Getting Started with Pathways : Rural Libraries & Social Wellbeing

Welcome! The Pathways to Wellbeing project was created for and by rural librarians to fill a gap in community-based research and to create tools to turn information into action. Rural libraries are doing incredible work, turning social connection into belonging, mutual support, and social wellbeing improvements. This is the first of many tools to help you better understand your own deep value to your community, and areas you may want to focus on in the future.

This tool will:

Provide an overview of some key concepts illuminated by the research;
Examine the guiding principles of the Pathways to Wellbeing project; and
Look at the spectrum of approaches you can take when using the tools

How Familiar Are You with the Research?

How much you engage with the research itself is totally up to you. We do recommend that you at least read the Findings Summary to better understand what these tools are based on.

So what is involved in the research? There are essentially four main ways to explore:

Read the summary briefs: these are less than 10-page summaries from the research. They can be general or library practice specific.
Read the case studies: a look at social wellbeing impacts from the viewpoint of eight research locations.
Read the full academic papers: these are the most in-depth discussion of the research, and like the summaries can be general or library practice specific.
Explore the interviews: from interviewing over 200 people about their public library and rural community.
Use the data: we offer a few novel quantitative datasets for your use and the interview data as well.
Watch the webinars: there are five recorded webinars we have permission to embed here.

You can find all of these at www.rurallibraries.org/resources. There is no right or wrong to what you read or where you start, it is really up to you.

How much do you want to engage with the research? (select all that apply)
- Summary Briefs
- Case Studies
- Read the full academic papers
- Explore the interviews
- Use the data
- Watch the webinars
Key Concepts
Below are some of the key evidence-based concepts with which rural libraries were observed to provide critical social wellbeing support. As you read through them, think about which your library is already particularly good at providing, which you would like to learn more about, and which your community could use more of.

It might strike you that this is not the usual way people talk about libraries. That is because the concepts discussed here are the deeper value of the things libraries do, or they are the stepping stone between the tools we use as librarians and the positive impacts we make on social wellbeing. We do not need to tell you which books to circulate, which programs to host, or what digital literacy training your community needs. These are the sorts of tools that you already use, tailored to the unique needs of your neighbors. You may notice that some of our tools do use examples to illustrate concepts, or provide a creative spark, but it is not our intention for you to copy them.
Belonging and Connection
Libraries create and strengthen a sense of belonging and social connection across socio-economic groups. Key concepts include:

– Contribution: Libraries see value and seek contribution from community members

– Social Connection: Libraries connect people to each other and to community groups

– Being Seen/Feeling Known: Rural residents like knowing a high percentage of the people they see throughout their day; libraries that offer personalized service help them feel seen and known
Self-Determination
Libraries help communities control their own destiny, help the voices of all residents be heard in community decision-making, and help individuals build capacity to have agency of their own lives. Key concepts include:

– Voice/Power: Libraries help local residents understand how local government works, and facilitate groups with common concern and aspiration come together to create collective power

– Shared Identity: Libraries help create positive perceptions of local identity, helping marginalized groups and newcomers incorporate into the community

– Preservation: Where no other long term institutions are preserving local history, libraries help the community tell the story of why their town exists where it is and why it is still a great place to live
Discovery and Delight
Libraries use delightful experiences and a sense of discovery as entry points to fulfillment and high quality of life, the importance of which is exaggerated in isolated towns with few other opportunities. Key concepts include:

– Knowledge/Discovery: In rural towns, libraries introduce ideas of the outside world, provide educational opportunities, and prepare youth for life outside the local area.

– Nature: Libraries help local residents and visitors with informational supports to access nature, and provide educational programming to increase understanding.
Health and Mutual Support
Libraries provide critical logistical and social support to strengthen mutualism (mutual aid actions and the belief that mutual aid actions will personally benefit the individual participating) in towns where health services are far away, or isolation means high mental health risks. Key concepts include:

– Physical and Mental Health: Libraries provide fundamental information and IT/logistical support for patrons to access to medical information, appointment scheduling, insurance forms, etc.; libraries provide entertainment options and social connection to fight feelings of isolation and loneliness.

