Partnering Across Town – How Libraries, Parks, and Museums can host Community Events Together

A community wide event can introduce residents to everything their town has to offer. For a library balancing programs, staffing, and budgets, sharing the work with parks and museums can make a bigger event more manageable.

Each partner brings different strengths, spaces, and community connections. Here are five steps to put those resources to work together.

1. Start with a shared purpose.

Bring one planning contact from each organization together. Agree on who you want to reach and what you want residents to experience. A family discovery day, local history celebration, or summer kickoff gives everyone a shared theme. Choose a size your combined teams can comfortably manage.

2. Pool what you already have.

List what each partner can contribute: spaces, staff, equipment, supplies, and expertise. For a family discovery day, the library might provide storytime, the parks department could offer a venue and nature activities, and museum educators might lead hands-on demonstrations.

For practical ideas, explore ALA’s Building Successful Library-Museum Partnerships, which links to recent research and real examples of libraries and museums sharing expertise, reaching new audiences, and creating programs together.  54.2% of one children’s museum member survey mentioned that they are already collaborating with their local library.

3. Put responsibilities in writing.

Name an event coordinator and assign leads for the budget, volunteers, setup, and cleanup. Record each partner’s contributions, shared expenses, and deadlines. Confirm venue capacity, accessibility, restrooms, any required permits, and a weather backup before promoting the event.

4. Give residents one clear invitation.

Create one event name, a shared schedule, and a central information page. Have every partner promote the same details through newsletters, websites, and community contacts. Make parking, registration, costs, and accessibility information easy for families to find.

5. Plan how you’ll show the impact.

Agree on how you’ll count overall attendance without counting the same visitors at every activity. Track activity participation separately, and ask visitors a few feedback questions. Afterward, review what worked with your partners and share results with your boards to help guide future events.

ALA’s Partnering for Stronger Programming toolkit offers planning tools for goals, contributions, and collaboration. Invite two potential partners to a conversation this month.

Your next great community tradition could start there!