What makes a community great?

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Here's what you told us...

In 2018, the library hosted a series of community conversations and a public survey to answer the question "What makes a community great?"  

People of all ages told us their perceptions of our community and shared their aspirations for Mt. Lebanon.

The following themes were common to all of the library-led conversations and the survey:

  • Safe, Walkable, Welcoming, Connected & Dynamic

The library hosted two interactive group discussions on these topics in 2019.  We also discussed the topic of "Welcoming" during our Friendsgiving event in November. 

We applied what we learned during these community conversations to develop Our Vision, Mission Statement and Strategic Plan in 2021.

Thanks to everyone who participated!

Turning Outward Initiative Background Information

The Office of Commonwealth Libraries has engaged The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation to work with Pennsylvania public libraries to understand and implement Harwood’s “turning outward” approach toward making decisions about library services.  Mt. Lebanon Public Library was selected as one of the libraries to participate in this initiative.

The intent of the Turning Outward initiative is to:

  • Develop library organizations and staff who are Turned Outward—where the community is the reference point for making decisions;
  • Generate strategies and actions that make public libraries more relevant and significant in the life of the community, and seeks to address local financial concerns;
  • Forge partnerships and relationships that make community a common enterprise;
  • Instill a more vibrant, outward-looking culture.

Case Study

The final deliverable of our Turning Outward initiative is to provide a Case Study, which tracks our journey and demonstrates its impact.  We will post that Case Study here as soon as it is finished.

IMLS Funding Acknowledgement

This project is made possible by federal Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services as administered by the Office of Commonwealth Libraries, Department of Education, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.