scholarly journals Pathways to Wellbeing: Public Library Service in Rural Communities

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margo Elizabeth Gustina ◽  
Eli Guinnee ◽  
Hope Decker ◽  
Rick Bonney
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Field Research ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mutual Support ◽  
Rural Residents ◽  
Social Wellbeing ◽  
Positive Impacts

To answer the question ”If public libraries are a component of social wellbeing in rural communities, how are they successful?” we conducted, transcribed, coded, and analyzed interviews at eight field research sites in isolated rural communities distributed throughout the United States. If positive impacts on wellbeing are happening—as many assume—and if success is to be measured by those positive impacts—as many wish it could—it follows that a deeper investigation into the mechanisms involved will yield beneficial approaches that can be intentionally designed and implemented. Through this deeper investigation, we established how rural residents defined social wellbeing for themselves and how they describe the library’s role in that context. We found that rural residents forego access to standard amenities for access to deep social connections, natural resources, and community cultures of freedom and mutual support. We found long term multi-step supports, which we call pathways, through which libraries support wellbeing.

How Do Public Libraries Assist Small Businesses in Rural Communities? An Exploratory Qualitative Study in Tennessee

Libri ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 67 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bharat Mehra ◽  
Bradley Wade Bishop ◽  
Robert P. Partee II
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Small Business ◽  
Small Businesses ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Challenges ◽  
Information Poverty ◽  
Low Degrees

AbstractThe purpose of this qualitative study is to explore how public libraries assist small businesses in rural communities in the state of Tennessee in the United States. Tennessee’s rural residents, especially in its Appalachian counties, face debilitating economic and social challenges such as inadequate financial prospects, information poverty, unemployment and low degrees of information literacy and educational attainment. The article presents findings from interviews and focus groups with 25 public library small business liaison representatives gathering input about their needs, expectations and experiences with rural public libraries. The foci are the existing and proposed ways rural public libraries provide small business assistance and identify components of a

Estimation of GDP from public library usage: Turkey sample

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (4/5) ◽  
pp. 153-171
Author(s):  
Semanur Öztemiz ◽  
Mustafa Agah Tekindal
Keyword(s):  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Var Model ◽  
Library Services ◽  
Causality Test ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Integration Test ◽  
Library Users

PurposePublic libraries are institutions that provide information services to all citizens in a country and support the development of lifelong learning, awareness and creativity. All these provide an advantage for having a developed economy and being a developed society. This study aims to reveal the interaction between the gross domestic product (GDP) and public library usage in Turkey. The study also purposed to increase awareness of the economic benefits of public libraries.Design/methodology/approachIn the study, a vector autoregression (VAR) model and co-integration techniques were used. Johansen co-integration test was used examining the long-term relationship between the variables. Due to the variables moving together in the long term, the vector error-correction model was preferred instead of the VAR model, as a result.FindingsAccording to the causality test results, GDP was found to be affected when there was a change in the number of library users. According to the Granger causality test result, a change in GDP was also found to have a significant effect on the number of library users. All these indicate an interaction between GDP and public library usage in Turkey between 2001 and 2017.Social implicationsThe revealed interaction between GDP and the number of public library users can be useful for policymakers who are making decisions to develop public library services and to increase GDP.Originality/valueThe interaction between public library usage and GDP can be seen such as an unlikely combination. However, this study presented a mutual interaction between public library usage and GDP. The findings of the study will be of a great importance in developing countries to be motivated to make public library services better.

scholarly journals Public Library in the United States: Sanctuary of Sciences or Social Shelter?

