Joshua Beene

Hey everyone and thanks for joining us for today's webcast, Designing Health Insights from Boston Public Library, presented by Library Journal and sponsored by EBSCO.

I'm Joshua Beene, webcast manager for LJ, and I'll be your moderator today.

And I'd like to introduce our speakers and then we'll jump right into it. Deandra, would you like to go ahead and begin the share of the slides?

Give me a second to bring those up, and you all can feel free to come on camera whenever you're ready.

Alright. And can we go slide two, and I'll get us into the intros here.

Alright. There we go. Alright. Yeah. So we've got Deandra Williams, who's the adult program supervisor at Boston Public Library, and Stephanie Chase, the nutritional literacy coordinator at Boston Public Library. We've also got Tammy Ross, who's the senior product marketing manager from EBSCO.

She'll be monitoring the chat as we go along, and we'll share some links for you throughout the presentation. So keep an eye on the chat for those.

And yeah. So I think I'm going to go ahead and hand it over to Stephanie to begin the presentation.

So, you can take it away.

Stephanie Chance

Hello. Good afternoon, everyone. Thanks so much for being here, and thanks so much for American Library Journal and EBSCO for bringing us all together today.

I'm going to just mention what we're going to be covering today. We're going to be covering health literacy and the role of public libraries, the Boston Public Library's health literacy journey from community to program design and delivery. And under that wonderful umbrella, have nutrition lab, fitness and mindfulness programs.

And we're also going to share how to get started and scalable approaches to community health programming, strategies for finding and forming partnerships, and tips for integrating digital health resources in library programs.

Deandra Williams

Hello everybody, I'm Deandra Williams from the Boston Public Library. And so we're going to first start off by offering a definition, right, about what exactly is health literacy?

Oftentimes when people hear that term, they're often wondering, well, what is it? And then what exactly is the role of the public library to make this happen? So for the Boston Public Library, what we do is we tend to look at, well, what is the overall definition of it and looking at different research to kind of help guide us in the way it is and which is that we lead and conduct our initiatives. So when looking at the CDC, they describe health literacy in two ways.

First, they look at it from the personal aspect and then from the organizational aspect. So according to the CDC, they say it's the ability to find, understand, and use health information to make decisions, excuse me, I apologize for tripping over my words, when we look at it from the personal standpoint. And then from the organizational standpoint, it suggests how well institutions help people access and use the information.

So when we think about that from the public library perspective, we take in consideration and understand it to be our role to provide information, programs, and services to help individuals make informed decisions about their health. So what we'll discuss next and offer a little bit of information about the Boston Public Library, and this is in our design and structure. And then we'll walk through and talk about some of our successful initiatives. So I'm going to turn it over to Stephanie to offer more information about the Boston Public Library.

Stephanie Chance

Okay, great.

So I'll just share a little bit about what our library, how we came to be and all that. So we're founded in 1848, and that is as a city of Boston agency. The library was formerly part of city halls arts and culture. However, over the years we have been responding to greater needs of our patrons and are now part of human services within the city government structure. Our main library, known as Central Library, is located at Copley Square.

Been after that location since 1985. We have twenty-five branches located throughout our twenty three Boston neighborhoods. We serve a population of six hundred and seventy thousand patrons.

As a research library, we manage twenty-three million plus items in our collection.

We maintain our pledge of free to all. Our programs and services are made possible by the Boston Public Library Fund.

And the Boston Public Library Fund connects us with philanthropic individuals, as well as public and private grant opportunities.

Deandra, I believe you'll be on the next slide. Yes?

Deandra Williams

Yes, it's always fun trying to navigate both the slides, especially when you're operating on two screens. So I apologize if there's any lag time in between.

So then a big part of this is like when we're thinking about our healthy literacy initiatives, a big question is how do we do this? And for this work, we really assess the needs of our community. So it entails a couple of things that as you see on the slide. So it's our request by patrons.

So oftentimes patrons will share different ideas and thoughts and ways in which it is that we can offer and provide programs that reflect their needs. So hearing from our patrons is huge. It plays a huge role in us thinking about how do we develop and design programs or even construct spaces that make such programming conducive. The other thing that we also take in consideration is surveys.

Surveys can happen pre and post. So if we are in the midst, especially after hearing from pay friends, what are some things that can be really beneficial for them? It's conducting some surveys to really get an idea more about their needs. What are their requests?

Where do they live? What will be most beneficial to their communities?

