Building Community Bridges During Crisis

About the Program

Category: Libraries (Best in Category)

Year: 2017

Shortly before midnight on August 10, 2016, an explosion occurred in the Flower Branch Apartment complex which is located directly across from Long Branch Library, a branch of Montgomery County Public Libraries (MCPL) in Silver Spring, MD. Many residents of the Flower Branch Apartment Complex are frequent library users who have a trusted relationship with Long Branch with the library serving an important role in their everyday lives. MCPL Outreach team members and Long Branch staff responded quickly and promptly to the community by becoming the community gathering space, a place to bridge together various community organizations and agencies, and also to continue to have the library’s resources available to the residents of the Flower Branch Apartment complex and the Long Branch community. The organized and rapid response from MCPL strengthened the relationship between the library and the Long Branch community, which includes the residents and local community organizations. This relationship allowed the library to become host to community forums, programs, therapeutic groups, as well as tailored library policies to help be a guide and a safe place for the community.