Led Library Service Model, provides this comprehensive foundation in the philosophy, challenges, and practical application of inclusive library and information services, with particular attention to the needs of socially excluded community members.” – INFO 6500 Community-Led Services, course description

The community-led approach to outreach is an emerging model being adopted by Canadian library systems. For public libraries especially, this service model can help libraries to become even more inclusive and welcoming for patrons of all kinds. By accommodating for the needs of all library users and adapting programming, collections, and more to the communities in which public libraries operate, the public library can continue to re-assert itself as a relevant and essential resource.

This project with Shelter Nova Scotia and Halifax Public Libraries (HPL) was conducted as part of a graduate-level reading course called Community-Led Services at Dalhousie University. Jenna Knorr and Elizabeth O’Brien, MLIS students in the School of Information Management (SIM), conducted the course under the supervision of SIM professor Dr. Vivian Howard. Our contact at HPL was Sara Gillis, Community Engagement Manager, and our contact at Shelter Nova Scotia was Colleen Ritchie, Communications & Fund Development Specialist.

We took this course, which was still in development at the time, to gain both theoretical and practical experience in the Community-Led Library Service Model. This involved familiarizing ourselves with the philosophy, rationale, concepts, and practices that form the foundation of inclusive, community-led service. We did this through an in-depth literature review, as well as through working with HPL and Shelter NS on a project to determine how Shelter NS’s clients use, or don’t use, the public library in Halifax, and how the library can better serve them.

Colleen and Sara met initially in the fall of 2015 to discuss a partnership between Shelter NS and HPL. A few days later, we approached Sara to discuss this course and ways that we could work with HPL on a community engagement project. It was meant to be!

Early days

Our first step in defining the needs of Shelter Nova Scotia was to meet with Colleen to create an asset map outlining their existing resources and concerns with regard to how the clients of Shelter Nova Scotia use – or possibly, don’t use – the public libraries in Halifax. We wanted to identify any barriers that patrons may experience when using the library in order to inform HPL of any restrictive policies or practices that they may currently have in place. Through this conversation, it was determined that our best means of data collection would be to conduct paper surveys with the clients of Shelter NS. Colleen helped us to determine the best way to do this, and at her recommendation, we decided to host programs in two of Shelter Nova Scotia’s locations, Barry House and Herring Cove Apartments.

Early in the semester, we also completed critical literature reviews. The reading lists for these reviews came from Dr. Howard’s proposed reading list for this course, which will be offered at SIM in Winter 2017. Through these literature reviews, we learned a lot about the theory behind the community-led service model, and also what other library systems are doing to adopt this service model across Canada. We were also able to make recommendations to Dr. Howard on more appropriate resources to add to the reading list, as well as any other additional articles, videos, or webinars that we thought would be worthy of inclusion.

NSPIRG funding

We applied for funding from the Nova Scotia Public Interest Research Group (NSPIRG) in January 2016. NSPIRG is a student-funded organization at Dalhousie University that provides funding for original research on social and environmental issues that address inequalities, promote awareness, and foster social change. On February 5, 2016, we received $400 from NSPIRG and a few weeks later on February 24, 2016, we received an additional $50. The funding allowed us to cover all of the costs associated with our project, enabling us to provide food at our events and to pay honorariums to the authors who did readings.

Ethics application

Because the project was being conducted as part of a SIM course, we had to submit an ethics application to the Faculty of Management Research Ethics Board outlining the scope, goals, and methods of the project. The application allowed us to plan the project in advance, including what the events would look like, as well as the survey questions we would ask.

Shelter Nova Scotia events

Colleen reached out to the House Directors, who were all accommodating and interested in the project. We met with Kate Billo from Barry House and Nicole Nearing at the Herring Cove Apartments, since we felt the clients in these two houses could offer different perspectives on the library, due to the demographics of the houses, as well as their different geographical locations within Halifax.

Barry House is an emergency shelter for women and children, with room for 20 people and an average of 17 clients a night. The house is located in the North End, close to the Halifax North Memorial Branch of HPL. Herring Cove Apartments is the newest Shelter NS facility, located just outside of the peninsula, close to the Captain William Spry Library. It is a small apartment building, currently with eight residents but with room for up to 12, that offers independent living facilities for men.

Both events were held in the early evening and were structured in similar ways. We started the program with lots of food and an introduction to our project, then we had an author do a short reading. Carol Bruneau joined us at Barry House and Steve Vernon came to the Herring Cove Apartments event. Both authors received a wonderful response and helped to make the events more relaxed and engaging. Following the readings, Sara and a staff member from the closest HPL branches – Matthew McCarthy, Manager of Halifax North Memorial, and Nick Hart, Library Assistant at Captain William Spry – chatted about the library and what programs and services are currently available. Sara also brought along card registration forms and we had two people sign up for cards! Finally, we dispersed the consent forms and surveys, chatting informally with the clients as questions and comments came up. Overall, the events went smoothly and were equal parts fun and informative, and with lots of delicious food!