As well as what are some of the other services in which it is that we provide. So this doesn't just exist for our healthy literacy initiatives, but we're also informed by other initiatives that we pilot and promote, and it makes us think about what are the different ways in which it is that we can apply it system wide and across all services that we offer. The other one is looking at quantitative data sets. So this includes looking at the US Census Bureau, as well as local data as well.

So having an understanding of who are in our communities, the different demographics, what are some of their needs, where do they live? All those different things plays a huge role in helping us compare both sets of data quantitatively. So both from the survey perspective, as well as looking at the data from the different census bureaus to get a better understanding of who it is and which it is that we serve. And then last but not least is reviewing evidence-based research and current events.

This is most important because all these other different things help us think about, well, how we architect and design some of our systems in order to make sure that it's reflective of not only of what we're hearing from patrons, it's showing up in our different datasets, quantitative datasets, but also to how pregnant is it and what could be the long term impact it can have on communities. So what we'll do next is we'll talk potentially about one of our most successful healthy initiatives, which is Stephanie's, the program in which is that Stephanie oversees, which is our nutrition literacy lab and the services that she offers.

So this is one of many. And so we'll share how we're able to use that data to help inform that process and the work in which it is that she does out of that lab.

Stephanie Chance

Great. Thank you, Deandra.

To get started, I just want to add a little bit more about the definition that Deandra shared from the CDC.

There's also a listing about, while some researchers use nutritional literacy and food literacy synonymously.

Others distinguish the two and refer to nutritional literacy as going beyond understanding the origin of food, how it is cultivated and processed, and its impact on health, to being able to act on nutritional information. So I do take the approach when creating program. I that nutritional literacy can also be found in action. So coupled with an awareness of cultural relevancy, I believe these two elements help us bring a richer program experience for our patrons.

So I'll share a bit about the Nutrition Lab and its history. The Nutrition Lab is located at the Shaw Roxbury branch. It's the largest library of the branches.

As with all libraries, we center on neighborhood needs.

For Shaw Roxbury branch, a renovation took place in twenty, and we had an opportunity to have discussions with the community as to what people would like to see in their local branch. And through those discussions, the Roxbury community expressed interest in a teaching kitchen.

With funding in place, we sought out the Philly Free Library on their approach to kitchen design and programs.

As a side note, I will say that having another library to turn to was very helpful. In my role as nutritional literacy coordinator, I reached out to staff at the Philly Free Library numerous times and they were very helpful. So thank you to Philly Free Library.

So I would encourage anyone who's embarking on this type of program to reach out to other librarians who are already doing this work.

And I'll go into a little bit more about the library the nutrition lab.

It accommodates twelve students for hands on cooking classes or fifteen students for a cooking demonstration. We have two wall ovens, eight stovetop burners situated in a low countertop that allows access from two sides for multiple students to cook at once. We also have a dishwasher that I always feel is a little bit too small for the task and a standard sized refrigerator.

Though spacious, this is not a commercial kitchen, which I believe is an ideal design as the smaller scale translates well to home kitchens.

The equipment such as pots and pans are the size that one would find in their own kitchen. So when folks are home reflecting on what they have learned in class, one can easily transfer that knowledge into action.

To determine the types of cooking classes to offer, we have listening sessions with the community members, provide a suggestion board titled, what would you like to learn here?

We reach out to local businesses and we also have a list of program. We also list a program proposal form on our web page. These two last approaches allow for fresh ideas and talent to present themselves. It encourages collaboration. And finally, we keep our eyes and ears open on current events. And I'll speak more to that in a minute.

We also have partnerships. So partnerships, as an example, with Stop and Shop Nutrition Partners has been a wonderful collaboration.

Stop and Shop is a supermarket that has a wellness center in their supermarket and is staffed by a nutritionist, which is amazing. With them, we were able to develop a diabetes education program that focused on mutual support among neighbors as well as professional expertise.

The Navigating Diabetes through Food and Community series touched many approaches for those living with diabetes, as well as for folks who can support those who are diabetic.

And for slide eight, we have Health Literacy at BPL Continued.

A program is made possible through philanthropic donors.

We have the Chef in Residence Program, which as a year-long position for visiting chefs. At the moment, we're just finishing up our second year with the Chef in Residence, Kayla Tabb. And I will say that the Chef in Residence helps ground our programming, while the programming theme for the Chef in Residence changes annually. Overall, the chef adds consistency and reliability to our programming, as well as connecting us with other local chefs.

