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One of the most powerful ways of connecting more people to their public library is by helping patrons “see themselves” in your collection and programming, and by empowering people with varying abilities to fully leverage your services. That’s why diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) measures are becoming a priority for an increasing number of public libraries.
With DEIA gaining importance, we felt it was a good idea to visit our Partner Libraries for inspiration, especially for impactful strategies, deft or nimble execution tips, and meaningful lessons. In our first chapter in a series of blogs, we’re casting our spotlight on Stark Library. Recently, Stephanie Cargill (Communications Director) and June Kucalaba (Marketing and Identity Manager) walked us through how Stark Library elevated their library's DEIA efforts since 2020.
Since making DEIA a key priority, Stark Library has achieved remarkable results in terms of programming expansion and patron growth. For example, Stark Library had only one Black History Month program systemwide in 2020. In 2024, it had 37 Black History Month programs across its system. It also re-engaged 1,700 inactive patrons over the age of 65 and even achieved a net growth of 300 new patrons in just one campaign!
So, how did they do it? What were their secret ingredients (yes, we think there’s definitely more than one secret ingredient at play)? And what ideas can your public library leverage and implement today?
Read on (or catch Stark Library’s full webinar)!
Why DEIA Matters to Public Libraries
Before delving into Stark Library’s story, we felt it was a good idea to quickly reflect on why DEIA matters, especially for public libraries. According to the United States Census Bureau, 13% of the population had a disability. In other words, more than one in ten people may have difficulty with one – or possibly multiple – activities everyone else may take for granted, such as seeing, hearing, concentrating, walking, climbing stairs, and others. Not only that, but people are not static beings; a person may develop one or several disabilities in the future. Any one of us may need support one day. Hence, accessibility measures ensure that everyone can connect to valuable or essential services and leverage them (i.e., equity).
Source: Pew Research Center
The other aspect of DEIA is the value of diversity and inclusion. People will find it easier to build personal connections with places they “see themselves in.” This quote encapsulates the idea really nicely:
This is the core of our mission. When I go to a branch location, I think about the program, and what’s the essential population. If a little girl who is Asian American looks at an image, she can look at it and say, ‘Hey, I am in here.’ And this would have been important to me as a child, so I can understand how important this is for our own populations today.
Jaime Wong, the Deputy Director of Communications
at San Francisco Public Library
June Kucalaba, the Marketing and Identity Manager at Stark Library, shared a story of how a patron told them that they gravitated towards the Arthur series because the main characters had darker skin tones similar to them. The Arthur world made them feel personally included. That’s the type of deep connection and relatability public libraries want to achieve through their DEIA. So, let’s take a look at how Stark Library did it.
Marc Brown, the author of the "Arthur" series, visited a Stark Library location.
What We Learned from Stark Library
1. Collaborate Cross-Departmentally
Before designing and implementing a strategy, Stark Library secured leadership buy-in from its executive directors and engagement from managers across its public services, community services, collections, and marketing/communications teams. Leaders at every level played an active role in driving DEIA strategies and focusing team efforts on each supporting initiative, from cultural heritage programs to accessibility measures to inclusion efforts and much more.
In addition, Stark Library integrated deep systemwide accountability measures to ensure DEIA programs were fully implemented. Specific measures included, among others:
- Ongoing monthly check-ins between department directors and managers
- Involving every Stark Library location in driving programming and creating assets
- Providing real estate to DEIA-focused programs in library publications (e.g., mailers)
Stark Library’s management approach helped it involve every one of its branches in its DEIA programs, increase the proportion of diversity content in its collections from 12% to 16%, and educate and train staff on DEIA. The latter was further facilitated by the Directors Advisory Committee and DEIA Employee Resource Group.
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2. Get the Word Out on Every Channel
For each DEIA-focused program, Stark Library reaches out to the community through a variety of digital and physical channels. To achieve its promotional goals, Stark Library produces a comprehensive package of marketing assets, namely, dedicated website banners and landing pages, social media posts, and page spreads on their community mailers and email newsletters.
