Summer library programs are a celebration of engagement, belonging, and literacy for communities across the country.
Through questioning, conversation, reflection, and careful consideration of intentionality, tradition, and partnership, The Pennsylvania Summer Library Program gives library staff the language, tools, and competencies to seek out systemically marginalized voices to actively and collaboratively design and deliver library services.
Understanding our purposes and reasons for providing summer services is essential to fostering genuine inclusivity and belonging. When we think about our “why” of summer services, it may take many different forms - opportunities, interests, education, literacy, and relationships with community members. As we consider these intentions, it’s essential to center the community rather than focus on what the library does or offers.
This can be a challenge, especially when our work is so library focused and time and energy feel like they’re at a premium. By taking the time for an equity pause, the opportunity to re-imagine, re-evaluate, and re-think opens up to us. It helps us to understand if what feels like tradition actually holds us back or builds up more barriers to engagement. Embracing a mindset of wonder and curiosity in how we approach summer services and the structure of summer programs allows us to reflect on what the community’s strengths and challenges are.
The voices of your community - especially those often unheard - are the heart of this work. It can be daunting to talk with community members, especially when vulnerability and bravery is required to make meaning and progress. In order to build those transformational relationships library staff must work toward relational partnerships, power sharing with communities, and giving up control over all aspects of summer programming. That alone can be an intimidating process, but understanding who does and does not engage with library summer services is crucial to designing and implementing truly equitable services.
All of this work does take time and intentionality, but the strong outcomes that it produces lifts communities and celebrates success. Part of that means asking ourselves how we know that these programs and services are impactful and add value. Defining success through the lens of your unique community is essential in understanding how library staff can continue to build relationships and support communities during the summer.
Building Equity-Based Summers (BEBS) empowers libraries to design summer services that are built on a foundation of equity and designed with the community to ensure systemically marginalized groups engage in library services in new ways.
In 2020, the California State Library (CSL) and the California Library Association (CLA) made a commitment to work with library staff across the state to learn the why, how, and what of equity-based summer services. In order to serve communities successfully, libraries must re-envision summer services and traditional activities that focus on those who already visit the library on a regular basis. This shift requires libraries to work with community members and organizations to develop services and programs that highlight assets and challenges of systemically non-dominant communities. This is often done through co-design, a process by which people design with each other instead of for each other.
Fourteen libraries engaged in deep conversations about equity and about library summer services and communities. Co-designers learned more about what it takes to lay a foundation of equity in summer services and began to consider how to train other library staff in this work. As a result, a Workbook was developed to help more libraries engage in equity-based summers design and implementation. In 2022, CLA was awarded funding by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Pennsylvania joined the BEBS project for its second year, and in early 2024, we worked closely with library staff from five different libraries to intentionally reimagine summer services with equity at the beginning, center, and post-summer celebration. In 2025, we welcomed three additional libraries to engage.
BEBS is the foundation for summer roundtables, the summer showcase, and the summer impact report.
BEBS outlines Equity Principles and Indicators of Summer Services.
Learn more about the BEBS IMLS project.
2025 Collaborative Summer Library Program Theme: Color Our World : (Colorea Nuestro Mundo) – Art (Mike Mullan)
Collaborative Summer Library Program Resources for Libraries
Collaborative Summer Library Program Summer Symposium
Looking for access to the Collaborative Summer Library Program manual? Reach out to Corri Hines (cohines@pa.gov) for more info.
Interested in being featured in the Collaborative Summer Library Program Manual? Submit a programming idea!
Stay connected with the Collaborative Summer Library Program by signing up for their mailing list.
The Pennsylvania Summer Library Program Showcase on the Pennsylvania Library Staff Academy celebrates exemplary and innovative library programming that creates value, equity, and joy for all ages in Pennsylvania. Through this online showcase, library staff have access to Summer information and resources developed by library staff from across the Commonwealth. Contributors share their expertise with you on their programming experiences from their summer programs and describe a variety of engaging events and activities for all ages.
Past Showcases
If you don't have a PA Library Staff Academy account, you can request access by clicking on this link.
Join colleagues across the state for great discussion on planning for summer with intentionality and equity at the center in informal, collaborative roundtable sessions. Share your excitement and energy through constructive and interactive conversation on why libraries are positioned to provide the most excellent and equitable library programs and services to all ages. Everyone is invited to listen in and speak out about how libraries can serve whole communities.
Register for the following Pennsylvania Summer Library Program 2025 Roundtable Sessions
Thursday, January 9, 1:30 – 3:00 PM: Color Our World
Celebrate the Collaborative Summer Library Program “Color Our World” theme in joyful conversation with colleagues. The Collaborative Summer Library Program 2025 Summer Symposium “Let Learning Color Our World” took place on Thursday, December 5, 2024, and is recordings are now available on the Collaborative Summer Library Program website. Share your excitement and energy for this year’s theme and symposium and share your approach to engaging your community.
Thursday, February 13, 1:30 – 3:00 PM: Excellent and Equitable Programming
Summer library programming is for everyone, from big to small! At this roundtable session, we will discuss the forthcoming Summer 2025 Showcase on the PA Library Staff Academy. Bring your favorite ideas for your library’s 2025 program for any and all ages to share with colleagues to generate energy and excitement around working with and for your unique community. We can’t wait to see what you plan and how it’s going to support your unique community.
Thursday, March 13, 1:30 – 3:00 PM: Connecting with Community Voices
Our communities and partners are a fantastic resource in powering summer library programming. In order to truly center equity in our summer programs, embedding community voices must be a part of summer services design and implementation. Join in on discussion about active listening, relationship building, relational partnerships, and power sharing to support authentic connections between library staff and community members. Thinking about how to reach communities that don’t engage with the library? Relationship building can take patience. In this session, we’ll explore strategies to build better community partnerships with a public servant approach. We recommend viewing the Building Equity-Based Summers workbook section “Connecting with Community Voices” before attending the session.
Pennsylvania Summer Library Program 2024 Impact Report
The purpose of the Pennsylvania Summer Library Program Impact Report is to
Information for completing the Pennsylvania Summer Library Program 2024 Impact Report
For the Summer 2024 Impact Report, the Bureau of Library Development is changing its approach of collecting feedback and data from participating children, teens, and adults. Instead of using the standard Participant Summer Survey as in previous years, we're giving libraries the flexibility to create and distribute their own surveys. This allows libraries to tailor questions to better suit the specific needs and interests of each unique community. We encourage you to collect the information that you find most valuable for understanding and communicating the impact of your summer programming.
The impact report submission form will close at 5:00 PM on Friday, September 20, 2024. A copy of the information submitted to the report collector will be sent via automated email to the email address provided to Impact Report.