The chef in residence researches the for the first-year research, the history of Roxbury developed a learning curriculum that successive chefs and residents and VPL staff can utilize. And this teaching curriculum reflects the neighborhood of Roxbury through food, is from a historical perspective to a contemporary one, as an example of many historical recipes were switched to be more plant based once the chef in residence reviewed the research.

This curriculum is now used for exploring cooking techniques, cultural heritage, nutrition, and Boston history.

For this year, the theme is indigenous shoreline foods. And presently, Chef Kayla, who has partnered with indigenous shellfisherman Corey Hendricks, teach classes about Wampanoag cultural practices pertaining to shellfish cultivation and food ways.

And for our next chef in residence coming up for this summertime, we're responding to the spike in societal loneliness. And starting this June theme is how we will gather. And this will be guiding patrons in their wish to bring one another together through power of food and storytelling.

One could even find if you're looking for a chef or an institution, that's something that you're not quite able to do.

You could also find a sous chef or a home cook who's passionate and knowledgeable. And you could offer simple programs monthly. You can start with simple programs such as kitchen equipment one hundred one, a program exploring flowers, or apples, tubers. You can really keep it just simple.

And in addition to other literacy nutritional literacy programs, we also add kitchen kit programs. And this is ideal as a way for us to spread the word of nutritional literacy. As our space is limited, the kitchen kits allows us to be more impactful in reaching our patrons throughout the branches. These kits allow for librarians to present nutritional programming or hire a chef to conduct the program.

We have a collection of kitchen equipment that our librarians can access for nutritional literacy program. The librarians who run these programs are also serve SAFE certified, which is an online certification at a cost of fifteen dollars and is valid for three years. And this ensures that we maintain a level of safe food handling standards when conducting classes, and librarians can also be confident in knowing in knowing that they should be it also it helps, excuse me, the librarians to be confident in knowing that they're demonstrating what are good, safe food hand handle practice and also for their presenters.

We also have cultural heritage programs.

Our adult library service recognized a number of cultural heritage programs which helped to inform our programming. In the kitchen, we work with the chef in residence as well as our home cooks, nutritionists, and chefs who would like to offer programs. As an example, last year we celebrated Naruz, which is a Persian New Year taught by a home cook, and that evolved into this year's Women's History Month as we explored women and rice culture across the globe.

We also work with outreach, and that plays out by using our Spice Bank program, where neighbors are helping neighbors.

Patrons donate unopened spices for families who use pantries. Improving access to spices helps people who use food banks to uphold family and cultural food traditions and also discover new flavors.

And a little bit about we do have a nutritional program proposal form, and Deandra will be speaking more about that later.

I will mention here that the nutrition lab, this form is very helpful in the nutrition lab.

It's helpful for folks when teasing out their components of programming, and it can be a very useful document that both presenter and librarians can refer to as we are planning our programming.

It looks like a little bit left here. Or next slide, correct, Deandra? The highlights that we're doing. Okay.

So we have hosted fifty-three programs. Some of these programs were one offs and others were within a series for Cultural Heritage Months. We have offered plant-based eating across African diaspora For Black History Month, we've done women in rice culture, which is a three-part series. And we focused on Swedish rice, Haitian rice, Southern rice.

For Nutrition Month, we focused on kimchi, which was a really great hit.

And other programs we offer are quite simple. Again, we have programs talking about needed equipment.

We've talked about we've had programs for teas and herbs by a certified herbalist. That was very popular.

And so we try to keep our programs focused on what people are needing and also in terms of current events.

One of ours was an example when eggs were very expensive last year around this time. We quickly responded with offering eggless cooking classes. So that was just not only for baking, but also for savory dishes.

We've had a number of participants, as you can see in our numbers, four fifty, four zero five participants, and then a larger number with a waitlist. So programming is very popular.

And we very much enjoy offering these programs for our patrons, and we hope to continue to do so.

I'll hand it over to Deandra.

Deandra Williams

So as you can see, Stephanie has done an incredible amount of great work, both her and Erica, at the nutrition lab. And so we're very excited about that work. So that was a great example of how we use the different knowledge and the different data sets to develop some of our programs. Other programs that we offer throughout the Boston Public Library around health literacy initiative may range.

So some of them include our fitness programs. One of the fun things about the Boston Public Library in itself is that we like to think about different ways that we can kind of get people out and moving and doing fun and exciting things. One of them particularly is Book It Around Boston. So Book It Around Boston is an opportunity to showcase the different libraries that exist throughout the Boston community.

