The Library’s partnership with the Office of New Americans of Miami-Dade County to support the “Cities for Citizenship” initiative presented an opportunity to connect with the immigrant community, foster relationships with partaking organizations and support a major national campaign. On November 10, 2015, a press conference announcing the County’s participation and the launch of ONA-MDC was held at the Main Library. The Library’s role in the partnership was to provide citizenship programs at its branches. A collaboration with the Florida Immigrant Coalition made it possible to host citizenship clinics, screenings for application fee waiver, and financial coaching.

The key element in the innovation was knowing that Miami-Dade County has a high immigrant population and that libraries play an important role serving the immigrant community. The partnership offered numerous internal and external opportunities. Internally, the Library learned that it could offer patrons more by forming strategic partnerships. In addition, benefits gained from supporting related major national initiatives allow the Library to be perceived relevant and engaged in the community. Externally, MDPLS connected with immigrant customers in a new way and allowed them to experience enhanced services. The collaboration brought new foot traffic and free publicity for the Library.

The Library’s collaboration with the Office of New Americans of Miami-Dade County began in 2015. The partnership has allowed MDPLS to increase awareness in the citizenship process and encouraged the continuity of developing similar partnerships to expand the Library’s reach. To illustrate, MDPLS has partnered with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The collaboration has offered residents a wealth of citizenship resources and services throughout its 49 branches. To date, MDPLS has hosted three citizenship ceremonies with approximately 500 participants in attendance; participating branches regularly offer USCIS Neighborhood Resource Units, and display information via the “Citizenship Corners.”