Dr. Noah Lenstra

Posted on August 03, 2020

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Dr. Noah Lenstra (Library & Information Science) received new funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services for the project “HEAL (Healthy Eating and Active Living) at the Library via Co-Developed Programming.”

The project will explore programming developed through partnerships between public libraries and community agencies. HEAL will view these emerging partnerships through the lens of health equity to distill best practices for co-developed programs in general. This will also shine light on how librarians can best integrate concepts from public health into public librarianship to support HEAL programming.

HEAL will use an iterative research design process based around the evidence-based Wilder Collaboration Factors Inventory, and case study techniques, to answer the question, “How, why, and with what impacts do public libraries collaborate with others to co-develop programming around healthy eating and active living?”

To focus the research, HEAL will address specific sub-questions:
• Internal practices — How and why do library staff incorporate partnerships into programming plans?
• Community — How does the library fit within community-level health initiatives and coalitions?
• Impact — How does access to health equity increase through these co-developed programs?

During this early career grant, led by Dr. Noah Lenstra at UNC Greensboro (UNCG), and an established Advisory Group, this project will unfold over three years in three phases. Phase 1 involves a case study methodology with fieldwork in 19 public libraries operating in strategically chosen communities across the U.S. that have all self-identified as offering co-developed HEAL programming. Phase 2 will create community conversations around the results of phase 1 at the national meetings of the Association for Rural and Small Libraries and the Public Library Association, as well as online with librarians and partners who were part of the case studies. The project culminates in Phase 3, featuring an online, one-day summit that disseminates findings and begins to build a multi-sectoral community of practice to better support the multi-sectoral networks emerging in local communities across the nation.

It is expected this project will address a gap in library service by identifying a set of best practices for co-developed programs between libraries and community partners. Few best practices have been developed to support co-developed programs in general, according to the American Library Association. Although this project focuses on the public library as a space to support health equity and literacy, its findings can be applied across multiple domains, including economic or workforce development. This lends HEAL the ability to have a broad impact while also addressing the critical issue of public health and wellness. Also, strategic collaborations are at the heart of this research, which will ultimately elevate the role of librarianship at the national level.

A significant component of HEAL is its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) plan that will leverage the diversity of the communities represented by the participating libraries and the diversity embedded in the multi-sectoral Advisory Group. HEAL’s partnerships and recruitment efforts “go to where the diversity is,” by viewing diversity through multiple lenses: racial and ethnic diversity, socioeconomic status and geographic distribution. Further, in the public health space, health equity and diversity are frequently conjoined: HEAL will explore to what extent co-developed programming supports access to health equity, which the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention defines as “when everyone has the opportunity to be as healthy as possible.”

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