Community engagement programs include:

• Supporting local teachers in developing classroom projects that use the Library’s research resources.
• Partnering teachers with library experts to create new learning experiences to build early information literacy and research skills.
• Creating teaching resources that incorporate primary source materials from the John Hay Library and publicly accessible digital repositories.
• Providing opportunities for teachers and their classes to visit the Library and experience the Brown campus.
• Increasing Library support for Brown programs and faculty members who work directly with local schools and college readiness programs.
• Welcoming local students to campus and helping them become familiar with higher education early on.

Through the Library’s partnership with Providence schools, we:

• Added 42,000 books to the Providence Public Schools collection, including Spanish-language titles, art books, manga, and classroom sets, during the 2024-25 academic year.
• Brought authors Jacqueline Woodson and Jason Reynolds to meet local students.
• Conducted professional development sessions for local teachers and librarians.
• Organized field trips for high school students to visit local institutions like Roger Williams Park and the Museum of Work and Culture.

Learn more about Brown University’s partnership with Providence Schools on Brown’s K-12 Education Hub.

Providence is home to ten public libraries located throughout the city. The Brown Library partners with, supports, and amplifies their work.

Partnering with the Community Libraries of Providence and Providence Public Library, we support literacy programming for K-5 Providence students. The Summer with Your PVD Libraries program aims to mitigate summer learning loss by offering events, books, and supplies to engage students.