Building rural libraries

Rural Illinois has been experiencing significant changes in its demographics and economy; and as a result of a declining tax base, many rural libraries may be at risk.

To address concerns surrounding the future of rural libraries, Western's University Libraries, along with the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs (IIRA) at WIU, Alliance Library System and the Western Illinois Entrepreneurship Center (WIEC), are collaborating to find solutions to keep these institutions viable and productive.

WIU Libraries Dean Phyllis Self and the cooperating agencies recently received a $37,248 grant for their project, “Building Rural Libraries and Communities,” from the Illinois State Library's Innovate, Create, Collaborative program.

According to Self, the global information age offers rural libraries the chance to take the lead in assisting citizens, business leaders and public officials build their communities. The “Building Rural Libraries and Communities” pilot program will create a sustainable virtual network of resource providers.

“The program's mission is to help rural public librarians learn about successful best practices used elsewhere, and provide tools and train rural librarians to become more knowledgeable about resources to facilitate community and economic development,” she explained.

Ten selected libraries will participate in the pilot program, which will focus on entrepreneurship as one aspect of economic development. A virtual network of materials and resources will be developed and made available to other libraries via a web portal. During the grant program, WIU Libraries will explore additional ways to address information needs to support community and economic development in western Illinois.

“This program will build a regional consortium of librarians, consultants and community agencies to support community enhancement initiatives,” Self said. “The program will reinforce the relevance of the librarian in the community by providing enhanced library services by developing a sustainable network of support for the rural librarians they have not had in the past.”

The 2007 grant program, which began Oct. 1, builds upon earlier work completed by IIRA staff in which public libraries were surveyed to help position the libraries as community information resources.

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