So as shared earlier, our central library is a lot of fun.

But our central library is located in Copley Square. And then throughout the city of Boston, there are twenty-five branches, which is amazing. The other great thing about it too, is that the different locations kind of touch other towns and areas near Massachusetts. So if our Book It Around Boston program is connected to our BPL Passport program, which is an opportunity again to showcase the different branches that exist in Boston, but also too, it's an opportunity to get people to sign up for library cards. So this happens in October.

It's very exciting.

Our system wide program librarian, Karen Rosales, she is the person who spearheads this program and kicks it off. She partners with Heartbreak Hill Company. 

They are the organization that supports with the Boston Marathon and offer coaching and all this other wonderful things to get our runners supported and ready to go in the city of Boston.

So that's one of the programs that we have. Things that we have taken into consideration with this program because some people jog, but also it's an opportunity for them to bike and also walk. So this is our chance too to think about who are the different patrons in which it is that we serve and how do we get more people involved? This takes into consideration our older adults, individuals with disabilities, all these other different facets so that we're able to make sure that everybody gets what they need and they're able to not only promote health and wellness but learn about the library and get involved and learn about the different programs that we offer. Other programs that we do is our educational walk in tours and they range from nature programs to murals in local history as well.

As Stephanie mentioned, a big part of the library is connecting our programs to cultural heritage months that happen throughout the year. So particularly for our murals walk, was one program that really had spun out and was connected also to our annual theme, which was last year, revolutionary art.

This is a part of our three-year programmatic theme honoring and celebrating the anniversary of the American Revolution. And so what we hope to have done with our three-year theme is to celebrate different ways in which revolutionary acts and social justice opportunities have occurred to make sure that we are inclusive of all individuals, right? And so one of the programs that we had was an art mural walk, which is really good. So individuals can come into their local communities and learn about the different art that exists in that area, which was really exciting.

Other programs we have, as I mentioned before, the nature walks. So these are opportunities where individuals can go on a birdwatch and things of that nature. Our branches have done these programs and they're really amazing at curating them and making them happen. And then just local history tours as well.

So just walking about, learning about the different buildings that are in the community, the local history that's attached to them. All those things are different ways in which it is that we not only educate people but promote health and wellness. Other things we have done is yoga classes. So noted on here, there's two different ways in which it is that we make this happen.

One was through our block program series. So what is a block program? At the Boston Public Library, as we shared before, and this is actually really important, is that a lot of our funding for programming is made possible by way of philanthropic funds.

So with our branch libraries, they all have different budgets. Ways in which it is that we help support a lot of the programming that's happening in their space is if there's additional funding that we receive from different grants, our team, the adults program team, is able to then support the branches by offering additional programming. So one of them was through our yoga program. We were able to partner with an organization that was able to go in and to support the neighborhood branches and offer yoga classes if this was of interest to them. Also to remember, as I stated before, that patrons also make requests.

So there have been local organizations that offer yoga classes that come in and partner with branches and offer those classes. And we're going to talk about this a little bit later too, but a big part of this, yes, there are programs for children and families too. And some of our programs are intergenerational.

So it's really exciting. But to go back to that, I'm sorry guys, I do both. I look at the comments, I respond and I present.

To go back, but yes, so those are the different ways in which it is that we offer programming. And again, and we'll talk about this too, because a big part of this is you do want to reevaluate the different programming that you're offering and the other ways in which it that we can support.

And I'm going to talk about that a little bit more later. Other things we have done, dance classes of all types supporting, again, different age demographics. We've had dance classes for older adults. We're able to accomplish this through our partnerships. The other things in which it is that we have done as well, again, local agencies and organizations for Black History Month at a couple of the branches, they had Afro beginners, one on one Afro beats class, which was really exciting for individuals. So there's a lot of different programs and wishes that we offer to ensure that individuals are able to get connected, do amazing things, and have a lot of fun. And it's reflective of cultures.

Okay, other programs we offer at the library and have done, we've had sound baths, we've done high chi, meditation circles, therapeutic dance workshops. I'm going to come back and explain that a little bit more.

Arts and craft programs. And arts and craft has been shown to be healing and can definitely be supportive for individuals to help them release different energy and also just be able to have a connection, right? Like mindfulness.

