Thursday, October 23, 10:00am-3:30pm, Elkridge Branch, HCLS (6540 Washington Blvd., Elkridge, MD 21075) - (in-person)

Description:

Over the last three years, a cohort of ten Maryland public library systems have participated in the Building Community-Based Summers (BCBS) national IMLS project.  Through learning sessions and activities, this project helped these Maryland libraries develop new thinking and strategies regarding their summer services in four key areas:  Rethinking Internal Systems, Fostering a Culture of Learning, Centering Community, and Reflecting Continuously about their summer services and their impact. 

This B​uilding C​ommunity-B​ased S​ummers (BCBS) in-person Mini-Conference & Workshop is being offered to any Maryland library staff who are interested in evaluating and rethinking their summer services. Attendees will participate in a variety of activities to help them view their summer services through fresh eyes at a critical time of the year as they plan for next summer.  A panel of library practitioners from the Maryland BCBS participating libraries cohort will share how they implemented BCBS thinking processes to create more responsive summer programs and services reflecting local perspectives and needs. A brief history and background about the Building Community-Based Summers IMLS project will be provided for those unfamiliar with the project, a​long with details for those who wish​ to ​be trained more deeply regarding the BCBS learning topics and thinking processes. This BCBS Mini-Conference & Workshop will also include much time for discussion and sharing ​so participants gain iboth: deas and insights to better reach all​ in their communities and strategies ​to implement for challenges encountered​. 

Learning Objectives -- Participants will be able to:

• Explain briefly the history of the Building Community- Based Summers (BCBS) IMLS project and its four key Principles
• Identify their library organization’s “why” of summer services
• Name one or two examples of strategies that Maryland libraries have implemented to build greater community involvement into their summer services
• Identify one or two action steps their library could take to help build more community voice into their library’s summer services

Presenters:  Maryland library practitioners who have participated in the MD BCBS state cohort over the last three years.

CE Hours: 6 (includes .5 hour of pre-work)

Registration opens:  July 7

Registration closes: September 30, 5:00pm. Pre-work will be sent to all registrants.