Small and rural libraries play a critical role in connecting community members to vital resources and programs. Each year nearly 30 million Americans are served by the nation’s approximately 4,000 rural library systems.This number illustrates the value that local communities place on library services. Small and rural libraries are the heart of the community they serve. Like their counterparts they are a place of information, a community hub connecting people to people offering safe havens for their users while providing the range of information resources needed to live, learn,
Northern Illinois University (NIU) is home to several programs designed to facilitate meaningful collaborations that address state and regional challenges, promote growth, manage change, and build stronger communities.
Four members of the My Library Is… Advisory Team will share their library stories in this panel presentation. Representing school and public libraries, the panelists will discuss how their libraries have engaged their patrons, educated their stakeholders, and expanded the reach and value of the library to their communities. A short Q&A will follow.
When we have a message we want to share with the public, we turn to our list of what I like to think of as tools, and decide which will best help us get the word out. Depending on the message, we use a combination (or all!) of these tools: social media posts, print and electronic newsletter blurbs, flyers, bookmarks, press releases, blogs, etc. But what I think is the most important tool is probably the one that’s been around the longest… actual word of mouth.
Textbook affordability and accessibility issues are not new. We have seen alarming articles on how the rising costs of required course materials is overburdening college students and thwarting their efforts to achieve their educational and professional goals. But academic libraries are stepping up to advocate for students and to provide resources for both students and faculty and to support the instructional mission of their institutions.
“I’m not really a joiner.” The words fell out of my mouth before I really knew what I was saying. I had said the same thing so many times in my life that it felt like a cliche, but I realized in that moment that it had been a while since I had given it much thought. It was late 2017, I was at the ILA Annual Conference and someone had just suggested I join an organizational committee to get more involved in professional development, but I didn’t feel like I had enough to offer.
