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Community Partnerships:Happy Marriages or Strange Bedfellows

SWITCH 2015 November 18, 2015

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Philadelphia, PA • 1.56 million residents• 5th largest US city

– (by population)• It’s an old city• It’s a politically interesting city• It’s a city of promise• It’s a city of entrepreneurs• It’s a city of many

neighborhoods and churches• It’s a civically engaged city• It’s a poor city

– 25% poverty rate– 50% low literate adults

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A little bit about the Free Library of PhiladelphiaThere are nearly 1200 full-time and part-time employees

There are over 60 FLP locations

We produce over 25,000 programs annually

We have the benefit of a Foundation

We recently aligned forces with the Rosenbach Museum and Library

We are an organization that invites risk and innovation…and at the same time we are afraid of our own success

We have our own beer!!

Key Success FactorsDuring the strategic planning process 8 key success factors (capabilities / expertise) surfaced as drivers for the Free Library’s success. These key success factors were incorporated into The Free Library’s new strategic direction.• Operational Efficiency• Premium Service Fee Option• Marketing and Awareness• Programming• Facility Design• Specialized Talent• Partnerships• Virtual Presence and Delivery

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Strategy Path to Achieve Vision and Mission

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Strategic Aspiration Funding Mix

Customer Strategy

Physical vs. Virtual Focus

Emphasis on New Tech.

Type of Labor

Entrepre-neurial

MindsetCommunity Engagement

Primary Audience

Board Structure

Geographic Scope

World-class / Tier 1 Institution

Only privatePay for

everything / Member fee

Only virtualFocus on

cutting edge lending

Specialized focus areas

Many experiments

and pilots

Active partnerships

– library driven

All things to all people

Two separate boards

(status quo)

Philadelphia city-limits

Tier 2 (Top 10 player)

Primarily private with

public supplement

Pay for premium

(most services)

Primarily virtual with

some physical

presence

Focus on cutting edge

accessIT-enabled

Moderate amount of

experiments and pilots

Passive partnerships – community

driven5 target

audiences

Two separate

boards (one elected)

Greater Philadelphia

region

Tier 3 (opportunist

ic player)Equal

balance

Pay for premium

(some services)

Balanced with

moderate virtual and

physical presence

Focus on computer

accessTraditional

Little experiments

and pilotsNo / little

engagementActive

citizens Single board State

Status quoPrimarily

public with private

supplement

Free and equal for

everything

Primarily physical

with some virtual

presence

Focus on only

Internet access

OutsourcedNo

experiments and pilots

Donor groups

National / international

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So, how to get there?!!

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Developing Partnerships

Solid partnerships answer the following questions:

Does the partnership…Innovate?Support?Educate?

Entertain?

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Types of Partnerships

• Strategic • Is community oriented – Collective Impact

• Creative• Focuses on multi-sector programming

• Advancement• Builds organizational capacity

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Strategic Partnerships

Tap into the community’s will to actDrives real success

Collective Impact:Collective Impact brings people/organizations together, in a structured way, to achieve social change.

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Goals of Collective Impact

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READ! By 4th

• Purpose: To ensure that all children in the City of Philadelphia are reading on grade level by the time they reach the 4th grade. This is the Philadelphia version of the national Campaign for Grade Level Reading. The Free Library is the “backbone” agency.

• Partners: 50+ for profit and not-for profit organizations participating in 4 “pillar” areas – Evidence-based Instruction, Year-Round Readers, Active Attendance and Family Engagement.

• Goals: Double the number of children reading on grade level by 2020; 68% of children are enrolled in a high-quality pre-k program; a 97% attendance rate in Kindergarten and 1st grade and 100% of children participating on literacy-rich summer programs.

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Words at Play Vocabulary Initiative

• Purpose: A community-wide, grant-funded initiative taking place at 2 libraries located in North Philadelphia. The grant’s focus is families with children ages birth to 5 years. Through playing, singing, and reading at “Play Parties”, families discover new ideas to help strengthen their child’s vocabulary while playing with their children.

• Partners: Five organizations are working collaboratively to offer this initiative: the Free Library of Philadelphia, The Franklin Institute, the Kimmel Center, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Philadelphia Zoo and PNC Bank (funder).

• Goal: The program will help close the vocabulary gap among children as well as bolster school readiness by providing adults and youth alike with the tools necessary to build vocabulary at an early age.

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Building Bridges with Books

• Purpose: Funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Innovative Approaches to Literacy program is aimed at areas with high poverty and low student achievement. The program is designed to "build bridges" between families and schools through early literacy activities, including monthly parent training sessions on the importance of reading and talking to children as well as regular visits to the local public library. The focus is on a cohort of K, 1st and 2nd grade classes.

