READCON: A Curriculum for Library Readiness, Advocacy, and Community Empowerment During Challenging Conditions

This panel introduces the READCON curriculum: Library Readiness, Advocacy, and Community Empowerment During Challenging Conditions The curriculum equips library workers with soft skills to develop relationships with their communities, partnering more effectively for advocacy. Building on the highly successful Get Ready Stay Ready Community Action Toolkit (GRSR), this curriculum builds foundational skills for library workers to engage in constructive dialogue on potentially divisive aspects of library programming, service, and material challenges. READCON takes Get Ready Stay Ready a step further by providing library workers with the soft skills needed to encourage community members to use the action steps included in the GRSR toolkit. Both resources are highly adaptable, multi-lingual, open-source learning tools developed by experts in academic, public, and school librarianship, education and family law, crisis communications, community advocacy and relations, and youth leadership.