Rural libraries

Service Trends in U.S. Public Libraries

As the title says, this article compared service trends in American libraries. It concluded that problems facing rural libraries need to be studied in greater detail in order for them to better serve their patrons. I could not agree more with this sentiment. So many people in this country live in or close enough to cities to regularly avail themselves of the resources that these places offer. It is indeed easy to forget that many millions of people still live in farming communities or isolated houses. Chronic underdevelopment could also cause the work of the rural library to lag behind that of their better off cousins in urban areas. Growing up in central Illinois, I noticed that some of the smaller rural communities did not even have libraries. Also, I have an invalid relative who still lives on her farm. In past years, we have taken boxes of books (mostly romance novels) to her house because that was the only way she could get them. If rural libraries had more resources to devote to a delivery service, they could provide her with books on a more regular basis.

Changes in Rural Libraries and Librarianship

This article summarizes results of two surveys of rural libraries taken in 2000 and 2007. I found it very interesting that libraries that did not have email addresses were not included in the 2007 survey. Not having an email address in 2007 demonstrated that some of these libraries were indeed far behind the times of their cohorts. Perhaps the lack of funds and community support mentioned by some of the libraries surveyed could play into this problem. Additionally, many librarians seemed to feel that their jobs were worthwhile, despite the low pay, perceived lack of community support, and unfavorable portrayal of the librarians themselves. It was also striking how librarians have begun to transform their perceptions of libraries from book storehouses to places where technology assistance happened and community members came to meet. These trends show hope, I think, for a revitalization of libraries in the 21^st century. That said, problems with rural libraries need to be addressed in order to meet these new needs.

Cooperation in Rural and Remote Libraries

This article relates how the Internet and other technologies have been incorporated into libraries in rural Ontario. It seems that in this area of the world, libraries have long banded together out of a desire to maximize resources with limited budgets and power. When technologies came to northern Ontario, they were able to take advantage of them, though the process has been quite slow. This is an article with very hopeful words. The sentiment expressed should remind us that not all is “doom and gloom” when it comes to the future of libraries. Hopefully, the trends described in the article are continuing to this day.