– Supported: Libraries help individuals feel like others will support them in case of an emergency or urgent need.
Which of the above is your library already doing well:
Which of the above do you want to learn more about:
Which of the above does your community need more of:
Foundational Principles
To build pathways with your community toward positive social wellbeing outcomes, we first have to agree on a set of definitions and principles. Below is our list of foundational principles that form the basis of our approach to rural library research. As you read through these, think about which are most important to you, which you disagree with, and what you think is missing.

– Potential: Rural libraries can and do positively impact their communities.

– Social Wellbeing: Community vitality and resident wellness in areas that include education, economy, access to nature, social connection, and political voice.

– Self-Value: Each library, each person contributes. You have value and are valued. There is no perfect and you are not expected to be perfect!

– Humility: Some libraries do some things really well; no library does everything well. None of us can learn until we make a personal decision to embrace our need to learn, our ability to partner with others, and place the community’s wellbeing over our own comfort.

– Complexity & Locality: In order to positively impact wellbeing outcomes, library service is specific to its own community context, which is diverse, complex, and relational.

– Intention: The way libraries grow and shift to improve wellbeing outcomes is by making thoughtful choices that are intentionally serving community needs with community strengths.

– Self-Reflection: Meaningful learning requires reflection time. Test for yourself before you agree or disagree with a concept. Take what works for you, and discard what does not.

– Pathways: The actions community residents, institutions, and the library repeat through time create pathways new residents and organizations in the community are likely to follow. Libraries can build and strengthen local pathways that lead to positive outcomes for local residents through intentional repetitive action.
Which of the above principles stand out as being important to you?
Which of the above do you disagree with or need clarification?
What is missing from the list above which you want to guide your work?
Spectrum of Approaches
All of the tools can be used by yourself, as part of a group discussion, or as part of a community-wide engagement process:

– Doing them alone will be hopefully helpful to you, but will only give you one perspective;

– Engaging with a group, such as a Board of Trustees, will provide more perspective and help develop a shared understanding of the library’s true value;

– The best information will come from using the tools as part of a community engagement process in which you ask a wide and diverse group of local residents how they would answer the questions.
Before you start trying some of the other tools, reflect on what approach you want to take. You don’t of course have to pick just one, and if you want to start doing them alone with the chance of expanding to a group or community-wide process, that is just fine. Think about which key concepts above speak to you the most, and which might benefit your community. Imagine what it would be like to explore these concepts with a group or as a part of a community engagement process. Feel which approaches give you the most motivation or excitement, or might have other benefits.
How well do you know your town and its people?
- Not well– I’m new to the community and/or I have a lot of learning to do.
- Fairly well– There are parts of the community I know well, parts that I do not know, I have some learning to do.
- Very well– I know a very high percentage of the population, including the isolated.
How well-equipped are you to make decisions on behalf of the community?
- Not well– Regardless of how many people I know, I do not feel comfortable making decisions or taking actions without hearing as many voices as I can.
- Fairly well– I have a pretty good perspective on what this community needs, but I like to hear others’ perspectives as well.
- Very well– I know just what the community needs and how to get it done.
Which approach do you want to start with?
- Explore the tools on my own.
- Work through the tools with others as part of a group discussion to create a shared understanding.
- Use this as an opportunity to gain public knowledge by engaging directly with community members.
Where You Are Right Now
There are no right or wrong answers to the questions above, but hopefully thinking through the answers will help you know what approach you want to take and which tools you want to start with. Keep in mind that not every tool will work well for every person; take what you find useful, and discard what you do not. You, your library, and your community are unique ,and your solutions will be just as unique! When you open up the Suggested Learning Path section below, you’ll see guidance based on what you entered above. We would love to hear your experience exploring the research and the tools. Our project email address is: research (at) rurallibraries.org . You can send questions, insights, recommendations, and experiences. We look forward to hearing from you!
Suggested Learning Path

