HELPING YOUR ORGANIZATION'S LEADERS MEET THEIR GOALS

FOR SCHOOL, ACADEMIC AND SPECIAL LIBRARIES

Colorado Virtual Library http://aclin.org/

BNA's Web Watch http://www.bna.com/webwatch/

The Virtual Chase http://virtualchase.com/

National Library of Medicine - for both publicly available research and for outreach to at risk communities - see Becky Hebert http://libraryjournal.com/article/CA510770.html

Lisa von Drasek http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6423416.html

Susan Gibbons and her university's institutional repository http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA510567.html

University of Michigan Digital Library Production Service http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/c/collsize/collsize

FOR PUBLIC LIBRARIES

Jose Aponte http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA281649.html says, "What do most people care about? Public safety, employment, housing, and education — and the library speaks to all of those needs." Crime? Libraries are a sanctuary for at-risk kids, on the loose after school lets out. Employment? Libraries offer help wanted ads and books and programming on job-hunting, résumé writing, computer literacy, and ESL. Housing? Libraries provide books and workshops on home remodeling, the home buying process, and financial planning. Education? Librarians teach children to love reading, provide homework help, and offer guidance on college planning, SATs, and financial aid."

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. Physical presence as agent of downtown revitalization - Chicago model; Seattle Public Library; Kankakee Public Library http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA510557.html
2. Workforce training, career planning, resume writing, jobhunting. Queens Library,
3. Research for small business and entrepreneurs - Brooklyn Public Library's entrepreneurship contest, Multnomah County Library's "Small Business Incubator" http://www.multcolib.org/biz/; White Plains Public Library's Center for Business, Jobs and Nonprofits, http://wppl.lib.ny.us/collections/cbjn/index.shtml
4. Bringing outside funds, from grants and fundraising, into the community
5. Making the community a more attractive place to live - Cerritos Public Library, Salt Lake City Public Library being used by realtors as selling points
6. Nonprofit Resource Centers; grantsmanship programs and resources;

SAFETY AND HEALTH

1. after-school programming for kids
2. work with at-risk kids - Austin Public Library's Wired for Youth, Johnson County Library's work with kids in juvenile detention centers,
3. safer neighborhoods: near North branch of Chicago Public Library
4. Collaborate with police, fire departments on programs like fire safety in the home, home security systems, self-defense, family emergency plans,
5. programs on current topics like the Medicare Drug Prescription plan, Southfield Library's Swinging into School Health series covering immunizations, nutrition, vision, dental care, etc.
6. partnerships with local health agencies for cholesterol screening, blood pressure checks, flu shots
7. "Sick Kids' kits" - Cleveland Heights-University Heights Library
8. Medical resource centers: Williamsburg Regional Library's Cancer Resource Center http://www.westcancer.org/index/index.html , Boulder Public Library's Grillo Health Information Center http://www.grillocenter.org/

HOUSING

1. Programs on home ownership and home remodeling - Queens Library, Hartford Public Library http://ww2.hplct.org/homeownership/Homeownership_English.htm;
2. Tacoma Public Library's Building Index, and guide for researching your house's history http://www.tpl.lib.wa.us/Page.aspx?nid=7
3. Tool Libraries, and instructions in how to use them: Oakland Public Library http://www.oaklandlibrary.org/Branches/temtll.htm and Berkeley Public Library

EDUCATION AND PARENTING

1. Early childhood literacy: Grow Up Reading, http://www.growupreading.org/ ; Books for Babies
2. adult literacy
3. ESL
4. Homework Help
5. SAT preparation and help with college and financial aid applications
6. Collaboration with schools - Howard County Library's A+ Partners in Education http://www.hclibrary.org/partners/index.php
7. Parenting information: Lakewood Public Library's Parents Page http://www.lkwdpl.org/parents/
8. Reed Memorial Library's "Hi, New Baby List, books to introduce children to the idea that there's going to be a new baby in the house

HELPING THE COMMUNITY ARTICULATE ITS VALUES

Through focus groups, community meetings, online surveys, interactive blogs, to set goals for strategic planning, building programs

Community forums to address pressing local issues

TELLING THE COMMUNITY'S STORY

Collaboration with local museums and historical and genealogical societies in programs, exhibits

Digitizing local history - Tacoma Public Library

Gathering oral history, pictures, stories from residents - Picture Ann Arbor; Arapahoe Library District's Capture Centennial Photo and Poetry Contest

Storytelling Festival - Tapestry of Tales http://www.multcolib.org/events/tales/, Tampa-Hillsborough County Storytelling Festival, http://www.tampastory.org/tsf_fest.htm , many others.

