Take Your Library to the Next Level with Edge 360
Edge 360 is a benchmarking and evaluation tool designed to help you assess your library’s current offerings, identify best practices, set strategic goals, and hold yourself accountable to meeting them.
In addition to getting access to all the benchmarking and learning tools in Edge, subscribers get exclusive access to peer cohorts. Over six weeks, participants are guided through completing their self-evaluation while learning more about the topic and getting personalized support from an expert facilitator and their peers from around the country.
There are five learning topics in Edge:
Data Fluency
The Edge 360 Data Fluency cohort teaches participants how to effectively gather and interpret the key data available through Edge’s benchmarking tools to tell stories about their library’s impact. Participants will be guided through planning a community needs assessment that can uncover strategic priorities for the organization and help libraries complete and interpret Edge Assessments.
Summer STEM Learning
The Edge 360 Summer STEM Learning benchmarks help libraries leverage summer programs beyond reading to amplify opportunities for youth and address disparities in the community.
Libraries as Entrepreneurship Hubs
The brand new Edge 360 Libraries as Entrepreneurship Hubs benchmarks assist libraries in clarifying and communicating their economic and community value in supporting and propelling small businesses, based on ULC’s latest grant-funded research.
Data for Digital Equity
The Edge 360 Data for Digital Equity benchmarks help libraries access, understand and use key data sources to actively address digital equity gaps.
Creating a Culture of Belonging
The work to create an inclusive library is continuous, and system policies, processes, procedures, values and cultures must constantly be examined and reexamined. Edge 360’s Creating a Culture of Belonging benchmarks assist library leaders on their journey to creating anti-racist library systems.
Interested in becoming a subscriber? Part of a state library, regional library, or other member organization interested in group packages?
Contact ULC Program Manager Kelsey Hughes, khughes@urbanlibraries.org, for more information.
Upcoming Peer Learning Cohorts (available to all Edge 360 subscribers):
Spring 2025:
Data Fluency
Maximize your ability to effectively use all of the currently available Edge benchmarking tools by building your library’s ability to gather and interpret key data to tell stories about impact.
Cohort meetings:
- Every other Thursday at 2 p.m. ET
- January 9 & 23, February 6 & 20, March 6 & 20Creating a Culture of Belonging
Continue your work to advance inclusion in the library by participating in this peer learning experience to work through the Edge 360 anti-racism benchmarks and discuss applications.
Cohort meetings:
- Every other Tuesday at 2 p.m. ET
- February 11 & 25, March 11 & 25, April 8 & 22
“In Santa Clara County, we used Edge 360’s [Creating a Culture of Belonging] benchmarking tools, particularly alongside the equity work of the county. It gave us the ability to compare and create context and focus within the greater scheme of the government as to what specifically things looked like for the library. We were able to pull out best practices from Edge and turn them into direct action steps in our strategic plan.”
Jennifer W. Weeks, County Librarian, Santa Clara County Library, CA