Do you feel confident that people in your community are ready to stand up and say they value the services your library provides?  Better yet, is your library providing services that meet the needs?

Teaming up with your community's restaurants is a great way to raise money for your library, and a fine way to connect & collaborate with local businesses. Here are two examples of successful Dine Out for the Library events.  Have you done a restaurant collaboration fundraiser also?  Please leave a comment if your library has done one too! Caestecker Public Library (Green Lake):

At the blog 658.8 – Practical Marketing for Public Libraries, Susan Brown shares ideas you can use to build local partnerships in your community.  She says, "In an era of decreased budgets, over-stretched staff, and limited resources, partnerships make more sense than ever."

Read Best Small Library in America 2012: The Independence Public Library, KS to learn how the library's small staff of 8 strove to save it from closure, by building relationships within the community and with local legislators.