In 2011 the City of Newport News, the Library System, the Public School System, and a number of City departments partnered to repurpose an elementary school to create the South Morrison Family Education Center (SoMo). According to Census data, the community immediately surrounding SoMo is predominately African American and low-income (65% of students receiving free lunch). The 2014 School Accreditation report showed that the four schools serving this community failed to receive full accreditation due to low performance. The community has expressed the need for activities for youth and academic support for students. The goal of SoMo is to bring together essential partners that support children, youth and families to provide collaborative, targeted services for the community members immediately surrounding the center.

The creation of the SoMo Center was the first step toward providing collaborative services in the community. Since then the partners have consistently provided high quality services and programs. Additionally, the Library System grew from two-rooms to a new space of 6,000+ square feet that includes a general and training computer lab, teen zone, and an imagination station for early literacy. Serving as the Information and Referral Hub for SoMo, the branch ensures a constant flow of community members into the building, giving them access to all of the Library System’s free services and referrals to other SoMo partners.

The partnership at the SoMo center has created the space for resource sharing. The onsite branch has been a huge draw for developing external partners; just recently the SoMo branch held a computer training class for Kinder Morgan, the largest energy infrastructure company in North America. With the Library System as a driver of this innovative partnership, an anticipated outcome is the development and implementation of a strategic plan. The strategic plan would be the driving force in developing and executing programs services. The strategic plan would allow partners to visualize and achieve common goals and contribute their strengths to the components of the strategic plan they are best suited to support.