SPRINGFIELD – The Springfield Public Library has created and maintained long-standing and new partnerships throughout its existence. These partnerships provide community support for an extensive spectrum of folks.
“We have a relationship with Catholic Community Services, so we can provide temporary library cards to folks with temporary or no housing,” said Rachel Aronowitz, the cataloging and collections specialist.
She shared that the library provides glasses from the Lions Club, connects people with low-vision to the State Library so they can get free audiobooks, and, for folks who need legal support, refers them to the Lane County Law Library.
Arc of Lane County caretakers bring clients to the library; the Department of Human Services meets with families; and Connected Lane County funds internships through a Tech Accelerator Program that provides hands-on technical job experience.
The Library Foundation delivers books to assisted living facilities. The library also gives books to the Springfield Jail and to children at local hospitals. While some relationships have been in circulation for an extended period, they are ever-evolving, and some are still developing.
“Just next week, I will meet with Adult and Disability Services of Lane County to share resources,” Aronowitz said.
Kristen Curé, the Latino liaison and Spanish services librarian, shared some of the partnerships the library has to help serve Spanish-speaking and Latine community members. She said the library has collaborated with Nurturely for Babywearing y Bailando, a bilingual program that teaches parents to use different baby carriers and then gives parents the opportunity to dance while carrying their babies in wraps or carriers.
“Several times a year, we partner with Eugene Arte Latino and Comunidad y Herencia Cultural to host Spanish language author events,” Curé said. “We partner with Eugene Arte Latino to provide folk art workshops each fall, as well as a community celebration for Día de los Muertos.”
She also said each April, the library partners with Comunidad y Herencia Cultural, Eugene Arte Latino, and Guy Lee Elementary School for a family celebration for Children’s Day, Book Day (El día del niño, el día del libro). This event includes free activities for kids, musical and dance performances, food, and free books for attendees.
Library director Emily David explained the partnership between the Springfield Public Library and Lane Council of Libraries (LCOL). A shared catalog, the Integrated Library System (ILS), with other public libraries in Lane County, including Cottage Grove, Creswell, Fern Ridge, Junction City, Oakridge, Siuslaw, Florence, and Mapleton, lets patrons access materials from any of the other libraries.
“This partnership expands the materials available to all cardholders at these libraries,” David said.
The school district
Springfield Public Schools is another partnership that brings folks in from the community and lets them engage with the library. Students in the Springfield School District Life Skills and Community Living programs come in for cleaning projects at the library, as Krista Raasch explained in part one of this “Beyond the Books” series.
An annual summer outdoor multicultural series draws on many community partners to attract crowds of 200-500 people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities, according to Mindy Linder, the community and engagement specialist. She explained the layers of relationship between SPS and the library, saying that this summer will be the fourth season collaborating with the SPS Summer SPARK! Program, which offers a free summer enrichment camp for Springfield families.
Linder said the collaboration has grown to include the first week of August, when the Chifin Native Youth Center hosts an annual SPS summer culture camp for Native students. She works with Native Youth Wellness of Lane Education Service District and the Indian Education Coordinator at SPS to co-host an annual Indigenous Cultural Celebration.
“This is a big win for everyone: the Library and SPS get to deepen our relationship and collaboration; our local community gets greater access to world-class artists and culture keepers,” she said.
David mentioned how Helping Out Our Teens in Schools (HOOTS) uses conference rooms during the summer to continue meeting with teens on subjects from health to tragedy response.
The museum
David said that while the museum and library are one department, they are two separate entities working together to provide services to the community.
“When we do exhibits in the museum, we bring in lists of related books that people can check out in the library or resources in the library that would go with what people are learning about,” said Maddi McGraw, museum curator.
ILLUMINATION exhibits are an example of how the library, museum, and SPS partner together. ILLUMINATION is a story collection project of the library and museum that celebrates undertold history and perspectives in Springfield and rural east Lane County.
“These collections are in high demand from community groups and public schools alike,” Minder said. “Our top priority is to make them accessible to Springfield Public Schools, and we have all four collections that rotate on display in elementary, middle, and high schools, as well as being offered as key features at annual student affinity summits.”
McGraw pointed out the unique model of the library-museum combo, and said there are only around three other similar community institutions.
“It’s a really unique opportunity that we have here, and the fact that it’s been successful is really neat,” McGraw said.
Serving the business community
David pointed out that the business community is a large piece of the pie that makes up the library support system.
Public computers are used by job-seekers to work on their resumes, apply for jobs, or take certification tests such as the Food Handlers Card. Folks can use printers either through the library computer or their own device.
“During the opening shift, a patron came in and started recounting a very complex interaction about library staff helping him submit an application the prior day,” David said. “He came back and waited in a long line just to tell us that he ‘got the job’ and that he knew we’d likely appreciate hearing that.”
JobNow is a database that provides resources for building a resume, job searching, honing interview skills, and more, which is offered in English and Spanish. A-to-Z databases, such as business, person, and job reference data, can help with job searches and also help businesses with creating mailing lists, identifying competitors in the area, and more, according to David.
“We partner with local businesses in the summer with our Summer Reading Program ‘scavenger hunt’, which sends folks to certain local businesses to find a reader board with a clue. We supply the small reader boards,” she said. “The hope is that patrons will learn about new businesses and will potentially make a purchase while they are in the store, although this is not required.”
Meeting rooms are used by folks for meetings and interviews, much like The Chronicle reporters use them as a weekly Community Newsroom spot.
“When we first approached the library staff with the ‘Community Newsroom’ concept last spring, they were incredibly welcoming,” said Erin Tierney-Heggenstaller, executive editor and co-owner of The Chronicle. The initiative aims to dismantle the “fourth wall” of journalism by moving reporters out from behind their desks and into local libraries, bookstores, and coffee shops.
“Since then, Conference Room C at the Springfield Library has become a weekly hub for our team. The library staff has been instrumental in this model, directing community members to our space so we can connect with them directly,” she said.
