Currently, the Denver Public Library (DPL) is implementing its Service Delivery Initiative: DPL’s strategic plan for moving library services forward and making library services increasingly relevant to the community. One of its primary focuses is emphasis and development of its Out of School Learning Initiative, including an expansion of services aimed at teens. In order to most appropriately align this teen services expansion with the concurrent Service Delivery Initiative and with existing teen services at DPL, a committee of DPL staff developed and implemented a project from March 2013 to March 2014 to identify and describe what assets currently exist for teens in Denver. The belief is that community building is improved by focusing on the assets, skills and capacities of residents and organizations rather than focusing on needs, problems and deficiencies. Community development efforts are more effective when they are based on an understanding of the community’s assets. Community builders can then connect the assets to multiply their power and effectiveness.

DPL is not the first library to conduct an asset mapping project, but it is among the first. One of the first steps when using the Asset-Based Community Development model is inventorying the gifts, skills of individuals, voluntary associations, institutions, physical assets, local economy assets and stories in the community. The committee used this technique to inventory community assets serving teens in Denver. Staff conducted interviews of forty organizations. The opportunity to represent DPL in person and observe the organization first-hand significantly informed committee members’ understanding of what the Library might offer to support these organizations. The committee coded interview responses to enhance the readability of the information for the final report. We created a controlled vocabulary of codes after all interviews were completed in order to inform the findings section in an accurate manner. While inventorying the community assets serving teens in Denver, the committee believed it was important to register the degree to which DPL was a teen asset. We developed a survey that was sent electronically to all DPL staff, intending to capture information from front-line staff. The committee wanted to round out our conversations by including conversations directly with teens currently served by DPL. Conversations with the teens would provide an opportunity to gather information that would inform recommendations for this report, as well as measure teens’ perception of the current effectiveness of the Library as an asset. The final result is a report and set of recommendations that will be shared with library administration, City officials, community assets serving teens and others that will shape the DPL teen services expansion and improve services to and for teens in Denver.

Anticipated outcomes include:

• Increase in meaningful internships for teens and emerging adults
• More teens and emerging adults hired as shelvers and clerks
• New programming for emerging adults (18-25)
• Increase in the variety and quantity of programs for teens including collaborative off-site and teen-initiated programming
• Increased training for staff including cultural competency, mental health first aid and connecting with homeless teens
• Identification and implementation of more targeted marketing including word of mouth, contacting organizations and schools
• Connectors Table at DPL for community leaders to discuss teen services and learn about the services DPL provides as well as what services other organizations provide.

Use of the asset-based community development model to gain insight into other populations. By using the asset mapping framework in other contexts, DPL can continue having conversations with community leaders, building relationships and helping to increase awareness of what library services are available for the community of Denver. The primary discovery the committee made regarding services to and for teens in the Denver community is that a significant knowledge and communication gap exists between organizations serving Denver teens, and between organizations and teens who need services. Because DPL services for teens are included in this knowledge gap, and because this committee has already begun the process of bringing these organizations together by generating this report, the committee believes that DPL is well-positioned to take a leading role in connecting community assets for teens in Denver.