This section is for information on your library’s community partners, contracts or memoranda of understanding with its partners, consortia memberships, events involving the library, and the library’s friends group and/or foundation.
- A list of your library’s community partners, what you do for them, and what you ask them for16
- If your library is a member of a consortium (e.g., LCEI17, LIBRI18, LYNX!19, VMLC20, VALNET21) or best practices group (e.g., MVLS22), your responsibilities as a member, the contact person for the group, and how to reach him or her
- Dates of annual library, city, county, regional, and state events and programs and how your library participates in these
- Information on your library’s friends group and their tax-exempt status, such as 501(c)(3)
- Information on your library’s foundation and their tax-exempt status, such as 501(c)(3)
- Contracts or MOUs23 with local partners.
16 As trusted centers of the community, libraries are in a unique position to attract potential partners and to provide resources and benefits to organizations with common goals. In a time of diminishing funds and increasing demands, partnerships are essential to meeting community needs and to sustaining an active and engaging environment for customers.
17 The Library Consortium of Eastern Idaho is a consortium of multi-type libraries serving the public of Eastern Idaho.
18 The LIBRI Consortium (Libraries By a River) includes Burley Public Library, DeMary Memorial Library (Rupert), and Jerome Public Library.
19 The LYNX! Consortium consists of Ada Community Library, Boise Public Library, Caldwell Public Library, Eagle Public Library, Emmett Public Library, Garden City Public Library, Hailey Public Library, Kuna Library District, Meridian Library District, Mountain Home Public Library, Nampa Public Library, and Twin Falls Public Library.
20 The Valley Mountain Library Consortium exists to provide expanded resources and improved services through systematic interlibrary cooperation among member libraries.
21 The Valley Automated Library Network is a consortium of public, school, and academic libraries in Southeastern Washington and North Central Idaho working together to share resources and information services.
22 The Magic Valley Library System is a group of public library directors and librarians that meets on the third Tuesday of each month, February through November inclusive, to discuss topics and share ideas and information relevant to public libraries, their programs, administrators, and trustees. Each spring, MVLS hosts the ILA Region IV Conference in Twin Falls.
23 A memorandum of understanding (MOU) is an agreement between two parties that is not legally binding, but which outlines the responsibilities of each of the parties to the agreement. An MOU is often the first step toward creating a legally binding contract.