EXPLORE Libraries and Communities in the Pandemic Altered World

Abstract

Covid-19 has undeniably changed how libraries operate and the lives of individuals in our communities. Libraries and library support organizations have done stellar work to respond to the constant changing circumstances brought about by the pandemic. Despite struggles, there were many instances of innovation and everyday heroism. Although the pandemic is not yet past us, it has changed our worlds forever. Now is the time to be proactive, rather than reactive. To uncover the "best of" innovations that were made at the height of the pandemic so that we can build on their successes, and to "pro-actively and thoughtfully" assess the needs of libraries and communities in our new reality. To ask ourselves "What are communities calling for libraries to be?" "What are libraries calling for support organizations to be?" We created a model, called EXPLORE that utilizes the methods of Appreciative Inquiry and Human Centered Design to flip the traditional "needs assessment" which looks for the "deficit gaps" to an "opportunity exploration" which builds on the "abundance gap". This poster will present the EXPLORE model and how it can be used by libraries and library support organizations to explore the new opportunities that are present in our pandemic-altered world.