The 48 KCLS branches serve 17 school districts and 36 municipalities, as well as urban, suburban, rural and unincorporated areas in over 2,100 square miles. Populations served are diverse in age, ethnicity, nativity, language, income, education and access to social and government services. Librarians now systematically explore their communities to discover local needs and resources, then plan accordingly. This expands the role of KCLS in connecting people to services and to information, both directly and indirectly. Each locally-designed and executed annual Community Discovery creates a more nimble and nuanced response that is as individual and unique as the target community.

We started by defining a distinct and mutually exclusive service area for each library. Next we provided a basic framework for the Community Discovery process. Components included Community Leader Interviews to gather information about the needs of specific populations, Drive/Walk field trips to learn about each community through observation of daily life, and analysis of demographics and other data about the residents of the area and their usage of the library. A synthesis of information from these activities developed a full picture of the needs and resources in the community. Staff plan services and activities in response to these findings.

This process increases knowledge and understanding of community needs, provides a springboard for service development, and increases the libraries’ connections in their communities. Two of many examples are:

• The Kenmore Library learned of a city initiative focusing on small business development and job-seekers, resulting in three joint events that included speakers, workshops, and a job/education fair. This library partnership is now modeled by additional cities.
• The Auburn Library initiated a monthly Community Roundtable after discovering that the area’s many social service organizations had little opportunity for communication between them. The group continues to meet monthly three years following the initiative.