Community Project Ideas for Libraries

It’s no longer a secret that libraries today offer far more than books. Increasingly, they are social hubs, third places (meaning neither the home or the workplace) where everyone is welcome to use an array of services and resources, or simply spend time, for no charge. Many library programmers are focused on creating engaging opportunities for local people to come together with a shared purpose, for example through interactive community building projects / events / programs. This post is for those library workers. A lot of these project ideas can be implemented (or at least customized) for little or no cost.

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Healing, Mental Health, & Trauma-Informed Activities

If a traumatic event occurs, library programmers might want to focus on ways to bring the community together to begin the process of healing, explore the issue, and/or plan for the future in a resilient, yet hopeful way. If you are interested in pursuing this, first familiarize yourself and your colleagues with a trauma-informed librarianship if you haven’t already.

We can intentionally create a “safe space” in the library. A safe space in this context does not mean an echo chamber where limited viewpoints are allowed. Instead, the library’s policies, practices, and staff have been instilled with a trauma-informed approach (the “Four Rs” of realization, recognition, response, and resisting re-traumatization). Creating a safe, inclusive environment that doesn’t end up creating more trauma is a prerequisite for hosting a program or event on what may be a challenging, divisive, or painful topic.

The Healing Library offers free downloadable kits “designed to make a family’s journey of healing following a trauma easier to navigate and personalize.”
Some libraries offer mental health related programming, such as guided meditation programs that can be done in person or virtually. E.g, Jefferson County and Denver Public Library.
Denver Public Library also hosts the Memory Café, “social groups for people living with cognitive impairments, along with their family, friends, and caregivers.”
Books remain one of our greatest assets. The right book (or film) at the right time can be healing, and the concept of “bibliotherapy” could form the basis of a range of programs. The therapeutic value of art is well documented. Consider relevant shared readings (book clubs can be silent) or movie screenings at your library.
Invite social workers, mental health professionals, and/or other relevant expertise for Q&As, coffee hours, listening sessions, explainers, or workshops on specific topics.
Health and wellness classes such as yoga classes at the library are more popular than ever. Check out letsmovelibraries.org.
Guidance for supporting groups and teams after a traumatic event – University of Colorado Boulder.
Trauma Group Ideas – Well Behavioral Health.
Trauma Informed Activities to Promote Connection – Behavioral Health Services of Arkansas.
A Trauma-Informed Lens: Communities, Libraries and Research – Library Research Service.

Arts/Crafting Projects

Use empty wall space

Do you have a blank wall? Then you have a large ready-made canvas! Perhaps you could attempt an interactive community-built mural – it could be a commemoration, a celebration, or something entirely unique. The point is to bring folks together in a positive, hopeful way to create something new and beautiful (perhaps have someone who knows murals lead volunteers through the project to make sure you have a plan to follow).

Or, get inspired by the My Mommy is Beautiful interactive display (make your own version/themes/prompts). You could try changing the prompt, featuring a quote from a book, or posing a new question each week or month. Limited on wall space? You could also use a simple whiteboard and markers (or sticky notes) type setup. What issues affect your local community? Who or what in your community needs a little love? You never know what you might find out.

Ask: what are you thankful for?

This is one way to give patrons a chance to share positivity in the library space. You could of course use a wall or board for this as well, but why not try creating a 3D structure (like a wishing tree) that patrons can hang messages on, for example in the shape of paper leaves, or using ribbons? You could start by using an actual tree branch and build from there – in fact, you could recruit patrons to help or donate materials. Even simpler is to use string and clothes pins over a wall. Make it seasonal or do it any time of the year – your patrons will thank you for it.

A variation of this could be an interactive display where people can write messages in a bottle; staff can then periodically choose to display some of the messages in a creative or eye-catching space.

Plan an art appreciation event / workshop / exhibition

Libraries with makerspaces are familiar with the power of arts and crafts to bring folks together. Here are some more ways to bring the arts to the library:

Host an art appreciation or exploration event. For example, you could try creating guided art meditations on specific pieces, or use existing art meditation videos.
A lot of people (half of us, by some counts) regularly make some sort of art. The library is a fantastic place to showcase some of this creativity by hosting an exhibition. You might focus on professional artists making it in your local community, or an event for amateurs, or both. It could be a standing exhibition space that is regularly updated or a standalone event. Think outside the box and open it up to multimedia submissions! See what other libraries are already doing – for example, Arapahoe Libraries and Security Public Library have regular exhibitions at their branches.
Some of us do not consider ourselves to be artistic at all and may be intimidated at the prospect of making stuff in public. For the hesitant art-curious person, something like Aurora Public Library’s Coffee and Coloring session where they can casually drop into might be just the ticket.
Public Libraries, the Place to Experience and Appreciate Art – Library Systems & Services.
The transformative nature of art and London’s public libraries – gowithYamo.
Visual and Performing Arts in Libraries: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights – ALA.