The following suggestions are based on the answers you gave above, but aren’t meant to dictate how you engage with this work. We hope they are helpful!
You said you’d like to engage with the research part of our project through: summary briefs. The Pathways to Wellbeing Summary of Findings is an excellent place to start.
You said you’d like to engage with the research part of our project through:
- summary briefs. The Pathways to Wellbeing Summary of Findings is an excellent place to start.
- You also said you are into Case Studies. Brava! Here is the introduction page with the list of pathway and location specific studies.
You said you’d like to engage with the research part of our project through:
- summary briefs. The Pathways to Wellbeing Summary of Findings is an excellent place to start.
- You also said you are into Case Studies. Brava! Here is the introduction page with the list of pathway and location specific studies.
- For research papers we’ve written for scholarly publication, you’ll want to start on the Research Publications page.
You said you’d like to engage with the research part of our project through:
- summary briefs. The Pathways to Wellbeing Summary of Findings is an excellent place to start.
- You also said you are into Case Studies. Brava! Here is the introduction page with the list of pathway and location specific studies.
- Exploring the interviews may help you see how we came to the conclusions we wrote about, and maybe even come up with some of your own!
You said you’d like to engage with the research part of our project through:
- summary briefs. The Pathways to Wellbeing Summary of Findings is an excellent place to start.
- You also said you are into Case Studies. Brava! Here is the introduction page with the list of pathway and location specific studies.
- For research papers we’ve written for scholarly publication, you’ll want to start on the Research Publications page.
- Exploring the interviews may help you see how we came to the conclusions we wrote about, and maybe even come up with some of your own!
You said you’d like to engage with the research part of our project through:
- summary briefs. The Pathways to Wellbeing Summary of Findings is an excellent place to start.
- You also said you wanted to read the research papers we’ve written for scholarly publication. You’ll want to start on the Research Publications page.
You said you’d like to engage with the research part of our project through:
- summary briefs. The Pathways to Wellbeing Summary of Findings is an excellent place to start.
- Exploring the interviews may help you see how we came to the conclusions we wrote about, and maybe even come up with some of your own!
You said you are into Case Studies. Brava! Here is the introduction page with the list of pathway and location specific studies.
You said you are into:
- Case Studies. Brava! Here is the introduction page with the list of pathway and location specific studies.
- For research papers we’ve written for scholarly publication, you’ll want to start on the Research Publications page.
You said you are into:
- Case Studies. Brava! Here is the introduction page with the list of pathway and location specific studies.
- Exploring the interviews may help you see how we came to the conclusions we wrote about, and maybe even come up with some of your own!
You said you are into:
- Case Studies. Brava! Here is the introduction page with the list of pathway and location specific studies.
- For research papers we’ve written for scholarly publication, you’ll want to start on the Research Publications page.
- Exploring the interviews may help you see how we came to the conclusions we wrote about, and maybe even come up with some of your own!
You said you wanted to check out research papers we’ve written for scholarly publication, you’ll want to start on the Research Publications page.
You said you wanted to check out:
- research papers we’ve written for scholarly publication. You’ll want to start on the Research Publications page.
- Exploring the interviews may help you see how we came to the conclusions we wrote about, and maybe even come up with some of your own!
You said you wanted to explore the interviews. They may help you see how we came to the conclusions we wrote about, and maybe even come up with some of your own!
Belonging and Connection is a powerful foundation to build library service on. You should feel proud that it’s a library strength. If you’d like, you could test your perception against our belonging assessments: Contribution and Seen & Known.
