Rural and Small Public Libraries: Challenges and Opportunities
Rural and small public libraries provide invaluable services to their communities. These information institutions operate in areas that, when compared to national averages, have poor broadband accessibility and weaker connection speeds, low home internet adoption rates, higher unemployment rates, and less per capita access to doctors and other healthcare providers. Public libraries help to bridge these divides and help to mitigate the impact of these geographic and socioeconomic disadvantages. However, librarians are only able to do so much when they are funded by limited, primarily local revenues and are not able to achieve economies of scale that come with larger service population bases. Thus, this volume begins by defining the challenges that rural and small libraries face before shifting to an analysis of ways that these obstacles can be overcome or mitigated. Building off of this foundation, the authors explore ideas for enhancing community partnerships and outreach, using rural and small public libraries as centers for local cultural heritage activities, and training rural public librarians to better serve their publics. The authors of this volume bridge the gap between academic research and practical application, creating a volume that will allow rural librarians, trustees, and their allies to argue for greater support and enact change to benefit their service communities.
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Rural and Small Public Libraries: Challenges and Opportunities
Rural and small public libraries provide invaluable services to their communities. These information institutions operate in areas that, when compared to national averages, have poor broadband accessibility and weaker connection speeds, low home internet adoption rates, higher unemployment rates, and less per capita access to doctors and other healthcare providers. Public libraries help to bridge these divides and help to mitigate the impact of these geographic and socioeconomic disadvantages. However, librarians are only able to do so much when they are funded by limited, primarily local revenues and are not able to achieve economies of scale that come with larger service population bases. Thus, this volume begins by defining the challenges that rural and small libraries face before shifting to an analysis of ways that these obstacles can be overcome or mitigated. Building off of this foundation, the authors explore ideas for enhancing community partnerships and outreach, using rural and small public libraries as centers for local cultural heritage activities, and training rural public librarians to better serve their publics. The authors of this volume bridge the gap between academic research and practical application, creating a volume that will allow rural librarians, trustees, and their allies to argue for greater support and enact change to benefit their service communities.
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Rural and Small Public Libraries: Challenges and Opportunities

Rural and Small Public Libraries: Challenges and Opportunities

Rural and Small Public Libraries: Challenges and Opportunities

Rural and Small Public Libraries: Challenges and Opportunities

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Overview

Rural and small public libraries provide invaluable services to their communities. These information institutions operate in areas that, when compared to national averages, have poor broadband accessibility and weaker connection speeds, low home internet adoption rates, higher unemployment rates, and less per capita access to doctors and other healthcare providers. Public libraries help to bridge these divides and help to mitigate the impact of these geographic and socioeconomic disadvantages. However, librarians are only able to do so much when they are funded by limited, primarily local revenues and are not able to achieve economies of scale that come with larger service population bases. Thus, this volume begins by defining the challenges that rural and small libraries face before shifting to an analysis of ways that these obstacles can be overcome or mitigated. Building off of this foundation, the authors explore ideas for enhancing community partnerships and outreach, using rural and small public libraries as centers for local cultural heritage activities, and training rural public librarians to better serve their publics. The authors of this volume bridge the gap between academic research and practical application, creating a volume that will allow rural librarians, trustees, and their allies to argue for greater support and enact change to benefit their service communities.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781787431126
Publisher: Emerald Publishing Limited
Publication date: 11/17/2017
Series: Advances in Librarianship , #43
Pages: 240
Product dimensions: 6.26(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.59(d)

Table of Contents

1. Introduction - Rural Public Libraries in Academic and Political Contexts; Brian Real 
2. Rural Libraries and the Human Right to Internet Access; Claire Petri  
3. Rural Public Libraries in America: Continuing and Impending Challenges; Brian Real and Norman Rose 
4. Exploring Rural Public Library Assets for Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD); Karen Miller 
5. A Gap Analysis of the Perspectives of Small Businesses and Rural Librarians in Tennessee: Developments towards a Blueprint for a Public Library Small Business Toolkit; Bharat Mehra, Bradley Wade Bishop, and Robert P. Partee II 
6. Rural Librarians as Change Agents in the 21st Century: Applying Community Informatics in the Southern and Central Appalachian Region to Further ICT Literacy Training; Bharat Mehra, Vandana Singh, Natasha Hollenbach, and Robert P. Partee II 
7. Defining Community Archives within Rural South Carolina; Travis L. Wagner and Bobbie Bischoff 
8. Exhibiting America: Moving Image Archives and Rural or Small Libraries; Jennifer L. Jenkins 
9. Rural and Small Libraries: The Tribal Experience; Jennifer L. Jenkins, Guillermo Quiroga, Kari Quiballo, Herman A. Peterson, and Rhiannon Sorrell
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