INTRODUCTION:
People do not experience systems. They experience dead ends: a referral that goes nowhere, a form they cannot understand, a phone number that never answers, a rule that changes depending on who you ask. In communities with deep inequities, these friction points stack, especially for residents navigating multiple needs, language barriers, or distrust of institutions. Public libraries are among the few non-stigmatizing spaces where people already go for help. This workshop positions libraries as interveners in access breakdowns by designing better handoffs, convening partners, and building simple accountability loops that make help easier to reach.

METHODS:
This interactive workshop shares a replicable intervention model developed through a library-led strategy and implementation approach and adaptable to diverse settings. Participants will work through four steps. First, mapping the local navigation ecosystem and identifying high-friction handoffs such as information gaps, referral drop-offs, and duplication. Second, defining an intervention role for libraries such as navigation supports, partnership convening, and shared protocols, with clear boundaries and ethical considerations. Third, designing cross-sector governance for coordinated execution, including roles, decision rights, escalation pathways, and an accountability cadence. Fourth, building a lightweight monitoring and learning system using a short set of indicators, feedback loops, and reporting routines to guide continuous improvement. The session uses small-group design sprints, facilitated peer exchange, and take-home templates.

RESULTS:
Participants will leave with four practical products. A draft ecosystem map and list of priority breakdowns to address. A one-page library as intervener intervention blueprint. A partnership governance outline. A starter monitoring and learning framework for tracking navigation, coordination, and equity-related outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS:
Positioning libraries as interveners offers a practical, scalable health systems strengthening strategy. This workshop equips participants to move from community priorities to coordinated action supported by governance, measurement, and continuous learning.