Theme: Exploring New Ways of Engaging Immigrant Communities Through Public Humanities Programming
Library Innovation Lab (LIL) is a nationally recognized program that aims to build the capacity of California public libraries to provide responsive and relevant public humanities programming through a practice-based professional development experience and participation in a peer-oriented learning community. Over the past five years, over 50 programming librarians and other library staff members from across the state have participated in the program. Each participant designed, implemented, and assessed an innovative short-term public humanities project to engage immigrants in their community.
Program Purpose
California has the largest immigrant population of any state; 27% of current residents are immigrants, and almost half the state’s children have at least one immigrant parent. Public libraries play and have long played an important role in welcoming newcomers by providing citizenship classes, English language instruction, and other valuable services and programs.
The LIL program aims to build on these efforts by supporting library-based public humanities programs that will enable immigrants to express and share their experiences, stories, traditions, values, dreams, and hopes for the future. By providing opportunities for all community members to develop greater understanding of what it means to make a new life and a new home in a new place, public humanities programming can help build bridges between new and long-term residents of our state.
More generally, California Humanities hopes to build the capacity of participating libraries to provide engaging humanities learning opportunities and experiences that will reach and interest all Californians.
Our principal objectives with this program are to:
- Foster innovative and creative public humanities programming in and by libraries through application of Design Thinking methods;
- Build the capacity of participating librarians and libraries to provide welcoming experiences for immigrants that will contribute to building more inclusive communities;
- Use collaborative learning and reflective practice as a means of professional growth and development
Library Innovation Lab
Theme: Exploring New Ways of Engaging Immigrant Communities Through Public Humanities Programming
Library Innovation Lab (LIL) is a nationally recognized program that aims to build the capacity of California public libraries to provide responsive and relevant public humanities programming through a practice-based professional development experience and participation in a peer-oriented learning community. Over the past five years, over 50 programming librarians and other library staff members from across the state have participated in the program. Each participant designed, implemented, and assessed an innovative short-term public humanities project to engage immigrants in their community.
Program Purpose
California has the largest immigrant population of any state; 27% of current residents are immigrants, and almost half the state’s children have at least one immigrant parent. Public libraries play and have long played an important role in welcoming newcomers by providing citizenship classes, English language instruction, and other valuable services and programs.
The LIL program aims to build on these efforts by supporting library-based public humanities programs that will enable immigrants to express and share their experiences, stories, traditions, values, dreams, and hopes for the future. By providing opportunities for all community members to develop greater understanding of what it means to make a new life and a new home in a new place, public humanities programming can help build bridges between new and long-term residents of our state.
More generally, California Humanities hopes to build the capacity of participating libraries to provide engaging humanities learning opportunities and experiences that will reach and interest all Californians.
Our principal objectives with this program are to:
- Foster innovative and creative public humanities programming in and by libraries through application of Design Thinking methods;
- Build the capacity of participating librarians and libraries to provide welcoming experiences for immigrants that will contribute to building more inclusive communities;
- Use collaborative learning and reflective practice as a means of professional growth and development