Smart Investing

This chapter describes the Orange County Library System’s financial literacy workshops and highlights the partnerships that made them a success. While the library system received a grant that helped get the project started, its partners brought expertise and a connection with the target audience that the library alone could not have provided. This project illustrates how community partnerships are a mutually beneficial way for public libraries to establish themselves as a resource for unbiased and reliable information. In addition to the describing the partnerships, this chapter will also focus on the ingredients believed to be the keys to success. The authors hope the experience can serve as a motivator and template for public libraries everywhere wanting to further establish themselves as information resources with community partnership assistance.