About This Training

Welcome to Asset Mapping as a Means to Triage Critical Patron Issues. This training is part of the Libraries As Second Responders (LASR) project, funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services and administered by the Califa Group. Akiliah Manuel Mills, Lodi Public Library (CA) director, is the instructor for this training, which was created in spring 2022.

In this training, you will develop various approaches to engaging with BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color) communities, using mindful, strengths-based approaches that build trust. You will learn to identify community assets by getting out into communities, allowing you to enhance library services in communities of color. The module will include activities, meditation opportunities, and strategies for community canvassing to identify assets and strengths.

As we begin the course, we’ll hear from Veronda Pitchford, Assistant Director of the Califa Consortium of California Libraries. In this video, Veronda introduces our presenter, Akilah Manuel Mills, Director of Lodi Public Library and an asset mapping consultant with a background as a first responder in various capacities.

Veronda goes on to explain the role of second responders, who help with community recovery efforts after the immediate danger of a crisis has passed, and connecting this role to libraries serving BIPOC communities during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Veronda shares the module's key theme of "meaningful and mindful connection" and explains that asset mapping is an experiential, strength-based approach that shifts librarians to the position of being information seekers rather than information providers. Veronda then shares her personal experience with asset mapping in her Chicago neighborhood, highlighting two community assets that created diverse community connections but were lost during the pandemic.

Video Chapters

• Introduction and Welcome (0:00)
• About the Presenter: Akiliah Manuel Mills (0:41)
• Libraries as Second Responders Grant (1:33)
• Understanding the Second Responder Role (2:02)
• Module Keywords: Meaningful and Mindful Connection (3:43)
• Flipping the Script: Librarians as Information Seekers (4:53)
• Getting Grounded with Meditation and other activities (6:44)
• Veronda’s Asset Mapping Experience (8:31)
• Closing Thoughts (11:27)

This training is divided into five units:

• Unit 1: Shifting from Problems to Assets
• Unit 2: Race and Trust: Working with Personal Bias
• Unit 3: Getting Started with Asset Mapping 
• Unit 4: Community Canvassing 
• Unit 5: Recap and Release

If you have any questions about the training, please contact [email protected].