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G2S Project Code: 2020-NC-84554
State: North Carolina
Fiscal Year: 2020

Grantee
CATAWBA COUNTY LIBRARY

Project Director
Director Name: Siobhan Loendorf
Director Phone: 828-465-8660
Director Email: sloendorf@catawbacountync.gov

General Information
Title: Community Navigator
State Project Code: NC-20-04
Start Date: 07/01/2020
End Date: 09/30/2021
Abstract: Catawba County Library partnered with Appalachian State University to host interns from the Department of Social Work to work at the library interviewing high-need patrons, assessing their most immediate needs, and referring them to community resources when possible. Through direct interactions, interns helped people navigate services, provided mental health first aid, and facilitated training for library staff including trauma informed care, self-care and mental health first aid. This project allowed the library to strengthen our capacity to connect people to essential resources and empowered library staff to provide exceptional programs and services. It expanded our community's access to resources for learning and success in school, work, and life by engaging in a deeper and more meaningful way to meet patrons in need where they are without judgment or stigma. This project further strengthened the library’s approach to helping people in need of social-service assistance and reinforced the value of public libraries as a critical community resource aligned to meet community need.

State Goal: Expanding Access

Budget Information

LSTA

MATCH-State

MATCH-Other

Total

$26,871.07

$0.00

$2,985.67

$29,856.74

Intent(s)
Improve users’ ability to obtain and/or use information resources.
Civic Affairs
Health & Wellness

Activities
Activity Details
Title: Professional Development Workshops
Narrative: The interns offered three professional development opportunities to library staff. The first program was about trauma informed care. The workshop was offered 3 times to all library staff and lasted about 60 minutes. This class taught the 23 staff in attendance to approach patrons by thinking “what happened to them” instead of “what’s wrong with them.” This change in mindset leads to more understanding and empathetic interactions with patrons. The second workshop about burn-out and self-care was attended by 22 library staff members. It was also offered 3 times, and each hour long session covered techniques for avoiding burn-out and a variety of options to practice self-care. Participants practiced some deep breathing exercises to relax. The last workshop was offered once in person with the recording made available for all to watch later. There were 5 people in attendance for the live Zoom meeting and they learned about situations they are likely to see in the public library setting, what indicators to look for, and how to approach those situations.
Intent: Improve users’ ability to obtain and/or use information resources.

Activity: Instruction
Mode: Program
Format: Combined in-person & virtual

Quantity
Session length (minutes): 60
Number of sessions in program: 3
Average number in attendance per session: 17
Number of times program administered: 3

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: Yes
For a targeted group or for the general population: General

Locale
Is the activity state-wide: No
Specific Locations: Yes
Name: CATAWBA COUNTY LIBRARY
Address: 115 W C ST
City: NEWTON
State: NC
Zip: 28658
Question 1: I learned something by participating in this library activity.
Strongly Agree: 22
Agree: 19
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 1
Disagree: 0
Strongly Disagree: 0
Non-Response: 0
Question 2: I feel more confident about what I just learned.
Strongly Agree: 20
Agree: 21
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 1
Disagree: 0
Strongly Disagree: 0
Non-Response: 0
Question 3: I intend to apply what I just learned.
Strongly Agree: 18
Agree: 21
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 3
Disagree: 0
Strongly Disagree: 0
Non-Response: 0
Question 4: Applying what I learned will help improve library services to the public.
Strongly Agree: 20
Agree: 19
Neither Agree nor Disagree: 3
Disagree: 0
Strongly Disagree: 0
Non-Response: 0

Activity Details
Title: Community Navigator Consultations
Narrative:

The primary focus for the Community Navigators was to work with individuals in the library, helping to help connect them to resources and helping them navigate the process of accessing those resources. According to the statistics from the Community Navigator program the interns formally met with 37 individuals during their work with the library. The demographics for those individuals are as follows:

- Age: 21 people were age 46 or older; 15 were age 26-45 and only 1 was 25 or younger.

- Housing Situation: 19 people indicated that they have housing, 10 people said they did not have secure housing, and 8 people chose not to disclose this information.

- Reasons Seen: Top five reasons were Housing insecurity(10); Applying for benefits (6); stimulus check (6); Just wanted to talk (4);employment assistance (4).

