The Suffolk Public Library system has been named one of 10 that will benefit from the Libraries Transforming Communities Public Innovators program.

The American Library Association program provides in-person training, webinars and coaching valued at $50,000 to four Suffolk Public Library staff members. The employees will learn new community engagement techniques and apply them to challenges in the Suffolk area, and the library will also receive an $8,000 cash grant to help cover the cost of new community engagement work, according to a press release from the city.

“We’re thrilled to have been selected to be a part of such a prestigious group of libraries,” said Sarah Townsend, outreach services manager and LTC project director. “We’re looking forward to stretching ourselves creatively and building on the good work already being done in Suffolk to be leaders of innovation in the community.”

The program aims to help libraries strengthen their role as community leaders and change agents. The selected libraries represent a range of American communities in terms of size (from the Red Hook, N.Y., Public Library, population 1,900, to the Los Angeles Public Library, population 3.8 million) as well as location, diversity and socioeconomic status. But all the communities face challenges that include high illiteracy rates, unemployment, access to services and technology or an influx of new population.

The intensive, 18-month program is an American Library Association partnership with The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation and is funded through a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

“Public libraries have long served as trusted and treasured institutions, and librarians today can leverage that strong position for the betterment of their communities,” said ALA President Barbara Stripling. “As a longtime champion of library-led community engagement and innovation, ALA is primed to provide the tools and support that will enable librarians to more effectively fulfill this vital role.”