That you perceive Self-Determination as your library’s strength says a lot about what you value in the services you’ve developed for your community. Awesome! You might get some additional ideas from these tools: Building Local Political Voice, Spearheading Preservation, and Youth Empowerment.
Discover and Delight are the public library’s bread and butter. Just because it’s what libraries are known for, doesn’t make it less impactful. Delight ties people to place in a way few other experiential emotions do. These are the hooks that motivate learners, adventurers, newcomers, and returners. If you’d like to round out your strength, consider our Nature, Community Knowledge Collection, and Delight tools.
Mutual Support and Health are intimately related factors of wellbeing. It’s pretty unusual and therefore spectacular that your library’s strength is building the kinds of networks of mutual aid that make communities healthier. If you’d like to explore this strength as it relates to you or how the library is situated within networks of support, consider trying the Burnout and Community Support Assessment tools.
Belonging and Connection is a powerful foundation to build library service on. To learn about these concepts in action, try the belonging assessments: Contribution and Seen & Known. Or begin by reading the Case Studies from Iowa, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
Self-Determination is complex – the agency of the individual interacting with the structures of power built by the group. To learn about these concepts in action, try the Building Local Political Voice, Spearheading Preservation, and Youth Empowerment tools. Or begin by reading the Case Studies from Mississippi, New Mexico, and New York.
Discover and Delight are the public library’s bread and butter. Just because it’s what libraries are known for, doesn’t make it less impactful. These are the hooks that motivate learners, adventurers, newcomers, and returners. If you’d like to learn about how we see these concepts in action, try the Nature, Community Knowledge Collection, and Delight tools. Or begin by reading the Case Studies from Iowa, New Mexico, and Wisconsin.
Mutual Support and Health are intimately related factors of wellbeing. Libraries as “social infrastructure” build the kinds of networks of mutual aid that make communities healthier (See Klinenberg’s Palaces for the People, 2019). If you’d like to learn about how we see these concepts in action, try the Burnout and Community Support Assessment tools. Or begin by reading the Case Studies from Idaho and Vermont.
Belonging and Connection is a powerful foundation to build library service on. To try to build this service muscle, try the belonging assessments: Contribution and Seen & Known. Or maybe start with the belonging self-reflection Awakening to Community Potential.
Self-Determination is complex – the agency of the individual interacting with the structures of power built by the group. The Building Local Political Voice, Spearheading Preservation, and Youth Empowerment tools all give programmatic ideas and tips for how to begin work in this area.
Discover and Delight are experiences that tie people to a place for a long time – even if just in their fondest memories. These are the hooks that motivate learners, adventurers, newcomers, and returners. To work in this area, consider starting with the Delight assessment. Then try out the Nature and Community Knowledge Collection tools for some program ideas.
Mutual Support and Health are intimately related factors of wellbeing. Libraries as “social infrastructure” build the kinds of networks of mutual aid that make communities healthier (See Klinenberg’s Palaces for the People, 2019). Begin with this basic awareness tool: Community Support Assessment. When you’re done, look at the other tools under Wellness in the tool index.
You said Potential stood out to you as being especially important.
You said Social Wellbeing stood out to you as being especially important.
You said Self-Value stood out to you as being especially important.
You said Humility stood out to you as being especially important.
You said Complexity and Locality stood out to you as being especially important.
You said Intention stood out to you as being especially important.
You said Self-Reflection stood out to you as being especially important.
You said Pathways stood out to you as being especially important.
You said you disagreed with or needed more clarification on Potential.