For example, here is Stark Library’s landing page for Black History Month:
This landing page provides background information on Black History Month and its importance. It also offers a list of upcoming programs and events at Stark Library locations, along with a call-to-action (CTA) for users to register online in advance. There is also direct access to curated online resources, such as an archive on African American Heritage and an inventory of news articles and journalistic stories dating all the way back to 1783. In a way, the landing page isn’t just a driver for pushing traffic to events, but it’s a valuable resource onto itself, connecting people to different parts of both the online and physical library so that they can learn more about African American history.
In tandem with the digital landing page, Stark Library also created a two-page spread in their hardcopy mailer. Like the landing page, the guide provides a list of upcoming events at various locations as well as a list of books and other curated items from Stark Library’s collection.
Source: Stark Library
On social media, the Stark Library team leveraged a variety of creative tools to promote programs and events. This is a great example of Stark Library using Reels on Facebook. Not only is it a creative break from typical written posts, Reels can reach more people, especially those who haven’t yet followed the Stark Library page (by riding the algorithm connecting people to content based on their interests). Reels may even appeal to younger people by leveraging video and visuals over text.
Source: Stark Library's Facebook Page
Here's another Stark Library landing page, this time for Asian American and Pacific Islander Month (AAPI). Like the Black History Month page, the AAPI page provides background information, a list of upcoming events with a call-to-action (CTA) to register online, and a curated list of books and items.
It’s also worth noting that many of Stark Library’s AAPI events have already filled up, showing that the local community strongly resonates with DEIA initiatives and responds by increasing its engagement with the library. Thus, DEIA-focused programming show that libraries can bring more people through the front door, fill programs and events, and even create local buzz.
It all goes back to the key point that when people “see themselves” in your catalog and programming, they will want to engage. They may do so to learn more about themselves or their families, connect with their cultures and traditions, or, finally, learn about others through their experiences and stories.
Stark Library applies this same management and marketing approach to each of its major cultural and heritage initiatives, including Pride Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, Native American Heritage Month, and Women’s History Month. With this strategy, not only has Stark Library increased the volume of its DEIA-focused initiatives, but it’s promoting them effectively such that more people in the community become aware and reach out to the library.
3. Extend the DEIA Focus to Patrons Over 65
Stark Library also increased its focus on engaging “older adults” over the age of 65. It introduced the “Golden Gear” program, offering free kits comprising of helpful books on health and wellness as well as exercise gear, like resistance bands!
Source: Stark Library
Like its other DEIA initiatives, Stark Library has a dedicated landing page with information on how to access the kit, register for relevant programs and events, and a curated list of items from the library’s collection. Through the Golden Gear campaign, Stark Library re-engaged 1,700 inactive card holders as well as registered 300 net-new patrons, thus providing a great example of showing how tangible value delivers patron growth and increased engagement.
However, the Stark Library team also kept in mind that their older adult patrons also have specific accessibility needs. So, they made a conscious effort to ensure their material is also easier to read and access. For example, they have guidelines on print accessibility with rules designed to help older adult readers, such as recommending textual lines be limited to 40-60 characters, avoiding serif fonts, using dark texts over light backgrounds, and choosing appropriate CTAs (e.g., phone numbers instead of QR codes).
Next Steps
This was the first part in a series of stories on how our Partner Libraries are paving the way for DEIA best practices. But until we loop back and update this post with part-two, check out our other posts on more DEIA tips and strategies, such as our story on how to how to use reading lists, events, blogs, and more to drive patron interest and engagement. We also have resources about how our Partner Libraries are ideating new strategies for boosting item circulation, event and program enrollment, and raising community awareness:
- How Pet Contests Helped Kent District Library Reach 20,000 People Online
- 5 Best Practices for Designing a Library Website
- 4 Best Practices for Building Impactful Reading Lists
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