Survey results

Our survey was distributed in paper format at each of the events. The survey consisted of a consent form and a paper questionnaire with six questions about public library use. Participants had the option to complete the survey on their own, or be guided through it with the assistance of an HPL staff member or Shelter NS staff member.

We had a total of 12 survey responses, out of a potential of 28 respondents – 43% of the target population. Eleven currently use the library. The most popular reasons were for computer use, books and information resources (both in the branch and to check out), relaxation, and movies. Others use the library as a spot for meeting others, reading the newspaper and doing the puzzles, attending programs, and using drugs.

Some of the reasons why the library is not being used include:

o “Transportation (I’m crippled/arthritis)”
o “Too busy. Caught up in the Shelter looking for a place. Will return once things are stable.”
o “No card”
o “When I have no drugs, I don’t use the library”

Lots of people are unaware of the services that the library currently offers; only four respondents answered that they were confident in knowing what libraries offer, while two said they were not aware, and 5 said they knew some but would like to learn more. This indicates an eagerness for respondents to be more involved in library programming and activities.

Recommendations

We made four recommendations to Shelter Nova Scotia and HPL. These recommendations came from our conversations with clients, as well Sara, Colleen, Kate, and Nicole.

• Communication and Promotion
  • Generally, clients of Shelter NS still see the library as a place that offers primarily information resources, such as books, newspapers, and computers. In addition, staff members have had difficulties contacting an HPL staff person for issues relating to access to services for clients and have not been promoting the library and its other services to clients. Therefore, our first recommendation is to improve the communication between Shelter NS and HPL. This would be two-fold, with a direct contact person that Shelter NS can reach out to when issues and questions arise, but also for HPL to be able to contact Shelter NS in order to promote library services and events. This could be about what the library currently offers, such as updated programs for their local branch, or the different ways to use the library, obtain a card, attend events, and even ways that clients can request desired titles.
• Programming
  • A number of survey respondents, when asked what the library could offer them in the future, brought up a desire for different support groups. These included support groups for men, women, parents and children, as well as mental health and addictions groups. Currently HPL has a wide range of programs, including mental health support including mindfulness and meditation in some locations, but only one client of Shelter NS that we surveyed has attended one. While this may be solved by better communication and promotion of events and services, Shelter NS and HPL could also work together to design programs that would be directly beneficial for the clients. It would be wonderful to see a collaborative partnership develop centred around offering these programs, and others as they arise.
• Staff Training
  • While our survey results did not indicate that clients of Shelter NS were receiving poor treatment from staff at HPL, it is still a recommendation that staff complete further training that would be helpful when interacting with a wide range of community members. These include Mental Health First Aid, Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST), and Nonviolent Crisis Intervention. Currently, about 50% of HPL staff are trained in Nonviolent Crisis Intervention, as there are staff members who are able to provide this training. Ensuring that 100% of staff undergo this training and develop these skills would do wonders for interactions with a wide range of patrons in the library. Mental Health First Aid and ASIST would be wonderful assets to have as well. These courses would provide staff who interact with Shelter NS clients, as well as many other community members, better skills and resources that would work to make the libraries a more welcoming and supportive place for patrons experiencing mental health crises.
  • In addition to these courses, we also recommend that staff at HPL should be made aware of services and organizations in Halifax that could be useful to patrons such as emergency shelters, addiction services, food banks, and others. It is vital that staff know that these resources are not only available, but also their contact information, in order to pass this along to patrons who may ask for them.
• Social Workers in the Library!
  • Many public libraries across North America, including the Edmonton Public Library and the Winnipeg Public Library, have social workers working within the library. It is our long-term recommendation and desire that Halifax Public Libraries join this group of socially-minded public libraries. Social workers within public libraries offer a wide range of services, including frontline support, connecting patrons with other services and organizations, and leading programs such as support groups or employment outreach. We believe that this would be a wonderful resource for not only clients of Shelter NS, but lots of other communities within Halifax.

Conclusion

This project enabled us to lay the foundation for an essential and emerging partnership between Shelter Nova Scotia and Halifax Public Libraries. Though the two organizations have coincided in Halifax for many years, there had been little in the way of collaboration between them. The recommendations that we made to Shelter Nova Scotia and HPL were received very well by both organizations, and we are confident that the conversation that we sparked between the two groups will continue, even now that our project has come to a close. We are eager to see everything that this partnership will bring in the future, but we are confident that it will mean positive change for the clients of Shelter Nova Scotia and improve their ability to access the public library.