Inviting our communities to lead the way can transform our libraries, making our services more inclusive, creative, and essential. But how can you put community-led methods into practice at your library? Join the co-authors of The 12 Steps to a Community-Led Library for a conversation about what community-led planning looks like in the real world, and how your library can build its capacity to start – and sustain – this important work.

Dr. Audrey Barbakoff is passionate about helping organizations build capacity for collaboration and equity by centering their communities. She is the CEO of Co/lab Capacity LLC, which offers community-centered consulting and training to libraries. With a decade of public library leadership experience and a doctorate in organizational change and leadership, she brings both a practical and scholarly lens to library development. Dr. Barbakoff holds an MLIS from the University of Washington and an EdD from the University of Southern California. Her innovative and inclusive work has been recognized by Library Journal Movers & Shakers, the Urban Libraries Council, and the Freedom to Read Foundation. She has served in a variety of service leadership roles, including the ALA Policy Corps, facilitating the ALA Emerging Leaders program, two terms on ALA Council, and chairing the Intellectual Freedom Round Table. Her newest book is The Twelve Steps to a Community-Led Library, co-authored with Dr. Noah Lenstra. In her spare time, she writes picture books; her new release is The Schlemiel Kids Save the Moon.

Dr. Noah Lenstra is an associate professor of library and information science at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where he brings a community organizing approach to the teaching and research of public librarianship. Since 2016, Dr. Lenstra has managed the Let’s Move in Libraries initiative, an online space for sharing stories and resources related to public library participation in community health initiatives related to food or physical activity. Dr. Lenstra holds doctoral and master’s degrees in library and information science from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. He is the co-author, with Dr. Audrey Barbakoff, of The Twelve Steps to a Community-Led Library.

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