Meet and Greet Events or Ongoing Groups

Here are some excuses to get together with others!

Community sharing events, such as an international culture festival, are a great way to bring people together from all walks of life, build community knowledge, and humanize one another. There are many ways you can go with such an event; activity ideas include food tasting, mocktail making, games, art, and performances. See for example: Mesa County Libraries’ annual CultureFest.
Community book clubs are a common activity in many libraries, often focusing on a theme or genre. Author events such as readings or book club meetings are another way to bring expertise, conversation, and connection into the library space. Many authors love to talk about their work with enthusiastic readers. Engage the tremendous creative talent we have in the state by inviting an author to your book club or library event! There are over 150 titles by Colorado authors in the book club collection. Find out more.
Host a “library of people” or “living library” event where community members are available to be “checked out” by patrons. There are many ways of approaching this concept, but usually the goal is to facilitate meaningful conversation in the library. For example, you could take part in the originating Human Library project and invite people who “represent a stigmatized group in the community and based on their personal experiences can answer questions from readers to help challenge what is being said/told/understood about a given topic.” E.g, the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery hosted a Human Library event.
Choose one or two topics of interest and host a discussion event as with Clearview Library District’s Join In events.
It is worth remembering that the library can be an ideal place for subject-specific support groups/classes to gather, such as those concerning parenting, STEAM (a great way to work with local schools), languages, technology, or caregiving, to name a few. Libraries should consult relevant subject matter experts before launching, especially if it concerns at-risk or vulnerable populations.

Ecological or Local Clean-up Projects

One way to bring the community together is to meet in the library then take that people power straight outside again! Every community will have its own particular challenges and ways the library can help build resilience, but here are some initiatives/ideas to get going (and it is time to go!):

Create a patron survey to help determine the most pressing local ecological issues.
Create a regular clean-up crew of volunteers who are willing and able to do physical labor such as litter picking or other clean-up initiatives (try reaching out to existing environmental groups in your area with a partnership proposal).
Create low cost clean-up kits that patrons can use on their own volition.
Reach out to your local waste/environmental authorities and invite them to the library for a community event/Q&A.
Consider setting up hard-to-recycle recycling station/organizing drives at your location.
If you have an outdoor space, consider starting a program about raised bed planting, showing the value of locally and homegrown food, and offering gardening support for patrons. Find ways your library can help address food insecurity in your area.
Recruit volunteer subject matter experts who can help you organize and strategize.
Curate a page on your website, e.g., Arapahoe Libraries.
Create a way for folks to connect regularly, form relationships, and bring new initiatives for the good of the community.
Create an art challenge that uses waste products/litter; host an exhibition in the library.
Begin a seed library that takes contributions from the local community.
Consider signing your library up for the Sustainable Libraries Initiative.
27 Sustainability Ideas to Implement Right Now – American Libraries Magazine.
Step Up Your Library’s Green Programming – Illinois Library Association.
Sustainability in Libraries: A Call to Action – ALA.
Building Resilient Communities – STARnet.
Green Libraries: Programming – University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Contests/challenges

Little challenges make for mighty engagement opportunities. Check out self-directed library programs with a literacy element. Some ideas from there and elsewhere, for your convenience:

Create a path through the library to take patrons on a scavenger hunt. This is a broad idea that could be applied to any age group or topic and can be as simple or as complicated as you like. If it is limited to younger audiences, you might want to keep it contained in the children’s sections to avoid unaccompanied little ones getting lost.
Have a transparent jar filled with small items (candy is the classic idea, but you could also use library cards, little toys, paper…anything that can fit in the palm of your hand and you have lots of). You might have this jar in a central location like a circulation desk. Have patrons guess the number of items contained. Perhaps you have some small prizes for close guessers.
Another idea is to take a discarded book and shred the pages into small (but still legible) pieces. See if patrons can Guess the Book in the Jar! (A well-known title is going to be the most accessible.)
Hide a library mascot somewhere in the library and make a game of returning it!
On that note, if you don’t already have a library mascot, make it a community challenge to come up with one, or create a new sidekick on a particular topic (such as a seasonal or literary theme).

CSL Kits

If your library subscribes to the courier, you can request any of our kits for eight-week loans (plus renewals if no other holds are waiting). The collection contains quite a few kits that can be used for easy pop-up programming right out of a box. For example, consider the art exploration kits, the games kits, Having Conversations @ the Library, the climate crisis kit, and crafting kits like book folding and fractals. Check out the full collection and if you’re new to the program, enroll your library today.