2018 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina Y. Neshcheret
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Home Visiting ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
Social Institutions ◽  
The United States ◽  
Public Order ◽  
Legal Norms ◽  
Permanent Home ◽  
The Unemployed

Based on local normative acts regulating the rules of conduct in public libraries in the United States, the author analyses the most acute problems associated with non-observance of public order and violation of legal norms by people without definite occupation and permanent home visiting reading rooms. Personnel of the American libraries is concerned with the problem of relationship with the specified category of users representing a quite significant part of the total number of visitors. Of particular concern are the incidents of drug use. Libraries are very vulnerable, as open to everyone, and users can spend there as much time as they would wish. In order to solve the problems associated with stay in library of the unemployed and homeless visitors, libraries actively cooperate with the city’s social institutions and with local police departments. Libraries have always been the guardians of humanistic values; however, today they are vulnerable to the challenges of time; they are trying to find a compromise between their duty to serve all users (regardless of their social status) and the need to maintain public order. There is required serious and responsible work on the rules governing user behaviour for solving this challenging problem. Introduction of rules for readers is dictated primarily by the objective to provide the ability for libraries to fully fulfil their mission. Created to ensure the protection of rights, interests and safety of users and library staff, the rules should be based on the current legislation to avoid ambiguity and, at the same time, to be humane, “flexible” and focused on contemporary realities.

scholarly journals The Long-Run Effect of Public Libraries on Children: Evidence from the Early 1900s

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ezra Karger
Keyword(s):  
Educational Attainment ◽  
Census Data ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
The United States ◽  
Occupational Prestige ◽  
Compulsory Schooling ◽  
Library Construction ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Wage Income

Between 1890 and 1921, Andrew Carnegie funded the construction of 1,618 public libraries in cities and towns across the United States. I link these library construction grants to census data and measure the effect of childhood public library access on adult outcomes. Library construction grants increased children's educational attainment by 0.10 years, did not affect wage income, and increased non-wage income by 4%. These income effects are driven by occupational choice. Access to a public library caused children to shift away from occupations like manual labor, factory-work, and mining into safer and more prestigious occupations like farm-ownership, clerical, and technical jobs. I show that compulsory schooling laws had parallel effects on children, increasing educational attainment, non-wage income and occupational prestige without affecting wage income. Economists often rely solely on wage income to measure the returns to education. But public libraries and compulsory schooling laws in the early 1900s increased educational attainment and had positive effects on children's adult labor market outcomes without affecting wage income.

scholarly journals HAPPY WHERE I AM: HOME AND COMMUNITY PREFERENCES, TELEHEALTH, SOCIAL ISOLATION, AND WELLNESS OF OLDER RURAL RESIDENTS

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S357-S357
Author(s):  
Cassandra Cantave Burton
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Social Isolation ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Housing Stock ◽  
The United States ◽  
Small Towns ◽  
Rural Residents ◽  
Healthy Behaviors ◽  
Social Opportunities ◽  
Community Preferences

Abstract About 16 percent of adults 50-plus and 25 percent of 65-plus adults reside in rural areas or small towns in the United States . The percentage increases to rural communities could mean a higher prevalence of chronic disease, a higher disability rate, a lower prevalence of healthy behaviors, and a widening gap in life expectancy relative to the nation as a whole. Moreover, rural areas face additional obstacles and challenges such: Difficulty forming community partnerships because of proximity challenges; migration of younger individuals to cities for career and social opportunities, resulting in a smaller pool of potential caregivers; an aging housing stock that also may be unsafe and in need of repair; and inadequate resources available to meet the broad range of needs among older adults. AARP has been engaged with policy makers and community members to ensure that older residents who live in rural areas have access to community supports so they can remain in their homes and communities and have the services that they need as they get older. Presenters in this symposium will present data supporting AARP’s work to better the lives of older rural residents. Findings from AARP studies on home and community preferences, social isolation, telehealth and broadband access, and brain health will be presented.

IT and Collaborative Community Services

2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalie Greene Taylor ◽  
Ursula Gorham ◽  
Paul T. Jaeger ◽  
John Carlo Bertot
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Local Government ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
The United States ◽  
Community Services ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Government Agencies ◽  
Ongoing Research ◽  
Collaborative Community

The role that the Internet has played in redefining the activities of public sector organizations is well-documented. What has yet to be fully explored, however, are recent collaborations among community-oriented entities (local government agencies, public libraries, and non-profit organizations) to provide enhanced services through innovative uses of information technology. These collaborative community services are enhanced by information technology, but also framed within the context of the organizations supporting the services. Using data from the 2011-2012 Public Library Funding and Technology Access Survey (PLFTAS), and drawing upon ongoing research into e-government partnerships between libraries, government agencies, and community organizations as well as community-based civic engagement initiatives, this paper will frame this issue within the contexts of local e-government in the United States; the relationship between public libraries, e-government, and the Internet; and innovative partnerships between public libraries, local government, and nonprofit entities. The article discusses both best practices and common challenges among these partnerships as a guide to future projects.

