Kent State University (Kent State University, School of Information)

Kent State University, in partnership with University of Washington, will research and develop a social justice, outcomes-based planning and assessment tool. This tool will support library staff in developing outreach programs and services that meet the needs of families with young children from underserved communities. Small, medium, and large libraries in rural, urban, and suburban areas will collaborate with the research team on the design process. The libraries will help iterate, test, and reflect on the toolkit. This toolkit will embed the social justice principles of equity, engagement, and empowerment into the creation of outreach programs in public libraries. This program aims to support the outreach production process by implementing design thinking, building library community awareness, and developing a library peer community.

Amendment 2021: $55,605 in additional funds were awarded in 2021 to support the development of a self-paced course, training videos, and the evaluation of these elements.