CURRENT POSITION Community Connections Librarian, Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library, KS DEGREE MSLIS, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 2001 FAST FACT Staley has written 21 NaNoWriMo first drafts but has never tried to edit or publish her own novels. FOLLOW linkedin.com/in/lissa-staley-3761a341; tscpl.org/trivia Photo by Michael A. Foley

Inreach and Outreach

Rather than outreach, Lissa Staley focuses on “inreach,” inviting local agencies into the library to assist patrons with mental health screenings, Medicaid and health insurance information, FAFSA applications, workforce support, family legal and emergency aid, GED classes, and small business mentoring. In collaboration with the United Way of Kaw Valley, she brought in a Community Navigator program, where social work interns and volunteers help residents navigate social services every weekday in Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library’s (TSCPL) dedicated Community Resources office.

Brenda Hough, staff development coordinator at TSCPL, says the Community Navigator project wouldn’t exist without Staley’s tenacity and the trust she has built with community organizations.

Staley also trains staff to use the WellSky Kansas Community Network, a database of healthcare and social service organizations, to connect people to vital community resources. She promotes the database in the community and serves on the advisory panel to ensure that listings are accurate and comprehensive. In addition, she has represented the library through Heartland Healthy Neighborhoods and Heartland Visioning meetings, Greater Topeka Partnership’s Momentum 2022 strategic planning, and Stormont Vail Hospital’s Patient and Family Partnership Council for Quality and Safety. Addressing community members’ needs also means having meaningful conversations. To that end Staley helped add circulating Conversation Kits to the library’s collection, and incorporates them into programming. These kits contain decks of question cards and interactive games, aimed at a range of ages, to spark dialogue on a variety of interests.

“I want each person to feel seen and validated for their choice to come to the library,” Staley says. “I want every person to know we’re glad they’re here.”