College & Career Connections: Expanded Online
Charlotte Mecklenburg Library
Innovation Synopsis
Charlotte Mecklenburg Library has offered College & Career Connections for over ten years. When the pandemic hit, we realized that this would be our first priority to bring online for our teen customers. Though our phased reopening limited what we could do in-person, we expanded online to better serve teens in our community.
Challenge/Opportunity
College and career readiness has been identified as one of three key determinants by Leading on Opportunity as areas of need in our community. When the library closed due to the pandemic, we decided that out of all our programming, College & Career Connections would need to be transitioned online first. Having only ever offered our programs and services in-person, we were forced to imagine what this could look like in an online environment.
Key Elements of Innovation
- Virtual Programs: 1-on-1 My Next Step and Mock Interviews
- Podcast Series: "College Exploration Spotlight" and "Career Exploration Spotlight"
- Teens Live on Instagram: Career Conversations, Planning for College and Live Q&A with College Foundation of North Carolina and NC Works NextGen
- Virtual Volunteering: Write and film reviews or create content for CMLibrary Teens Instagram
- Online Community Service Hours: Teen Advisory Councils, Community Service Projects, Newsletter writing
Achieved Outcomes
Over 300 online programs and workshops have been offered to date since last April. We have had 45 teens complete our My Next Step form and receive personalized feedback and resources. Our College & Career Exploration Spotlight podcasts have had 2,167 plays cumulatively. Our Career Conversations, Planning for College, and Live Q&A programs on CMLibrary Teens Instagram have received 930 views. And 263 teens gave 742 hours of virtual volunteering and community service hours.