We speak of libraries positively impacting communities as potential because there is a great deal more possible than what is currently made real in the over sixteen thousand neighborhoods and towns served by a public library. And because we are optimistic – library staff are talking about service to communities in profoundly meaningful ways which has the potential to facilitate improvements in wellbeing. Want to share your disagreement with the research team? Email [email protected].
You said you disagreed with or needed more clarification on Social Wellbeing.
The definition we provide above is condensed and simplified from one presented by Norton and Dowdall in Strengthening Networks, Sparking Change: Museums and Libraries as Community Catalysts (2017). If you are really into Social Wellbeing and its roots in capabilities approach theory, check out the book Creating Capabilities by Martha Nussbaum (2013). Want to share your disagreement with the research team? Email [email protected].
You said you disagreed with or needed more clarification on Self-Value.
This seems simple but in practice it is both difficult and meaningful. One much loved and respected library director we interviewed was in the middle of fixing a telephone when we arrived at the library. In this isolated rural community, few people had cell service and to have a landline run to one’s home was expensive. To serve the information and communication needs of the town, the library had run a very long phone wire outside and attached an inexpensive phone to it under a porch roof. We arrived right after she discovered someone had ripped the cord and phone away from the wall. The director told us she was eager to get the set up back to functional as soon as possible. We asked if she would be adding signage, protection, or bringing the phone indoors during closed hours, she looked aghast. “Everyone has a bad day. The phone probably wasn’t working right and the person using it was just frustrated.” It didn’t occur to her to “other” the patron who did the damage. People are people. We try our best. And we are our best when we remember that. Want to share your disagreement with the research team? Email [email protected].
You said you disagreed with or needed more clarification on Humility.
The research team talks often about how impoverished this project would be if we hadn’t shared creation and decision making power with the diversity of individuals we had the privilege of working with. Racial and ethnic diversity, economic and linguistic diversity, education and occupational diversity. Our learning is never done. To quote adrienne maree brown: “We are socialized to see what is wrong, missing, off, to tear down the ideas of others and uplift our own. To a certain degree, our entire future may depend on learning to listen, listen without assumptions or defenses.” (Emergent Strategy, 2017) Want to share your disagreement with the research team? Email [email protected].
You said you disagreed with or needed more clarification on Complexity and Locality.
My town is different than yours. Even if we were neighbors, the norms and expectations in my house are different than yours. We know that intuitively, yet in librarianship, workshops and resources are often built on “best practices” paradigms. To quote John Stuart Mill: “There is only too great a tendency in the best beliefs and practices to degenerate into the mechanical.” (On Liberty, 1859) Want to share your disagreement with the research team? Email [email protected].
You said you disagreed with or needed more clarification on Intention.
Intention and Self-Reflection are a bonded pair, in part because how closely your actions match your imagined intentions will be about how skilled you are at accurate self-reflection. To clarify what we mean by intention in this principle, I’d like you to look to the words “thoughtful”, and “serving…with…strengths”. Intentionally designing service means thinking through the details and also thinking through the strengths and interests of the people your library works with. Want to share your disagreement with the research team? Email [email protected].
You said you disagreed with or needed more clarification on Self-Reflection.
The practice of testing oneself is new to a lot of people. That guidance means when you hear something new, or you notice it makes your skin tight or your eyebrows rise or your head nod, try to pull yourself back from that reaction. Notice it, and then replay the new idea or concept to yourself – ask yourself why that is your gut reaction, what it is in conflict with or agreement with. Is it in conflict with reality? Object to the new idea. Is it in conflict with a deeper untested belief? Sit with that, ask questions, listen hard. There is learning to do there. Want to share your disagreement with the research team? Email [email protected].
You said you disagreed with or needed more clarification on Pathways.
Viewing Pathways as more than attractive metaphor, and instead as a description of the cultural and behavioral norms in a place that take intervention to avoid and can be built, over time, with intention — is no small thing. If this is something you want to know more about, try the Pathways to Wellbeing: Summary of Findings. If you aren’t quite feeling it, email [email protected] and we’ll set up a time to talk it through.
You said you’d like to explore tools on your own, don’t yet know your town or feel well-equipped to make decisions on their behalf.

