I had the opportunity to attend the “Community Co-Design: How to Collaborate with Your Community” training event put on by Library Journal. This was a 3-week course full of valuable and useful information. Some of the main points I took away include: Co-Design is a participatory process that works to find solutions with rather than for your community; the power is shared – everyone is an equal partner; Co-design requires exploring the mindsets we hold as well as identifying implicit bias; Co-design is a non-linear process and requires time but even with limited time, can happen; Relationships are the foundation of co-design and are a valid source of knowledge; Start a Co-design process with allies in the library or in your professional circle and expand from there. I look forward to using my knowledge from this course to work collaboratively with other agencies in my community. Thank you, Prairielands for the opportunity to attend this training!
