Libraries and Scout Troops Make a Great Team

Have you ever considered having your scout meetings at the public library?

Scout troops are an excellent way for kids to find a sense of community and belonging while also learning valuable life skills, but troops often can’t keep running entirely on their own. A lot goes into running a scout troop, so many troop leaders look to public institutions for help. One of the most important institutions for these troops is the library, which provides many indispensable services without asking for anything in return.

Space for Troop Meetings

Scout troops need a place to meet regularly, and these meeting places are often public institutions like schools, parks, and, of course, libraries. Public libraries, however, have an edge over other institutions in this regard, providing a number of resources that others do not, as we’ll cover later on. Simply put, though, libraries offer a space for scout troops to gather regularly and conduct their business. 

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Hosting Fundraisers

If you have a local scout troop, chances are you’ve seen them fundraising door-to-door in the past, but probably not as much anymore. In recent times, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, fewer scout troops have encouraged scouts to sell door-to-door for safety reasons. While selling door-to-door isn’t exactly the safest method, popcorn sales are still one of the most important fundraisers for scout troops. So now, they prefer to set up camp in public spaces and sell from there. 

Generally, these areas are outside heavily visited businesses like grocery stores, but not all spaces will be as conducive to fundraising. Libraries, however, exist as community gathering centers, so they’re much more likely to support scouts in this manner. This makes them an excellent base of operations for scout troops by providing them a place to host regular meetings and work on their fundraising efforts.

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Helping Scouts Earn Badges

Scouting exists to prepare kids for the real world by teaching them essential life skills. When a scout masters a skill, they earn what’s called a merit badge as a way of tracking total progress. Each scout’s rank is determined by their number of merit badges and various other achievements, with the highest rank, Eagle, requiring twenty-one merit badges and completion of a service project that will have a lasting impact on the community.

 Of course, earning these badges often requires learning something about the subject, and what better place is there to learn than the library? Libraries can provide scouts with books on just about anything, from complex topics like computer science to a guide to roughing it out in the wilderness. This makes the scouting experience easier than ever, allowing anyone to learn these skills and move up in the ranks.

If you’d like to learn more about the many roles libraries play in our communities, feel free to visit us at EveryLibrary today!

Visit www.everylibrary.org to learn more about our work on behalf of libraries. 

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