Participation and/or sponsorship of History Day events

PROMOTING CITIZENSHIP

Citizenship and acculturation classes - Queens Library"s New Americans Program, <http://queenslibrary.org/?page_nm=NAP+-+Programs>, Hartford Public Library's The American Place <http://ww2.hplct.org/tap/TAP.htm>

Programs on local issues - Johnson County Library's Community Issues 101 program series, Hartford Public Library's "Democracy in Action Week," where city and state officials discuss important public issues like "The Clean Water Project" and "Life after Landfill," Fort Vancouver PL Program "The 2006 Election Results: What Do They Mean?" Fairfield (CT) Public Library's seminars on peaceful conflict resolution; Princeton Public Library's "Politics New Jersey" series of events.

September Project programs <http://www.theseptemberproject.org/>

Voter and issue guides - The Informed Decision http://www.thelibrary.org/informed/index.cfm; Minneapolis Public Library's Issues of Local Concern <http://www.mplib.org/list.asp?subhead=About+Minneapolis:Issues+of+Local+Concern>; Tulsa City-County Library Gov Docs room's Hot Topics pages, <http://www.tulsalibrary.org/govdocs/>; Darien Public Library's Community Matters Blog <http://www.darien.org/communitymatters/blog/>

assistance with e-government forms

Giving local officials an opportunity to speak with citizens in formal and informal events

CONNECTING PEOPLE WITH COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS AND ASSISTANCE

Memphis Public Library's 211 service

Community agency directories - Queens Library, http://queenslibrary.org/index.aspx?page_nm=Community+Information, Skokie <http://www.skokienet.org/american/index.html >

Providing web space for community organizations - Lakewood Public Library <http://www.lkwdpl.org/>,

Allen County Public Library's Area Artists Database; Multnomah County Library's Farmers Market Finder and information guide

Providing full rage of services for people with handicaps - King County Library's Access for All program, <http://www.kcls.org/sws/subcategories.cfm?parentid=472>

services to homebound

Partnerships with cultural organizations for passes to museums, concerts, parks, zoos

Christmas decorating with mittens and caps to be given to needy children; fines for food exchanges

CONNECTING PEOPLE WITH TECHNOLOGY

Community Technology Centers - Oberlin Public Library <http://www.oberlin.net/~thebridge/, Springfield-Greene County Library <http://www.thelibrary.org/edge/index.cfm>, Darien Technology Foundation Center <http://www.darienlibrary.org/techcenter/; Hartford Public Library's Neighborhood Technology Centers

Technology Training, formal and informal, physical and virtual

Princeton Public Library's Gadget Garage <http://www.princetonlibrary.org/research/techcenter/gadgetgarage.html>

Darien Public Library's circulating Laptops, MP3 players, eBooks, USB drives, wireless network cards

King County Library System's circulating assistive devices http://www.kcls.org/about/ada.cfm

CONNECTING PEOPLE WITH EACH OTHER

Wilton Library

One City One Book; PLCMC's "Drop Everything and Read Day" http://www.charlottereads.org/mediaarchive.asp

Online book clubs

Intergenerational reading groups - Cuyahoga County Library's "It's a Guy Thing discussion group for boys and men;

Cleveland Public Library's SeniorsConnect <http://www.seniorsconnect.org/ hosts discussion forums for seniors

Bemis Public Library's veterans oral history project <>

MetLife Reading America program <http://www.lff.org/programs/readingamerica.html

Use of community rooms and cable for public issue programming: Princeton Public Library, Southfield Public Library -- soccer world cup matches, election night coverage, Indian Ocean tsunami coverage;

A Day in Allen County on Flickr <http://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelsphotos/434085021/>

Community festivals - Everett Public Library's Librarypalooza; Princeton Public Library's Librarypalooza; Iowa City Public Library co-sponsors Children's Day and Art City;

Inclusiveness for all ethnic groups, age groups: programs and physical and online exhibits that display the creative work of children and teens, Cleveland Public Library's SeniorsConnect, Homeschoolers' services and programs, multiethnic events and celebrations - Queens Library; Dia de los Niños /Dia de los Libros http://reforma.org/resources/ninos/dia.html

HELPING THE COMMUNITY COPE WITH CRISIS

Wilton Library

September 11

Hurricane Katrina

Missed opportunities