Be at the Table: Building Community
Baltimore County Public Library
Innovation Synopsis
What is our community’s best asset? What are the most important issues facing the area? How do you see yourself strengthening the neighborhood? Be at the Table is a conversation model that brings together community members at the library to meet, talk and participate in civil discourse around our shared strengths and challenges while enjoying a meal. Libraries are a trusted, non-partisan space, which makes us uniquely situated to host these types on conversations. Many of our programs in recent years have looked at opportunities to connect our customers, especially in light of the social isolation brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. As an instrument of democracy, we’ve provided opportunities for our communities to explore and connect over difficult topics, such as race, religion, politics and immigration. Be at the Table helps Baltimore County Public Library identify a shared vision for and actions to build a thriving community.
Challenge/Opportunity
Be at the Table had two goals after the lockdown and shared experience of COVID-19: mitigate social isolation and rebuild community. There is strong evidence that the impact of social isolation on health rivals smoking and obesity. Loneliness and social isolation, in addition to increased stress, became prevalent for all ages during and after COVID-19 lockdown. Civil discourse has become polarized with most topics being politicized, whether they are political or not. Rebuilding community through civil discourse was an opportunity for the public library to lead.
Key Elements of Innovation
Staff created eight questions as conversation starters. Two staff were assigned to each table so that one could be a facilitator and one a recorder. In order to ensure a balanced conversation, each table had no more than eight community members. Participants were assigned to tables rather than choosing where and with whom to sit in order for community members to meet new people. That meant that, for example, if a couple came together, library staff would assign them to different tables. Before the conversation began in earnest, library staff made it a point to state that we would be following up with all participants via email with main themes, takeaways and the library’s next action items.
Achieved Outcomes
In 2023, Baltimore County Public Library hosted four Be at the Tables with 176 community members attending. Because we asked the questions and listened, our experience hosting Be at the Table has helped us better meet the needs of the community we serve. For example, at one branch we learned that the economy and, specifically, small business support was important to the community. In response, we made sure to provide additional support to that area of the county through library programming and partner support. At another branch, we heard that there wasn’t a real community feel to the area – there was no downtown. Staff brainstormed ways to increase opportunities for more social interactions to bring people together. In addition to areas where the library could lend support, there were others where the library couldn’t have direct impact, like the number of abandoned vehicles in the community. For those issues, we shared with the appropriate groups whenever possible.