Public Libraries

2018 ◽  
pp. 1040-1070
Author(s):  
Laura Karbach
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Parental Involvement ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
The United States ◽  
Library Services ◽  
Spanish Speaking ◽  
Library Use ◽  
Master Thesis ◽  
The Impact

The author, as part of a Master Thesis study, analyzes the impact public library services and programs have in the lives of local Mexican mothers with children attending school in the United States and provides suggestions on ways to improve outreach of services and support. Results related to library use, parental involvement, service and programs, challenges including funding, Spanish-speaking staff, pre-conceived ideas, and awareness issues, as well as the largest issue of outreach are all discussed. In addition, outreach solutions are offered and the overall benefits of the study are assessed.

E-Government Success in Public Libraries

2013 ◽  
pp. 41-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ursula Gorham ◽  
John Carlo Bertot ◽  
Paul T. Jaeger ◽  
Natalie Greene Taylor
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
The United States ◽  
Government Services ◽  
Recent Addition ◽  
Different Populations ◽  
Job Searching ◽  
Searching Skills ◽  
Insight Into

For much of their history in the United States, public libraries made services for immigrants a key part of their mission by offering them many long-term services, such as developing job searching skills and learning English as a second language. Internet-enabled services, such as navigating the citizenship process, establishing residency, and delivering other key functions through e-government, are a recent addition. This chapter reports the findings of a multi-method study that provides insight into the development of e-government partnerships in various realms (including immigration), highlighting the extent to which these partnerships enhance the ability of libraries to overcome the various challenges that arise in connection with providing e-government services to different populations.

Characteristics, uniqueness and overlap of information sources linked from North American public library Web sites

First Monday ◽  
2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chandra Prabha ◽  
Raymond Irwin
Keyword(s):  
Web Sites ◽  
Information Sources ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
The United States ◽  
Web Pages ◽  
Web Based ◽  
The Public ◽  
Library Community ◽  
Specific Search

This article reports on the availability, domain distribution, percentage of Web sites versus Web pages, perceived value, and category of 31,400 Web–based resources selected by 50 public libraries in the United States and Canada. Eighty–seven percent of these resources were available, 60 percent were Web pages, and resources selected by 20 percent of the sampled libraries were finding tools such as general or subject specific search engines. Ninety–three percent of the resources were selected by just one of the 50 libraries; only 17 percent of the resources appeared to be primarily of local interest. The public may be unaware of these unique resources. The public library community must develop programs to increase the awareness and sharing of these evaluated resources.

A Political Theory of Public Library Development

Libri ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 269-289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael M. Widdersheim
Keyword(s):  
Public Libraries ◽  
Public Library ◽  
The United States ◽  
Necessary Condition ◽  
Historical Case Study ◽  
Historical Case ◽  
Library System ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
High Responsiveness ◽  
Library Development

Abstract Public library development is explained differently by various theories, but existing theories are problematic. A new theory is needed to explain public library development, one that foregrounds political processes. To produce this new theory, a historical case study was conducted of a regional public library system in the United States from 1924 to 2016. Multiple data sources and mixed methods were used to identify the causes of library development in nine periods of the case. Findings indicate that public libraries develop in a cyclical way. Within each decision cycle, high responsiveness is a necessary condition for a change in development. A responsive library system adapts to and acts upon discursively-legitimated issues. High responsiveness, together with either high civil support, high legitimacy or low resistance, are causal configurations sufficient for change. This theory is significant because it is testable, it uses a new research framework and new methods, and it provides new insight into public library development.

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