American Library Association (American Association of School Librarians)

The American Library Association will partner with The Harwood Institute on The Promise of Libraries Transforming Communities, a scalable program that will advance community engagement, innovation, and transform the role of libraries in their communities. The project will develop the tools, innovations and resources that will help libraries lead a collaborative approach to community engagement and community development. It will address the need in local communities for public innovators and change-agents by preparing library leaders who can make more intentional choices and judgments about fulfilling the promise of libraries in transforming communities. The partnership will develop ALA capacity, train more than 350 librarians as facilitators to their communities, and create a pilot set of inter-related professional development components.