Consider beginning with the self-reflective exercise Awakening to Community Potential and then moving on to Is Everyone Welcome at your Library. They both have elements of a community environmental scan or asset inventory, if you want to explore the ideas independently for what other organizations offer in this area.
You said you’d like to explore the tools as part of a public knowledge gathering or community engagement process, currently know your town and its people fairly well, and feel very well-equipped to make decisions on their behalf.
There are so many excellent community engagement tools for you to try! We’ve made one to assist in general inquiries around social wellbeing or to use in conjunction with most of the tools in the toolkit: Engaging with the Community on Wellbeing. The Harwood Institute and the toolkit they put together with the American Library Association may also be a good place for you to start.
You said you’d like to explore tools on your own, currently know your town and its people very well, and don’t feel well-equipped to make decisions on their behalf.
Consider beginning with the self-reflective exercise Awakening to Community Potential and then moving on to Is Everyone Welcome at your Library. They both have elements of a community environmental scan or asset inventory, if you want to explore the ideas independently for what other organizations offer in this area.
You said you’d like to explore the tools with a group, currently know your town and its people very well, and don’t feel well-equipped to make decisions on their behalf.
Consider beginning individually with the self-reflective exercise Awakening to Community Potential and then coming together to complete Is Everyone Welcome at your Library. They both have elements of a community environmental scan or asset inventory, if you want to explore the ideas independently for what other organizations offer in this area.
You said you’d like to explore the tools as part of a public knowledge gathering or community engagement process, currently know your town and its people very well, and don’t feel well-equipped to make decisions on their behalf.
There are so many excellent community engagement tools for you to try! We’ve made one to assist in general inquiries around social wellbeing or to use in conjunction with most of the tools in the toolkit: Engaging with the Community on Wellbeing. The Harwood Institute and the toolkit they put together with the American Library Association may also be a good place for you to start.
You said you’d like to explore tools on your own, currently know your town and its people very well, and feel fairly well-equipped to make decisions on their behalf.
Consider beginning with the self-reflective exercise Awakening to Community Potential. Additionally, we recommend the ALA / Harwood exercise The 3 A’s of Public Life to push on your ideas about decision-making “for” the community.
You said you’d like to explore the tools with a group, currently know your town and its people very well, and feel fairly well-equipped to make decisions on their behalf.
Consider beginning with the self-reflective exercise Awakening to Community Potential. Additionally, we recommend the ALA / Harwood exercise The 3 A’s of Public Life to push on your ideas about decision-making “for” the community.
You said you’d like to explore the tools as part of a public knowledge gathering or community engagement process, currently know your town and its people very well, and feel fairly well-equipped to make decisions on their behalf.
There are so many excellent community engagement tools for you to try! We’ve made one to assist in general inquiries around social wellbeing or to use in conjunction with most of the tools in the toolkit: Engaging with the Community on Wellbeing.
Consider beginning with the self-reflective exercise Awakening to Community Potential. Additionally, we recommend the ALA / Harwood exercise The 3 A’s of Public Life to push on your ideas about decision-making “for” the community.
Consider emailing us share what’s missing! [email protected].
You said you’d like to explore the tools with a group, don’t yet know your town or feel well-equipped to make decisions on their behalf.
Consider beginning with the self-reflective exercise, done individually Awakening to Community Potential. Then come together to work through the tool Is Everyone Welcome at your Library. They both have elements of a community environmental scan or asset inventory, if you want to explore the ideas independently for what other organizations offer in this area.
You said you’d like to explore the tools as part of a public knowledge gathering or community engagement process, don’t yet know your town or feel well-equipped to make decisions on their behalf.
There are so many excellent community engagement tools for you to try! We’ve made one to assist in general inquiries around social wellbeing or to use in conjunction with most of the tools in the toolkit: Engaging with the Community on Wellbeing. The Harwood Institute and the toolkit they put together with the American Library Association may also be a good place for you to start. Also, consider looking more generally at resources on “appreciative inquiry”.
You said you’d like to explore tools on your own, don’t yet know your town, but feel fairly well-equipped to make decisions on their behalf.
Consider beginning with the self-reflective exercise Awakening to Community Potential and then moving on to Is Everyone Welcome at your Library. They both have elements of a community environmental scan or asset inventory, if you want to explore the ideas independently for what other organizations offer in this area.

