Sharing Digital Navigators Among Public Libraries

The Anchor Library or Hub

In the CT State Library Regional Navigator Sharing model, we began by listening to the ideas of a library director eager to advance regional sharing among public libraries as a practice. Having also developed digital navigation services at the Hamden Public Library, the director expressed interest in anchoring an experiment in sharing navigators across a region. 

Reaching Out to Libraries Geographically Adjacent

Once we had a library eager to act as a hub for navigator sharing among public libraries, we reached out to libraries geographically adjacent to the hub to gauge interest in collaborating.  Libraries who expressed interest were brought together to talk about the basic goals of digital navigation as codified by the National Digital Inclusion Alliance and to brainstorm about the nature of the digital divide in their towns. CT State Library took responsibility for determining that the group of participating libraries thus assembled contained small libraries and large libraries, as well as libraries experienced in providing navigation services and those with no navigation services to date.

Assessing Need Town by Town 

Those volunteering libraries who thought they would like to commit to such a project were asked to complete a needs assessment for their town and broader catchment area.  This assessment included using the resources of a local nonprofit called DataHaven to review community and neighborhood profiles for general demographic and economic information.  US Census data and state connectivity studies that mapped device ownership and internet access street by street were used to determine areas of need. Libraries were asked to pay special attention to the first languages of residents in need.  For an example, see the subpage "Sample Community Needs Assessment. See also the attachment "Town Digital Divide Report Sample." 

Necessary Elements of Commitment

After these efforts, libraries who had demonstrated community need and wanted to commit to the grant process were asked to reach out and discuss the interest of community organizations in partnering for this effort to develop a replicable navigator sharing plan. Once likely partners were identified, libraries who wanted to participate signed Memoranda of Understanding,  committing their directors, or director liaisons, to continue to foster these community partnerships, to participate in hosting navigators on-site, to contribute administrative hours to overseeing navigation, and to attend regular meetings to collectively develop, monitor, adjust, and evaluate the project over the two-year grant cycle.