Building Equity Based Summers for California Libraries and Communities

Building Equity-Based Summers (BEBS) Project Overview

In 2020 and 2021 a group of 14 libraries from across California participated in a series of 21 co-design sessions. These sessions focused on using an equity lens to design and implement summer library services for and with community stakeholders. Through this work library staff were able to:

  • Develop a shared language and understanding of equity
  • Break-down the components of library summer services and analyze those using an equity lens
  • Begin to build summer services that integrate equity

Two summary documents are available to learn more about the outcomes and learning of the first year of the project:

The following libraries participated in the first year of the work:
Alameda County Library
Altadena Library District
Arcadia Public Library
City of Commerce Public Library
City of Santa Maria Public Library
Los Angeles Public Library
Madera County Library
Sacramento Public Library
San Diego County Library
San Diego Public Library
Santa Barbara Public Library
Tehama County Library
Torrance Public Library
Tulare County Library

What’s Next

In September 2021 the Building Equity-Based Summers Project launched its second year of the initiative. The work expanded to include an additional 5 libraries with two staff members from each library joining in the work (as well as new teams from two of the first-year libraries). These staff participated in a series of co-learning sessions in which they developed relationships and a shared language and understanding around equity.

The new libraries that joined the project in 2021 are:
Kern County Library
Redwood City Library
San Jose Public Library
Solano Public Library
Yolo County Library

7 teams of library staff, from the first year of work, returned in year two to collaborate in the design and development of a set of tools that will be made available to library staff across CA in support of integration of equity into summer library services.

Year two returning libraries are:
Arcadia Public Library
City of Commerce Public Library
City of Santa Maria Public Library
Los Angeles Public Library
Madera County Library
San Diego County Library
Santa Barbara Public Library

Our Stories
Do you have a story about the impact your equity-based summer services is having with your community? Do you have a story about the ways in which your summer equity work has helped you to re-imagine and change summer services? Please share your story with us!

Tell us your story using our impact form.

BEBS Library Spotlight coming soon

Learn More About Building Equity Through California Libraries and Communities