Libraries as Community Catalysts

Libraries as Community Catalysts: Recapping OCLC’s Library Futures Conference. By Miguel Figueroa | October 4, 2019. American Libraries.

OCLC’s Americas Regional Council 2019 Library Futures Conference rallied an energetic audience October 2–3 in Phoenix to discuss libraries’ future leadership in changing communities. The conference theme was “Community Catalysts.”

On October 2, OCLC President and CEO Skip Prichard opened the day by outlining the five Cs that libraries need to catalyze their communities. Libraries contribute, developing unique offerings that help make them indispensable. Through those contributions, they forge connections. Catalysts create, introducing big changes and little shifts. They compete, constantly pushing themselves forward. And they ultimately choose, from all the goals that they can pursue, the ones most important to their communities. The greatest catalysts maintain a positive view of the future, Prichard said.