As a member of Leadership Tomorrow’s 2025 flagship cohort, I have been immersed in the understanding that building healthy communities starts with ensuring individual well-being. Our diverse group of leaders from the private, nonprofit, and public sectors is dedicated to exploring regional challenges and fostering equity across the Puget Sound region. Throughout the program, we’ve examined the history and present-day impacts of systemic racism and are working on projects that advance racial equity. Together, we are building the leadership skills and collaborative tools needed to create communities where people from all backgrounds can thrive.
A key framework we’ve explored comes from the City of San Diego’s “Building Better Health, Living Safely” initiative. This model defines a healthy community through five crucial areas: Health, Knowledge, Standard of Living, Community, and Social. These align closely with the Social Determinants of Health (SDOH), which are the social and environmental conditions that impact people’s health and quality of life. The framework emphasizes equity over equality—it acknowledges that some groups need more resources to reach their full health potential. By addressing inequities in access to healthcare, education, economic stability, and community cohesion, this approach seeks to correct systemic disparities. While designed for San Diego, this framework can be applied universally to create healthier, more equitable environments in any community.
As librarians, we often center our equity efforts on improving access to books, services, and programs. However, true equity work requires us to go beyond and consider the broader picture of community health. This means recognizing that the well-being of individuals, particularly in marginalized communities, is deeply tied to systemic issues like poverty, discrimination, and access to essential resources. Libraries can play a crucial role by using frameworks like San Diego’s to ensure we contribute to healthier, more equitable communities—not just through our library collections, but through an empathetic approach and a restorative justice lens.
Shawn Ginwright, in his book The Four Pivots, introduces two key concepts that are vital to this deeper equity work: “Mirror Work” and “Problem to Possibility.” Mirror Work is about self-reflection, recognizing that true social justice starts within. Ginwright argues that before we can change systems, we need to examine our own beliefs, biases, and behaviors. For librarians and equity advocates, this means taking time for personal healing and addressing the internal struggles that can sometimes hinder our effectiveness. When we are emotionally well and self-aware, we can engage in community work with greater empathy, resilience, and impact.
Similarly, the pivot from “Problem to Possibility” encourages a shift in perspective. Instead of focusing solely on problems and limitations, we can reframe challenges as opportunities for growth, healing, and innovation. In the library world, this could mean reimagining how we serve our communities, especially those who have historically been marginalized. Rather than viewing disparities in access as insurmountable problems, we can ask ourselves, “What’s possible?” and build programs, partnerships, and spaces that help our communities thrive.
Ultimately, by embracing holistic approaches to equity that focus not just on inequitable access to information but on overall community well-being, libraries can become powerful agents of social change. We have the opportunity to contribute to healthier, more resilient communities—starting with ourselves and extending to the people we serve, understanding what deeper healing means both for individuals and the broader community. I’ve had the privilege of working closely with urban Native communities in Seattle for the past seven years, and I often hear the word “healing.” I’m learning that there is no single remedy for their wounds—no medicine that can heal everything at once. It’s the togetherness, the sense of belonging, empathy, connection, listening, sharing stories, and creating a space for these to happen, over and over again. Like a drop of water sinking into the desert, slowly forming a pond, this continuous effort moves us toward a healthier community and collective well-being.
Through frameworks like San Diego’s Equity Framework and concepts like Ginwright’s Mirror Work, we can build a future where libraries are not just centers for learning but hubs for healing and transformation.
Mai Takahashi is a Children’s Service Librarian at the Seattle Public Library (SPL). She was born and raised in Japan and came to the US as an adult in 2003 and pursued a public librarianship since then. Her work at SPL involves a lot of partnership with the urban Indigenous/Indigiqueer communities and this is her 13th year at SPL. Mai was one of the ALSC EDI Fellows in 2020 and returned to the now permanent Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) committee as a co-chair. Outside of SPL and besides being a co-chair of the ALSC EDI committee and a co-chair of the City of Seattle AAPI caucus group, Mai enjoys hiking, standup comedy, and eating noodles.
This post addresses ALSC Core Competency #1: Commitment to Client Group and #V: Outreach and Advocacy.