And then we also have had some author talks. So one of the author talks that we've had was Doctor Jeremy Noble, who is a primary care physician and a public health practitioner. He had came and talked to patrons about the connection of art and healing to combat the loneliness academic that was starting to grow, right?

Like out of the pandemic. His organization, the Foundation for Art and Healing is an intergenerational organization that really supports in helping individuals understand how art plays a huge role in helping with healing and can be a release for individuals. So after that conversation and talk that we had had, which was really successful, we're now partnering with their organization to offer art and healing workshops. These are intergenerational programs, which are really exciting for individuals.

What the participants will do when they come to the workshop is that they will watch a film, a short mini film, and then they will draw a picture based off of what they observed and learned in the film. And then they'll have conversations with individuals who are also participating. Again, because it's an intergenerational program, it takes into consideration our most vulnerable population, so our older adults and also young people. So to help them have conversations and learn like how they can connect and grow. So these are some of the things that we're doing to ensure that we are supporting individuals and we're promoting health literacy in a variety of ways in doing that work. The other thing that we have done too is our seed library program.

This was a, this is a program that offers seeds to people throughout the Boston neighborhood, which is really exciting. The branch, people go to the various branch locations and they're able to get seeds and grow them into their communities. They take pictures, they come back and share them, do all types of things. And currently we are developing more programming to support different ways in which it is that people can learn about how to grow food, testing soil, all these other fun things that we are in the midst of thinking about how do we continue to promote that education and create those opportunities for folks.

So as I said, I will come back to the therapeutic dance workshop, right? So as much as we talked about dance as a form of fitness, but there's also an opportunity in which is if we can make the connection between how dance is very important to mindfulness in a way of releasing. So this idea came about from one of our librarians and research services who partnered with therapists who offer these lessons, right? So she would offer classes and then she'll talk about like how movement plays a role in releasing and how it can be used as an art form, which is really powerful.

So that intersectionality between fitness and therapy is really important.

Okay, again, I'm on two screens, guys, so sorry for the delay. All right, so now we're going to talk about getting started in your library, and I'm going to turn it over to Stephanie, who is going to lead the first part of this conversation.

Stephanie Chance

Okay, great. Thanks for sharing all those great programs.

Boy, it's really something. We really are more than books these days. It's a wonderful thing. It's really bringing a lot of people together from all the different neighborhoods.

So it's really great to reflect have this opportunity to reflect on the program we do and learn about what other people are doing too in the chat. So here we go. Yeah. So getting started.

Identifying your community needs. And I think we touched a little bit about that beforehand when we were talking about using databases, looking at census, also creating surveys pre and post, right, surveying.

Listening sessions certainly in the nutrition lab helps, because that's how I introduce our chef for residents.

But also, research, keeping an eye on programs implemented by other libraries. This certainly is appreciated by presenters who can make good use of travel time and connect programming regionally.

And this also gives patrons a better chance to attend programming where if they weren't able to get attend a program at one branch, then they can attend it at another branch.

So or even in different library system.

I would also say that what we have found is checking in with local health clinics also value the mindfulness practices like yoga, walking, biking that we do. Deandra mentioned that we're doing a lot of different programming and partnering with other folks, whether it's on bicycling or yoga. So definitely reaching out to other organizations who are already tapped into certain populations really can boost interest and attendance to programming. Anyone who's doing activity-based programming, I think, is really key.

And again, that also helps with the cross-promotion component.

And we love to have the opportunity to introduce the library staff to other program presenters and local experts.

So I'll hand it over to you, Deandra, for getting started further.

Deandra Williams

Okay, guys, I'm back. So we talked about getting started further. A big part of this too, is really, for me it's fun, but really thinking about how do you start to plan your programs and how to just get your initiatives underway. So even if it's not a program, but just thinking about the different things and initiatives that you want to do in order to make sure that there are successful health initiatives that are healthy literacy initiatives that's happening throughout your library system. I also will argue too that this is also just important in general when planning anything in your space and doing this work. So please note this is also applicable to other services and things that you might be considering and thinking about doing in your space. So the most important part of all of this fun stuff is analyzing and looking at your budget in advance.

So as we shared before, a lot of things are made possible at the Boston Public Library because of our various funding streams that we have. And a lot of it is from our philanthropic donors, which is huge.