• Partners: US Department of Education, School District of Philadelphia, Free Library of Philadelphia, the Mayor’s Office of Education

• Goal: The goal of the grant is to support literacy development for children at the beginning of their school years. Librarians are excellent at imparting enthusiasm and sheer joy in books, literacy, and language which can only help young students maintain grade level reading skills.

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PASCHALVILLE ADVISORY COUNCIL ON COLLECTIVE IMPACT

• Purpose: To leverage the library as a hub for job seekers by bringing together a broad array of community partners in support of Southwest Philadelphia residents.

• Partners: Paschalville NL: Centennial Celebration, MCOL: Pre-Registration Training, SW CDC: Employment Boot Camp, FLP: Job Fair at Paschalville (October 8th), CityLights, PA CareerLink, Open floor.

• Goal: Southwest Philadelphia is an engaged, employed and prosperous community.

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Creative Partnerships

“In times in which culture is often seen as a luxury that may be easily disposed of, creative partnerships concretely exemplify the benefits that culture may bring both to society and to the economy.”

From the: POLICY HANDBOOK PROMOTION OF CREATIVE PARTNERSHIPS – European Agenda for Culture – March 2014

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Free Library Cultural Partners

• Year of the Bard: Shakespeare at 450• Theater Companies• High School Rappers• Musical Groups• Ballet• College Drama Departments• Yards Brewing Company • Charles Dickens 200th Anniversary• Literary Salons• Look a-like Contest• Theatrical Performers• Other rare collections

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Free Library Cultural Programs• Framing Fraktur Exhibition• 20 partner organizations including Art Museums, history museums and cultural

centers• Musical Performances• Artist panel discussion• Group Visits• Symposium with University of Pennsylvania

• Music Department: Journeys• Jazz Performers• Jazz Clubs• Composers• Musicians

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One Book One Philadelphia

• 600 Community Partners• 100 Programs in 8 weeks• Books to schools and community centers• Film and music programs• Restaurants

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Culinary Literacy Center

• Launched in June 2014: State-of-the-art teaching kitchen– builds literacy skills through

cooking education– supports health literacy

through nutrition education– dozens of partners: top chefs,

schools, cultural food experts – for adults, teens, and children

• 3,000 have attended nearly

400 programs in the first year

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Social Workers in Libraries• Philadelphia’s high poverty rate leads

to a high homeless rate– many homeless fight addiction and

mental illness – Library is safe-haven for these patrons

• Trained social workers on-site at Central library to give support to patrons and to help staff with difficult situations

• Partnership with the City’s Department of Behavioral Health

• Needed expansion in neighborhood libraries

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Advancement Partnerships

Partnerships that drive financial security,advances professional skill-levels and, and promotes growth and awareness of your organization.

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South Philadelphia Library

Partnership with Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), City Health Center, Recreation Center

– First of its kind in the country: plan to be national model

– Consumer health services paired with traditional library services

– Ethnically diverse community of significant need

– Development to a holistic approach to Community Health

South Philadelphia Health and Literacy Center

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Healthcare Advisory CouncilConsists of top-level leaders from largest hospitals, universities, and health-based organizations in the region

Goals of the Council:• Act as a think tank/advisor to

determine roadmap and plan for the Library to provide pro-active health information services throughout the City,

• Consider resources, implementation and timeline for new initiatives

• Identify and facilitate partnerships

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Public Private Partnerships

21st Century Library Initiative:Neighborhood Library Renovation Program

City of Philadelphia William Penn Foundation Knight Foundation Private Individuals

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Strange Bedfellows

Marriage vs One night standShare the work: Share the WealthKnow your partnersYou get what you seeControl FreaksShared Goals

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Challenging Partnerships

Words at Play:

Impactful program Funder chose the partners Unresponsive partners Inequitable distribution of work (outreach)

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Partnerships that tug on your last nerve!

Co-Sponsorship between FLP & Drexel University

Egos Micro-management Disagreement as to

vision/purpose Venue Constant tension

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We should never have gone down this road!!

One Film Issues Contentious relationship

with selection committee Philadelphia already has a

significant film festival Lack of adequate funding Competition between

doyens of One Film and One Book Philadelphia

The mission of One Film is to inspire Philadelphians to pursue visual literacy in their own lives and to think critically about the visual media they encounter every day

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And finally, remember….

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Many Thanks

Siobhan A. Reardon President and Director

Free Library of Philadelphia www.freelibrary.org

reardons@freelibrary.orgTwitter: @flpdirector

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Historic BuildingPast, Present, Future