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: 37
Average number of consultation/reference transactions per month: 5

Partner Information

Beneficiaries
Is the activity directed at the library workforce: No
For a targeted group or for the general population: General

Locale
Is the activity state-wide: No
Specific Locations: Yes
Name: CATAWBA COUNTY LIBRARY
Address: 115 W C ST
City: NEWTON
State: NC
Zip: 28658

Activity Details
Title: Community Resources LibGuide
Narrative:

The social work interns created a Community Resource LibGuide, or internal website, to organize all of the community resources available in Catawba County. They included hours of operations, contact information and tips on how to best connect with that resource. This LibGuide is shared with all library staff so that at any time at any location the library staff can feel empowered and informed to help individuals needing assistance. After the interns created the LibGuide, they conducted a feedback survey for all staff to see if the LibGuide was useful or if it needed to be edited.

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

Activity: Content
Mode: Creation
Format: Digital

Quantity
Number of items digitized: 0
Number of items digitized and available to the public: 0
Number of physical items: 0
Number of open-source applications/software/systems: 0
Number of proprietary applications/software/systems: 0
Number of learning resources (e.g. toolkits, guides): 1
Number of plans/frameworks: 0

Partner Information

Project Outcomes
Project Outcomes
List any important outcomes or findings not previously reported:
The interns assessed staff attitudes using a pre and post survey where staff answered the same questions prior to the project and then at the conclusion of the project. There were 29 pre-project surveys completed and 24 post-project surveys completed with results for all 9 questions indicating an increase in confidence for that topic. There was significant (41%) increase in staff confidence to work with individuals using a trauma informed approach and significant (44%) increase in staff reporting that they have the tools and knowledge to be able to appropriately assist those in need. Results also indicate that library staff are more comfortable approaching people in distress, connecting people to community agencies, and being able to diffuse volatile situations. The number of incidents, well checks to police and bans on patrons was decreased due to the Community Navigators presence in the library. One individual was making staff uncomfortable when he first started visiting the library, but the social work intern was able to work with that individual so that he was able to use library resources. Covid-19 greatly decreased the impact of this program due to the decrease in volume of patrons visiting the library. It also limited the interns’ ability to visit local agencies for further training.
Please briefly describe the importance of these outcomes and findings for future program planning:
The Community Resource LibGuide is a hugely important resource created from this project. It is accessible by all library staff and contains insider details that can help facilitate the process of connecting people to resources. This guide helps library staff when navigators are not on site such as over the holidays and summer. Having the community navigators on site has helped to change staff attitudes and confidence levels in regards to helping disadvantaged individuals. This is important because helping our most at risk community members helps the library strengthen our community.
Explain one or two of the most significant lessons learned for others wanting to adopt any facets of this project:
One of the library interns worked primarily during the evening and Saturdays, and she did not see very many clients. When she did, she was limited in what she could do to help as all of the agencies were closed at 5 pm. There is a fine line between staff feeling safe and empowered, and threatened; As a supervisor, you have to listen closely and act accordingly to ensure the safety of everyone. For example, the patron who was helped so effectively by the community navigator made a different staff member uncomfortable with inappropriate notes over the semester break, so we had to ban that patron from the library for 3 months. Staff need to feel that leadership is realistic and not ignoring potential risks of unstable individuals.
Do you anticipate continuing this project after the current reporting period ends:
No
Do you anticipate any change in level of effort in managing this project:
No
Explain:

Do you anticipate changing the types of activities and objectives addressed by the project:
No
Explain:

Was an evaluation conducted for this project:
Yes
Was a final written evaluation report produced:
No
Can the final written evaluation report be shared publicly on the IMLS website:
No
Was the evaluation conducted by project staff (either SLAA or local library) or by a third-party evaluator:
Third-Party
What data collection tools were used for any report outcomes and outputs:
Did you collect any media for the data:
What types of methods were used to analyze collected data:
Other:
How were participants (or items) selected:
What type of research design did you use to compare the value for any reported output or outcome:

Exemplary: Yes
Exemplary NarrativeAs a project, that was written and submitted prior to COVID-19, the library showed fortitude with proceeding with the project for a much need service. The need for social service work increased during the pandemic and the ability to be able to serve individuals at the library is critical. In addition to providing service, there was particular care to ensure that all staff received training to help those at risk.

Project Tags: Social Work, User Experience