But at the same time too, as I shared before with some of our branches, they also have smaller budgets. So us being able to work together, right, like from the central perspective and also just connecting and being able to add additional resources to support our branches is really helpful. So I would first start off by saying you want to look at your fiscal budget for the year. Once you identified what is your program budget from the year, you want to start thinking about, well, what are the most, what are the different types of programs in which it is that you would like to offer in your branches and for your communities.

So being able to be really realistic about what your budget is and understanding what that is and what you have really sets the tone for the type of program in which it is you can offer. The next thing I would suggest too is once you start to do that, start to identify costs. So if you would like to bring a speaker in, knowing that cost may vary depending on who the speaker is, Some presenters will do a program for free, so just also be mindful of that as well. So don't be discouraged if you feel like your budget doesn't lend to have a speaker, but this is where that connecting with local partners could be really helpful.

So identifying what your different program costs are and then outlining them and developing an itemized budget is really helpful. So that's the first thing you want to do. The next thing I would suggest as well is planning at least ninety days in advance per program. That planning ninety days in advance allow for you to get your logistics in order.

That's really important. So getting your logistics in order, knowing what is the expectation for whatever the program it is that you're offering, is important. Where will it be held? What location?

Who do you need to reach out to? Who are partners that you want to reach out to get the program started and going is really important. The other thing it does as well is once you have secured who your partner is and who will be doing the work with you, is asking for their promotion material. This is really important because the next step in this is you want to advertise your program at least days thirty days before the program start date. Right? The reason why you want to advertise it thirty days before your program start date is because if you do it before then, there's a chance that people will not attend your program because it doesn't have a there isn't a monetary transaction with it. So oftentimes people are not likely to cancel a program if there is a fee because they know that they're not going to be refunded. And also too, if you do it a little bit before, then they might forget.

So being really intentional about advertising that program thirty days in advance allows for your program to allow that awareness so people know that your program exists. Not only that, ensures, it won't guarantee, but it ensures that they will be attending. So that's like the most important thing. And that's a big, huge rule in marketing as well.

And that's what research has suggested. I would say the latest is twenty-one days. That's about three weeks out from your program. So that's kind of your benchmark when thinking about when advertising your program.

The reason why that's also important back to the ninety days in advance is because it also makes sure that you're able to collect the assets for graphics or developing flyer, whatever the content is from the organization which is you'll be partnering with.

The next thing you want to do is you want to create a post survey for your patrons to evaluate the program. Now this is important for a lot of reasons. You've done all the planning, you have an idea of what your budget is, and all of those things are really, really, really important. But the post survey is also really important because it allows you to evaluate the effectiveness of your program.

It allows you to determine did you reach the goals, right? You've done all the work, you've done the needs assessments, you've done the research, you've done all of that. And everyone came to your program, people came to your program, they really enjoyed it, right? Or it appears they enjoyed it.

But the survey is what's going to really allow you to have a better understanding of what was really beneficial. Do not be afraid to ask what can be improved in this program, right? Those are big questions that you want. That's a big question that you want to ask because with doing that, it allows for you to think about how can you improve your practices.

And even if someone says the program was great, because it could be great, but just really also encouraging them to give feedback for improvement is really important. Because those are things, it might be something that you didn't think about that could have enhanced the program. So saying even if you feel that the program's great, if you can just please give us some feedback for improvement, is really helpful as you think about how can you advance your programming. The other reason why it's important too to have this post survey as well is it allows for you to now to really track the successes of your program.

So going back to your budget, if you don't have a big budget, right, but now it's a demand, because now people are going to say, yeah, we really love this program and we wish you offered it again. This is now what you can share with your leadership teams and department so that if you can start and kind of position them to think about what are some grants that we might want to apply for, or if you're receiving money from, you know, your different municipalities, like there's a need, people want us to come.

They want to come because we're offering this program. They really like it. They want to know how we can do this more. And not to say that it's a guarantee that they will really, that it can increase all funding, but it can also help them think about, well, what are the different ways that we can support?

And who are other folks that we might want to partner with so that we can really make sure that we're offering the same type of programming and able to enhance the work it is that we're doing. So that is why, the post survey is really important for your program. Okay, next slide.

So the next part that we'll talk about after kind of giving you a snapshot of how to do some scalable programming, if we had more time, we would have definitely covered each of those topics a little bit more. But the most important part, and we talked about this a lot, are your partnerships. So there's a couple of ways in which it is that we generate partnerships. One of them is through our program proposal form.

