On to ND! Building Capacity and Leadership in Small Libraries
This summer, Library Strategies and the Minnesota Literacy Council wrapped up the second year of the Libraries and Literacy Leadership Institute (L3), funded by the Otto Bremer Foundation. The 10-month L3 Institute launched in Minnesota in 2012-13, followed by last year’s work with libraries in Bremer Bank communities in Western Wisconsin.
And, now we are very pleased to announce that the Bremer Foundation has provided a very generous $1 million grant to conduct the L3 Institute for two years in North Dakota. The grant will provide funding for two rounds of the L3 Institute to help support all of the libraries and literacy organizations in all 17 Bremer communities across the state. Our hope is to also assist the ND state library and literacy leadership in advancing their own training programs after the conclusion of the L3 Institute activities.
The L3 Institute helps small and rural libraries and adult literacy organizations build their capacity and leadership through extensive training in such areas as planning, fundraising, advocacy, PR and marketing, board development, and much more.
Keys to the very successful L3 Institute in Wisconsin were the planning framework of the Institute, the mentorship program provided to each participant organization, the involvement of community members as well as staff, and offering $1,000 in seed grants to kick-start the libraries and literacy organizations toward reaching their goals. Each participant organization was asked to define three capacity building goals to accomplish during the L3 Institute, as well as receiving training across 11 content areas. Institute evaluations found that all of the participant organizations achieved at least one goal, and were on the way to completing all three. Individual participants also reported a significant increase in their knowledge, leadership, and confidence as a result of the L3 Institute.
If you would like to know more about the L3 Institute, or are interested in hearing more about the trainings offered by LSCG, contact Sue Hall, LSCG Director, at [email protected].