Better Toledo | Community Learning and Growth
Toledo Lucas County Public Library
Innovation Synopsis
As awareness about the importance of inclusion in the workplace has grown, Toledo Lucas County Public Library wanted to find a way to be a positive and proactive voice in shaping the community’s response. TLCPL’s reputation for providing high-quality information in a nonjudgemental manner made it a trusted community resource in leading discussions that could otherwise be misunderstood or even detrimental. In response, TLCPL launched Better Toledo, a class for adults meant to encourage growth and understanding. The topics range from EDI to wellness and leadership and are built for anyone with an interest in attending. However, special emphasis is placed on connecting with employers so they can conveniently give their employees the development necessary to foster a more inclusive and robust work environment.
Challenge/Opportunity
Through targeted communications from TLCPL’s Executive Director and Directors of EDI and Advocacy, the library reached out to hundreds of businesses, opening the program to as many employees as they could send, and also offering the opportunity for local leaders and experts to present on a topic of their choice. Once the idea was launched, TLCPL was flooded with partnership requests from local businesses and entities that wanted to participate.
An added bonus was the ability to include library staff in these courses, allowing further connections between front-line staff, leadership, and the communities TLCPL serves. Everyone was able to engage in crucial conversations, pushing past discomfort to see new perspectives.
Key Elements of Innovation
Better Toledo was built to be intentionally multi-faceted. It’s challenging to teach how experiencing racism is a form of trauma and how to provide trauma-informed service without also teaching about self-care. As such, the class offerings were selected to build on each other, teaching about systemic racism as well as allyship, meditation, and emotional intelligence. The well-rounded classes reflect a holistic approach to personal and professional growth that creates the best opportunity for understanding.
The courses are free, and certificates of completion are available to anyone who completes three sessions over the course of the year. This was a critical element in reaching employers. Rather than source and implement these important trainings on their own time and with their own money, TLCPL created a deliverable that only requires them to provide their employees the time needed to attend and makes professional development goal setting simple.
Achieved Outcomes
Since Better Toledo's launch, we have hosted 33 sessions with 1400 attendees. This work has built lasting partnerships with public and private entities, including the City of Toledo Human Relations Commission, Lucas County Court Appointed Special Advocates, Equality Toledo, Leadership Toledo, Lucas County Family Council, Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities, and more. These partners brought presenters to the series that are nationally known, including Tony Porter and MelRo Potter. Others provided services for free that would typically cost a business thousands of dollars to implement on their own. TLCPL was able to offset what would have been a $50,000 cost to a meager $10,000 thanks to community involvement.
The series has been covered extensively by local media and was featured in a ULC blog, giving TLCPL the opportunity to show our community how we are living our values of being welcoming, innovative, objective, accountable, and collaborative