So on our proposing program form, we actually have a number of the different ways in which it is that people can present program proposal ideas. It's from these various program proposals that we're able to learn about different health literacy programs and able to generate partnerships. Our librarians at the Boston Public Library, all the branches, they have access to it so they can review it, they can reach out to them. We are constantly thinking about ways that we can revamp our practices, even if it's to help with workflow to make the most sense.

So do not be afraid to take into consideration that we might need to update some of our practices so that we can review them. But the way in which it is that it works is that applicants can suggest their program idea. They can identify which location they would like to offer it.

For Stephanie's one, a little bit different because it is at the Shaw Roxbury branch, but ultimately they can still present an idea. And Stephanie's actually really good with suggesting and going through and saying, oh, you might want to offer this program at another branch because they have, you know, a huge Vietnamese community and they're looking for Vietnamese cuisine, right? Like, so there's other ways and wishes that we make sure that individuals have access to information, right? So that is how our program proposals work. The other thing that we do is we do a lot of networking.

So whether it's going to conferences or different community events, so people know about the different programs, which is that we offer. Oftentimes we learn about other opportunities through the individuals that come and talk to us, and we refer them too to other locations or other organizations that share information. So partnerships aren't just from the lens of offering a program serving as a thought partner as well.

And then other initiatives that we do as well is outreach efforts. So whether it's through flyering, tabling, these are the different ways in which is that we make sure that we're out and about in the communities and we have flyers in the area so people know about our different services.

And that presence is really important too, because once you say, hey, can we post this flyer in your space? People are like, oh, I didn't know that this existed.

And so they become really excited about it. And then also, I will go a little step further than just thinking about outreach from the physical stance, but digital outreach efforts as well. So even asking partners to flyer or share information about programming is really important too, because they also too become more excited and say, I didn't know about this. I know you guys do this, but I didn't know y'all did that. So again, a lot of this, although today we're talking about our health literacy initiatives, but these could they apply across the board. So no matter what type of program or service or initiative you're thinking about starting at your library, these tools could be applied as well.

So now I'm going to turn it over to Stephanie who's going to close it out and talk about our health literacy digital resources.

Tammy Ross

Stephanie, you're on mute.

Stephanie Chance

Here we are. Hi, I'm back. Thanks so much, Tammy. I would say I have a brief statement about integrating digital resources.

And I think well, I'll just say it. So all of these digital resources that we have, the cataloging, our catalog, our blog posts, the health insurance info, research databases, online health resources.

All of these things, these research tools, they can also be used as supplements in your programming.

And also that these resources can connect you with experts for your programming, who may then reach out. Can reach out to them and they may consider being presenters at your library. So the digital resources could be a rabbit hole. You really can use them as a resource for supplementing your programs as you get underway. And I think, Deandra, if you want to speak more to our digital resources, you're welcome to. But that's the emphasis that I wanted to post here today. Thank you.

Deandra Williams

And I would add to Stephanie's point that also too in terms of what the Boston Public Library, these are resources that various librarians throughout our library contribute to. So what we're presenting here is truly a system wide effort to make sure that this information is conveyed and shared with the public. And we're very grateful for the time and energy that our amazing team, you know, take to make sure that this is possible.

And we will close it out with questions.

Joshua Beene

Alright. Hey, y'all. We do have quite a few questions that have come in, so we'll jump right into it.

This one's from Rachel. Says regarding staff resources, how many librarians and staff do you have working on health programs, planning programs, research, etcetera? Is it the same for the nutrition lab?

Deandra Williams

I mean, so okay. So I would say that for health literacy initiatives, again, we have twenty-five branches. So within the library, different librarians are considering and taking on different programming. And that includes our librarians that service youth, so that takes into consideration both children and teens because there is an age distinction.

And then we also have our generalists who offer programming throughout the library, and then our adult program librarians are program outreach librarians. So there are a range of librarians that's offering programming. So I cannot give you a definite number, but what I would say is that in some shape, form, or way, it is happening at our various locations and it's being done from, you know, majority of our librarians. It just looks different in different spaces, and it might happen at different times.

And then Stephanie, if you want to just talk about the nutrition lab.

Stephanie Chance

Sure, the nutrition lab. So when we got started with it, I was the sole person in the kitchen for two years. And we're thankfully, we could get more funding to have another library assistant on board. So now Erica's working with me and the two of us are plowing ahead with a lot more programming. She's a wonderful, wonderful coworker and so appreciative of her expertise.

And with the chef of residence, also another person with some great expertise is adding to our overall programming.

