The Cozby Library and Community Commons has received the Demco/Upstart Innovative Programming Award in the public libraries category for its Meet Your Neighbor project. The library will be awarded a plaque and $1000 at the Texas Library Association annual conference in April.
Meet Your Neighbor is a series of panel discussions that highlights the diversity of the Coppell community and fosters mutual understanding and appreciation among community members. Each panel consists of three to four citizens from the community who share their personal stories and life experiences and answer questions from the audience. Past panels have shared experiences related to immigration, faith, disability, race, and gender identity and sexual orientation.
The library works with the Community Builders Committee, which consists of library staff and residents, to identify important topics for the City of Coppell. The project provides a safe place for community members to share their stories, answer questions, and address stereotypes and misconceptions. This project has been an innovative way for underserved populations to have a voice in the community. Meet Your Neighbor has also increased the library’s visibility in the community, and contributed to its success in transitioning its services into the online environment.
The Demco/Upstart Innovative Programming Award recognizes two libraries each year – one school and one for all other library types (i.e., public, academic, special) – that have implemented innovative programs. The goal of the award is to make good ideas and practices of an innovative program visible and, thereby, enlarge the history of choices and alternatives that others can draw upon to design programs to fit the unique characteristics of their own institutions and the communities they serve.
For more information, please visit the Library page, call 972-304-3658 or email the Library.