Your rural library is bombarded with issues of economic development and community sustainability. And, you know that your institutional collaborations -- especially with schools -- enable your community to remain vital. To that end, I once read that staff running small or rural libraries often feel like islands cut off from the networking, technology and resources available to larger libraries.
When staff feel alienated, participation in local affairs and opportunities decline, and cooperation is fragmented.
But . . .
Don't be fooled: There is an abundance of help for your libraries, and plenty of opportunities for staff education and development.
One of the very best ways to foster professionalism in the small library is through training. A thoroughly trained staff provides more support and better service. When a staff has a good understanding of each task and its importance, chances are that the service will be performed well.
This degree of help and opportunity should put rural librarians on the path to "self-help" instead of wallowing in the status quo. Cooperation is the answer, and what will halt the eclipsing of the rural library staff through the intranet of librarianship. Through this avenue comes the cooperation of neighboring libraries, community agencies, the regional library system, the state library, and professional organizations. And . . . through this networking comes education -- even FREE education -- for solo librarians, non-librarians, and student librarians.
I don't think small, rural, low-budget, or remote is an excuse anymore when it comes to managing a library. