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G2S Project Code: 2015-MN-75138
State: Minnesota
Fiscal Year: 2015

Grantee
Friends of Hennepin County Library

Project Director
Director Name: Kelly Stade
Director Phone: 612-543-8749
Director Email: kcstade@hclib.org

General Information
Title: Cedar Riverside Library Outreach Project
State Project Code: 95852
Start Date: 07/06/2015
End Date: 07/05/2016
Abstract: Hennepin County Libraries promoted lifelong learning and continuing education through extending library services to the Cedar Riverside community. Cedar Riverside is a dense urban neighborhood south of downtown Minneapolis. It is home to the largest population of Somalis outside East Africa. Residents of this community have expressed strong interest in library services, unfortunately Hennepin County Library (HCL) has no library branches that directly serve the neighborhood. In fact, 64% of Hennepin County residents have a library card compared to 31% of Cedar Riverside residents. So, HCL brought library services directly to Cedar Riverside by hiring a Somali-speaking community liaison, developing partnerships with community stakeholders, building a network of volunteers embedded in the community, and hosting “pop-up” library events.

State Goal: Increase access to library resources

Budget Information

LSTA

MATCH-State

MATCH-Other

Total

$95,176.00

$0.00

$46,912.72

$142,088.72

Intent(s)
Improve users’ ability to obtain and/or use information resources.
Education
Literacy

Activities
Activity Details
Title: Pop-up Library Events & Volunteer Ambassador Program
Narrative: Hennepin County Library’s Cedar Riverside Library Outreach offered six pop-up library events to bring the library experience to a community that lacks a library branch within its boundaries. Pop-up library events were held at the Brian Coyle Community Center, Lincoln International High School, Riverside Plaza apartment building, Dar Al Hijrah Mosque, Mixed Blood Theater parking lot and the Riverside Plaza Playground. Community members were able to sign up for a library card, check out books, gain technology skills and meet HCL staff from the four libraries surrounding the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood. Almost 800 people attended the pop-up libraries and 181 new library cards were issued.
A key partner for the grant program was the Hennepin County Law Library. Law librarians attended each pop-up event to provide information about their services as well as Landlord/Tenant Law, Know Your Rights, and other community-specific topics. The Law Library connected with 85 individuals at pop-up events and later received visitors who said they learned of the library during pop-up library events.
In addition to the pop-up library services, 11 individuals from the Cedar Riverside community were recruited to be volunteer ambassadors. Ambassadors were provided extensive training focused on library resources that support individuals’ school and career goals, such as job databases and study aids. The program ambassadors’ own professional development allowed them to become advocates in their community. Volunteer ambassadors helped staff pop-up library events, represented the library in the community, and offered a welcoming and familiar face to people who were not aware of the library or its services.

Intent: Improve users’ ability to obtain and/or use information resources.

Activity: Instruction
Mode: Consultation/drop-in/referral
Format: In-person

Quantity
Total number of consultation/reference transactions: 832
Average number of consultation/reference transactions per month: 140

Partner Information

Organization Type of Partner Organization(s):
Libraries: No
Historical Societies or Organizations: No
Museums: No
Archives: No
Cultural Heritage Organization Multi-type: No
Preschools: No
Schools: No
Adult Education: No
Human Service Organizations: No
Other: No

Legal Type of Partner Organization(s):
Federal Government: No
State Government: No
Local Government (excluding school districts): No
School District: No
Non-Profit: No
Private Sector: No
Tribe/Native Hawaiian Organization: No

Beneficiaries
Is the activity directed at the library workforce: No
For a targeted group or for the general population: Targeted
Geographic community of the targeted group: Urban
For what age groups: 18-25 years
For what economic types: Below Poverty
For what ethnicity types: Black
Is the activity directed at families: No
Is the activity directed at intergenerational groups: No
Is the activity directed at immigrants/refugees: Yes
Is the activity directed at those with disabilities: No
Limited functional literacy or informational skills: No
Is the activity category not already captured: Yes: Somali Immigrants/Refugees

Locale
Is the activity state-wide: No
Specific Locations: Yes
Name: Brian Coyle Community Center
Address: 420 15th Avenue South
City: Minneapolis
State: MN
Zip: 55454
Name: Islamic Civic Society of America
Address: 504 Cedar Ave
City: Minneapolis
State: MN
Zip: 55454
Name: Lincoln International High School
Address: 2520 Minnehaha Ave
City: Minneapolis
State: MN
Zip: 55404
Name: Mixed Blood Theatre
Address: 1601 South 4th Street
City: Minneapolis
State: MN
Zip: 55454
Name: Riverside Plaza
Address: 1530 South 6th Street
City: Minneapolis
State: MN
Zip: 55454
Name: Riverside Plaza/Safety Center
Address: 1601 South 4th street Suite #101
City: Minneapolis
State: MN
Zip: 55454

Activity Details
Title: Community Engagement and Welcome Events
Narrative: Adding a cultural liaison to the Somali community in Cedar Riverside was one of the most impactful aspects of the project. As a teenager in Somalia, the cultural liaison had previously worked as a translator for the United Nations and moved to the U.S. in 2000. She has strong connections with many community organizations and an intimate knowledge of the neighborhood’s business owners and other influential figures. Early in the project, the cultural liaison led outreach staff on a neighborhood walking and listening tour that had a strong influence on the direction of the project.
Staff at the four libraries near Cedar Riverside – East Lake, Franklin, Minneapolis Central, and Southeast libraries – received cultural competency training from the liaison. The liaison focused her training on how to defuse potential points of friction like physical contact, employees needing time to pray and gender expectations. She also wrote a blog post on the subject that was distributed to all 650 HCL staff.
HCL staff engaged the Cedar Riverside community in a variety of ways. They attended neighborhood meetings and invited leaders to advise on the grant and visit the libraries. HCL staff provided library tours for key community stakeholders: including leaders from local community organizations like the Riverside Plaza Tenants Association and the West Bank Community Coalition, which focuses on engaging young men. Staff highlighted library services and materials of particular relevance to the Cedar Riverside and East African populations.
HCL hosted Welcome Events at the four libraries near Cedar Riverside. Each event created a welcoming atmosphere for people who had never visited library buildings before and also served as a thank you to regular patrons. The events were designed to provide a special one-day experience while also highlighting library services and resources that are always available.
Staff and volunteers led activities that promoted a technology-focused learning experience, such as button-making, green-screen photos, and crafting with 3D pens. The Welcome Events introduced volunteer ambassadors to a new building, let families experience the atmosphere of four unique libraries and built relationships between East African communities in Cedar Riverside and patrons living outside of those communities.

Intent: Improve users’ ability to obtain and/or use information resources.

Activity: Instruction
Mode: Consultation/drop-in/referral
Format: In-person
Other: Outreach

Quantity
Total number of consultation/reference transactions: 214
Average number of consultation/reference transactions per month: 43

Partner Information

Beneficiaries
Is the activity directed at the library workforce: No
For a targeted group or for the general population: Targeted
Geographic community of the targeted group: Urban
For what age groups: 18-25 years
For what economic types: Below Poverty
For what ethnicity types: Black
Is the activity directed at families: No
Is the activity directed at intergenerational groups: No
Is the activity directed at immigrants/refugees: Yes
Is the activity directed at those with disabilities: No
Limited functional literacy or informational skills: No
Is the activity category not already captured: Yes: Somali Immigrants/Refugees

Locale
Is the activity state-wide: No
Specific Locations: Yes
Name: Hennepin County Library - East Lake
Address: 2727 East Lake Street
City: Minneapolis
State: AK
Zip: 55406
Name: Hennepin County Library - Franklin
Address: 1314 East Franklin Ave.
City: Minneapolis
State: MN
Zip: 55404
Name: Hennepin County Library - Minneapolis Central Library
Address: 300 Nicollet Mall
City: Minneapolis
State: MN
Zip: 55401
Name: Hennepin County Library - Southeast
Address: 1222 4th Street S.E.
City: Minneapolis
State: MN
Zip: 55414

Project Outcomes
Project Outcomes
List any important findings or outcomes from your project:
The Somali community in Cedar Riverside places particular value on face-to-face and oral communication, and the pop-ups were a responsive outreach tool to build trust, awareness, and familiarity with HCL’s services. Cultural differences around things such as physical contact, terminology, and prayer affect how welcome East African immigrants feel in our libraries. Staff felt more confident and sensitive in serving patrons after taking a cultural competency training from our cultural liaison. The Hennepin County Law Library reference desk reported that they helped several Somali men who came in with an ordinance question and said they had learned about the Law Library from HCL outreach in Cedar Riverside. Pop-Up library attendees most frequently reported learning that the library could help with educational attainment, language learning, citizenship job searches and cultural materials. Cedar Riverside community members were particularly interested in HCL’s online resources accessible from personal computers anywhere. Cedar Riverside residents were very enthusiastic about remotely accessible services such as online homework help with live tutors, a language training database allowing youth to practice Somali, and career support. Databases of particular interest included JobNow, Lynda.com, and Learning Express Library. Anecdotes perhaps best describe the program’s success. Asma is a mother who told librarians that she used the library to check out books for her children. She mentioned she was interested in pursuing a nursing career. The librarians introduced her to library databases that could help her study for nursing exams. Asma was thrilled and started using these services. Another example is a high school student who came to the Lincoln International H.S. pop-up event and learned that HCL was hiring Teen Specialists. The summer position, funded by Friends of HCL, allows teens to gain employment skills by working at the libraries’ front desks and be the first point of contact for patrons. She applied to work at Hosmer Library and was one of six teens hired. 100% of Volunteer Ambassadors indicated that they used the library more often after becoming a Volunteer Ambassador. Over half of the Volunteer Ambassadors said that since they started volunteering, they have been coming into the library to use the computers, borrow materials, or just hang out. 50% also reported getting help from librarians and attending library programs after learning about the services through volunteering. 96% of Welcome Event attendees said they would visit the library again. 79% said they would tell a friend about the library.
Please briefly describe importance of findings:
The Cedar Riverside project helped HCL further serve the Cedar Riverside community. It also allowed HCL to pilot methods to extend the reach of the library through community engagement and pop-up library events. The project has helped HCL develop sustainable services to Cedar Riverside and will allow the library system to apply its learnings about community engagement to other communities in Hennepin County. HCL is committed to continuing its presence in Cedar Riverside. It will continue to have an HCL point person responsible for outreach and events in the neighborhood. However, an important lesson learned from this grant project is that outreach must also be strongly integrated into the surrounding branch libraries. The Community Liaison was overwhelmed by community interest in HCL services and the assumption that if HCL offered it, she could provide it. For instance, parents would ask her to help their children with homework and community members would knock on her door to request that she accompany them to a nearby HCL branch.
What methods did you use to determine your findings? Check all that apply:
Survey
Review of Administrative Data
Based on outputs, outcomes and/or other results, explain any significant lessons learned from these findings for either the SLAA or others in the LIS field:
East African cultures are “high context” cultures, meaning that personal testimony from a community member is one of the most impactful ways to build connections and trust. While many in the East African immigrant community have heard of the library, it is commonly perceived as a place meant for English-speakers and quiet study. Many adults did not know about library services that were highly relevant to their lives. Some community members who had previously interacted with the library had a negative view of library services. Fines on a library card were the most frequently cited barrier. Challenges included fine policy either not being clearly explained or lost in translation, which led to distrust of the library. Providing transportation to library programs could support higher attendance and stronger connections to the nearby library branches. The pop-ups demonstrated the library’s commitment to the community. The most important aspect of these events was not the technology or the furniture, but the personal connections developed between staff members and patrons. It was invaluable to have events that were exclusively by and for the library. Pop-up libraries allow HCL to create its own event in a community as opposed to merely staffing a table at an existing event. This supported the development of partnerships and trust-building through the planning and execution process. The cultural liaison took library staff on a walking tour of the neighborhood and introduced the team at local restaurants, nonprofits, schools and to people passing by or hanging out in apartment lobbies. Many of these people, sites and organizations would have been overlooked during more formal partnership and outreach efforts. Using volunteers from the community as ambassadors for the project was crucial for the purposes of helping people feel welcome and comfortable at the library’s events.
Do you anticipate continuing this project after the current reporting period ends:
Yes
Do you anticipate any change in level of effort:
No
Do you anticipate any change in the project's scope:
Yes: Rather than relying solely on a single point-person, connecting with the Cedar Riverside community will be integrated into the roles of the four nearby library branches. Pop-up library work will expand in scope to consider the needs of Hennepin County.
Do you anticipate any other changes in the project:
No

Exemplary: Yes
Exemplary NarrativeMinneapolis’s Cedar Riverside neighborhood is home to the largest Somali community outside of East Africa and doesn’t have a library branch within walking distance. While residents face barriers common to many urban immigrant communities, they also struggle with international terrorist organization recruitment efforts aimed at their youth. This project was exemplary in that the library worked in parallel with the community to uncover and respond to residents’ unique needs. They deployed their most determined librarians and recruited new staff and youth volunteers directly from the Cedar Riverside community. The infusion of the library into the community and the community into the four nearest library branches inspired trust and opened pathways to powerful library services.

Project Tags: Pop-Up Library, Somali, New Americans