Some of the most exciting opportunities in rural librarianship are in areas that have not been attempted before. The goal is to give the patrons the best possible access to the largest possible amount of high-quality, high-relevance information. The rural librarian in a small community may need to be prepared to depart from professional norms in order to benefit patrons. Historically, librarians have not generally been rewarded for coming up with and implementing new ideas. Nonetheless, we need to encourage those who have crazy ideas to implement them, and run the risk that change sometimes brings. A historical unwillingness to take risks and embrace new ideas is exactly the reason why some libraries are ignored by their public, while others thrive.
It is clear that fewer and fewer people are physically crossing the threshold into the public library. Users not coming to us doesn't necessarily mean they don't want to see us; it may simply mean that we need to go to them. The forward thinking rural librarian sees this as an opportunity, rather than a crisis. A rural librarian is in a position to shape the future of a small community.
But there is an obvious problem: a plate already full and the solo librarian or staff already going full-tilt.
So, what do we do?
Reexamine what you are already involved in, and the amount of time spent in traditional library practices. Weigh the benefits these actions provide against the cost of lost opportunities--in other words, the benefits that could be realized by doing other things instead.
The opportunity is in online resources and making them easy to access and use. This expands the number of people who actually make use of the library's services. Offering remote access is a chance to make libraries as essential in the electronic era as they were in the print era, only richer, more complete, and more fun!
Service to remote users is necessary in small, rural communities. The 'Fotched-On' Librarian in small town America is needed to serve those who can't afford broad access, as well as to act on behalf of the sponsoring communities who require remote access. This includes reaching-out to invite people not only through the library doors, but also through the doors that exist in Web-space: doors patrons have a key to by virtue of their membership within the community. Once a patron is through the doors of cyberspace, it is still our job to help them find and select from the manifold information available. Services provided to users from a distance are every bit as real and valuable as those provided within library's walls. Sometimes all it takes is to simply inform our patrons that we have these services for them to explore.
You may never see your remote users. In fact, there are more differences than similarities among remote library users. So go big with those wonderful crazy ideas, implement some of them, and take risks. Swallow hard and plunge off the paved library road and into the woods, leaving some of your traditional burdens behind.
Brought to you by The Settlement Library Project:
Serving People, Changing Perspectives, and Sharing Resources in Libraries
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Thanks to: Donnelyn Curtis, Ed. 2002. Attracting, Educating, and Serving Remote Users Through the Web: A How-To-Do-It Manual for Librarians. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers.
