We’re thrilled to announce the launch of P2PU Teams, an institutional membership program designed to support library systems and other informal learning organizations develop thriving open access learning networks in their area.
This is an exciting move for our non-profit and global grassroots community! While our work has always been driven by our mission of cultivating accessible peer-learning communities, our funding sources vary and can sometimes result in a wandering path towards our goals.
By building these new relationships with Teams, not only will we be able to directly support the growth of large learning circle networks around the world, we’ll also be able to focus more time on building open-source tools and resources that are directly informed by our most active facilitators and learners.
Before we go any further, we’ll say loudly:
P2PU was founded on the conviction that education is a social good, not a commodity to be paywalled, and that’s not going away. Learning circles will always be free to facilitate and participate in. P2PU’s software tools and facilitation resources will always remain open source/open access.
How We Arrived Here
We first introduced the idea of a membership program at the 2019 P2PU Gathering in Boston during a session on the long-term sustainability of P2PU. In community with a group of facilitator and organizers from around the world, we landed on three mutually-beneficial goals that a P2PU membership program should seek to achieve:
- Better align the day-to-day work that happens at P2PU with the needs of our partners and create space for libraries to collectively inform the strategic priorities of the organization
- Jointly-fund projects of mutual benefit that a single library wouldn’t take on
- Provide a reliable revenue base that allows P2PU to continue to offer learning circles as a free and open access program to both participants and facilitators in perpetuity
We’ve now spent the better part of two years refining the details of such a membership program, developing something that we believe provides concrete value to our library partners without compromising our commitment to grassroots, open access education. We’ve affirmed the following six benefits for membership, each of which can deepen the impact of learning circles:
- Staff Professional Development: P2PU-led learning circles and quarterly meetings to support the unique goals of each partner.
- 1:1 Support: Comprehensive guidance and support from the P2PU team to ensure staff feel supported and learning circles run smoothly and effectively.
- Community-Powered OER Library: Ongoing adaptation and development of online courses and facilitator guides that respond to the learning needs of our partners.
- Software for Teams: Organization-wide suite of tools to help promote, manage, and evaluate your learning circle program.
- Community of Practice: Global community of educators that shapes the vision and strategy of P2PU and learning circles.
- Discounted Additional Services: 20% discount on all additional services, including building new courses, hosting in-person workshops, and developing custom software tools.
Meet our Founding Partners
We are proud and excited to be starting this journey alongside so many of our longest standing partners:
 Boston Public Library Boston, MA, USA See team page |  Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, PA, USA See team page |  Chicago Public Library Chicago, IL, USA See team page |
 Kansas City Public Library Kansas City, MO, USA See team page |  Los Angeles Public Library Los Angeles, CA, USA See team page |  Providence Public Library Providence, RI, USA See team page |
 Saint Paul Public Library Saint Paul, MN, USA See team page |  Spokane County Library District Spokane, WA, USA See team page |  Wichita Public Library Wichita, KS, USA See team page |
P2PU team membership costs operate at a sliding scale based on each organization’s annual operating budget. We welcome libraries and community organizations of all shapes and sizes who are committed to charting a better future for open access, community-based learning around the world.
To see full details or contact our team for more information, visit p2pu.org/teams or email us at thepeople@p2pu.org.