The Library Land Workforce Development Survey
Hard at work at the O’Connell branch of the Cambridge Public Library.
We’ve been planning to do research on workforce development programs in public libraries for some time now. The seed was planted by our own experience when we started our PR firm, ShareOrange, and needed a place to work. It germinated through discussions with others in the library community. It sprouted when we saw some amazing programs and services offered by libraries (thinking of North Adams and Braddock).
When COVID-19 hit, we - and others - assumed (incorrectly) that unemployment rates would remain high. We anticipated an essential role to help people find work coming out of the pandemic. We imagined libraries - and partners like MassHire - working hard to help support people who might be facing long-term unemployment. For many, that is still the case.
Little did we realize that the employment challenge would be of a very different nature. As people have had the opportunity to return to the workforce, many are deciding not to return to work as it was. More people are looking for new paths forward; and here, too, libraries have a role to play.
To understand what that role looks like, what types of programs and services are being offered, the kinds of partnerships in place, and how these things are being funded, we decided to rework our survey and plan. What we are sharing today are links to two surveys: one for public libraries and another for partner organizations. They are intended to capture what is happening through public libraries today in the hopes of identifying and sharing case studies and best practices with the library community.
We are starting in Massachusetts but are happy to receive responses from elsewhere. Our goal is to have at least preliminary data/findings by Labor Day. Doing that will depend on the response rate, so please share the survey with colleagues from around the library community.
If you have any questions or feedback, we welcome your thoughts at info@librarylandproject.org.