Joshua Beene

Awesome. Thanks, Stephanie. Great.

Stephanie Chance

I did see a question about team programming for cooking programs.

But don't for folks who don't have a kitchen, I think I do want to share that not if you don't have a kitchen, you can just do very simple programming without a kitchen.

Even if you had just an induction cooktop, those are I think like sixty dollars and pans that complement that work with induction cooktops because they're based on magnetics.

You know, it doesn't have to be that complicated. You could do a lot of no cook classes. You could also do kind of a make and bake thing where teens or other people are just making creating something, whether it's like making cookie dough or bread, but then so then they take the item home and then they bake it at home, rather than if you don't have a kitchen at the library.

Also can do knife skills in that way, where you're chopping up all kinds of vegetables and you have knives and cutting boards with vegetables, and then people can go home and they can make soup.

So you don't have to rely so much on a kitchen.

And also, think with teens, if they want to, I think having a program where it's something like your favorite TikTok recipe that you've always wanted to try, that would also be a good place to start.

Deandra Williams

And if I can just add to that as well is that so with Stephanie sharing that, if you go to our website, bpl.org, events, you could search and see the various programming that our librarians are doing in their spaces around cooking, right? Like they do some amazing programs that, and they don't have kitchens in their spaces and they have been able to pull these different programs off. So definitely check them out and see them and, you know, and okay.

I hope they love me when I say this, but don't be afraid to reach out to the library and say, hey, I just need to pick your brain, because I think that that's just a great way to learn a little bit about like how some of our librarians are doing some of their programming, especially for children programming. So definitely reach out to them. And then there was another question I saw in there. Sorry, Josh and Tammy, but you know, just see questions and we respond About the programming being free. So yes, all of the like, when do you decide to charge a fee? For all of our programming at the library, it is free.

That is our motto, free for all. So we make sure that like we have programming that's at no cost. This is important because it increases access for patrons and we and the library is that space where anybody, any, any, anyone can come and feel and be welcome.

It's so important for us to make sure that people know that they matter, they are important. And one of the ways in which it is that we're able to accomplish that is by offering free programming.

That's essential. That's who we are, and that's to our core. So we don't charge fees for our programming. And again, just talking about the different ways in which it is and how evaluation is really important, that can be some of the ways to help you combat those costs. Again, a lot of local experts are willing to offer free programming. You can always partner with organizations that would be willing to sponsor programming too.

Stephanie Chance

And I just also like to add, it just occurred to me about say if you don't have the kind of funding that we have, and Dander and I were talking about this earlier when we're getting ready for these presentations, that if you wanted to do a nutritional literacy program, maybe you could pair up with a local food pantry and use the food that they have. And it's also kind of integrating where are getting their groceries from the food pantry, and they'll know how to prepare or have new ideas about how to prepare the food that they're getting from the food pantry. So that might be kind of an interesting partnership that you could develop.

Deandra Williams

Yeah, and definitely advertising the pantry is a win for them too. So it's a part of that health literacy definition from the organization perspective, right?

Like, so how do we make sure that we are informing individuals how to make healthy decisions for themselves? Right? So this is how we do this work, and that's why libraries are so essential.

Joshua Beene

Alright. Thanks, Deandra. And I think we are at the end of our time. We did have a lot of questions we didn't get to, so we might be able to follow-up.

Tammy Ross

Hi, Joshua. Hi, it's I just posted in the chat and I will just reiterate too for anyone who didn't see it. Any questions that you answered that we didn't get to, I'm going to take down your name and your email and everything after the fact, and we'll make sure that Deandra and Stephanie get back to you directly.

Joshua Beene

Perfect. Alright. Cool. We'll go ahead and close things out. Deandra, Stephanie, thank you so much for your presentation. This was obviously a very popular topic. We had so many questions

So yeah. And thanks everyone for attending today. And as we close things out, I want to give another reminder. We do record all of our webinars.

So if you joined us late or if you'd like to share this with a friend or a colleague that wasn't able to watch live with us today, the recordings are ready to watch within a couple of hours, and you should receive an email in about two hours that'll have a link to watch the recording. And it'll also take you back to the lobby page where, like, if you haven't downloaded your the slides or your certificate, you can grab those from the lobby once you go back to watch the recording. So yeah. So thanks again, everybody, and we'll see you next time. Bye.

Deandra Williams

Thank you for having us. Thank you all. Thank you very much for attending.