Additionally, we recommend the ALA / Harwood exercise The 3 A’s of Public Life to push on your ideas about decision-making “for” the community.
You said you’d like to explore the tools with a group, don’t yet know your town, but feel fairly well-equipped to make decisions on their behalf.
Consider beginning with the self-reflective exercise Awakening to Community Potential and then moving on to Is Everyone Welcome at your Library. They both have elements of a community environmental scan or asset inventory, if you want to explore the ideas independently for what other organizations offer in this area.
As part of your learning, we recommend the ALA / Harwood exercise The 3 A’s of Public Life next, to push on your ideas about decision-making “for” the community.
You said you’d like to explore the tools as part of a public knowledge gathering or community engagement process, don’t yet know your town, but feel fairly well-equipped to make decisions on their behalf.
Consider beginning with the self-reflective exercise Awakening to Community Potential. Additionally, we recommend the ALA / Harwood exercise The 3 A’s of Public Life to push on your ideas about decision-making “for” the community.
You said you’d like to explore tools on your own, don’t yet know your town, but feel very well-equipped to make decisions on their behalf.
Consider beginning with the self-reflective exercise Awakening to Community Potential. Additionally, we recommend the ALA / Harwood exercise The 3 A’s of Public Life to push on your ideas about decision-making “for” the community.
You said you’d like to explore the tools with a group, don’t yet know your town, but feel very well-equipped to make decisions on their behalf.
Consider beginning with the self-reflective exercise Awakening to Community Potential. Additionally, we recommend the ALA / Harwood exercise The 3 A’s of Public Life to push on your ideas about decision-making “for” the community.
You said you’d like to explore the tools as part of a public knowledge gathering or community engagement process, don’t yet know your town, but feel very well-equipped to make decisions on their behalf.
Consider beginning with the self-reflective exercise Awakening to Community Potential. Additionally, we recommend the ALA / Harwood exercise The 3 A’s of Public Life to push on your ideas about decision-making “for” the community.
You said you’d like to explore tools on your own, currently know your town and its people fairly well, and don’t feel well-equipped to make decisions on their behalf.
Consider beginning with the self-reflective exercise Awakening to Community Potential and then moving on to Is Everyone Welcome at your Library. They both have elements of a community environmental scan or asset inventory, if you want to explore the ideas independently for what other organizations offer in this area.
You said you’d like to explore the tools with a group, currently know your town and its people fairly well, and don’t feel well-equipped to make decisions on their behalf.
Consider beginning individually with the self-reflective exercise Awakening to Community Potential and then coming together to work through Is Everyone Welcome at your Library. They both have elements of a community environmental scan or asset inventory, if you want to explore the ideas independently for what other organizations offer in this area.
You said you’d like to explore the tools as part of a public knowledge gathering or community engagement process, currently know your town and its people fairly well, and don’t feel well-equipped to make decisions on their behalf.
There are so many excellent community engagement tools for you to try! We’ve made one to assist in general inquiries around social wellbeing or to use in conjunction with most of the tools in the toolkit: Engaging with the Community on Wellbeing. The Harwood Institute and the toolkit they put together with the American Library Association may also be a good place for you to start. Also, consider looking more generally at resources on “appreciative inquiry”.
You said you’d like to explore tools on your own, currently know your town and its people fairly well, and feel fairly well-equipped to make decisions on their behalf.
Consider beginning with the self-reflective exercise Awakening to Community Potential. Additionally, we recommend the ALA / Harwood exercise The 3 A’s of Public Life to push on your ideas about decision-making “for” the community.
You said you’d like to explore the tools with a group, currently know your town and its people fairly well, and feel fairly well-equipped to make decisions on their behalf.
Consider beginning with the self-reflective exercise Awakening to Community Potential. Additionally, we recommend the ALA / Harwood exercise The 3 A’s of Public Life to push on your ideas about decision-making “for” the community.
You said you’d like to explore the tools as part of a public knowledge gathering or community engagement process, currently know your town and its people fairly well, and feel fairly well-equipped to make decisions on their behalf.
Consider beginning individually with the self-reflective exercise Awakening to Community Potential. Additionally, we recommend the ALA / Harwood exercise The 3 A’s of Public Life to push on your ideas about decision-making “for” the community.
You said you’d like to explore tools on your own, currently know your town and its people fairly well, and feel very well-equipped to make decisions on their behalf.
Consider beginning with the self-reflective exercise Awakening to Community Potential. Additionally, we recommend the ALA / Harwood exercise The 3 A’s of Public Life to push on your ideas about decision-making “for” the community.
You said you’d like to explore the tools with a group, currently know your town and its people fairly well, and feel very well-equipped to make decisions on their behalf.
Consider beginning individually with the self-reflective exercise Awakening to Community Potential. Additionally, we recommend the ALA / Harwood exercise The 3 A’s of Public Life to push on your ideas about decision-making “for” the community.
You said you’d like to explore tools on your own, currently know your town and its people very well, and feel very well-equipped to make decisions on their behalf.
Consider beginning individually with the self-reflective exercise Awakening to Community Potential. Then coming together to try Engaging with the Community on Wellbeing. Additionally, we recommend the ALA / Harwood exercise The 3 A’s of Public Life to push on your ideas about decision-making “for” the community.
You said you’d like to explore the tools with a group, currently know your town and its people very well, and feel very well-equipped to make decisions on their behalf.
Consider beginning individually with the self-reflective exercise Awakening to Community Potential. Then coming together to try Engaging with the Community on Wellbeing. Additionally, we recommend the ALA / Harwood exercise The 3 A’s of Public Life to push on your ideas about decision-making “for” the community.
You said you’d like to explore the tools as part of a public knowledge gathering or community engagement process, currently know your town and its people very well, and feel very well-equipped to make decisions on their behalf.
Consider beginning individually with the self-reflective exercise Awakening to Community Potential. Then coming together to try Engaging with the Community on Wellbeing. Additionally, we recommend the ALA / Harwood exercise The 3 A’s of Public Life to push on your ideas about decision-making “for” the community.
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This tool will:

How Familiar Are You with the Research?

Key Concepts

Belonging and Connection

Self-Determination

Discovery and Delight

Health and Mutual Support

Foundational Principles

Spectrum of Approaches

Where You Are Right Now

Suggested Learning Path

You said you disagreed with or needed more clarification on Potential.

You said you disagreed with or needed more clarification on Social Wellbeing.

You said you disagreed with or needed more clarification on Self-Value.

You said you disagreed with or needed more clarification on Humility.

You said you disagreed with or needed more clarification on Complexity and Locality.

You said you disagreed with or needed more clarification on Intention.

You said you disagreed with or needed more clarification on Self-Reflection.

You said you disagreed with or needed more clarification on Pathways.

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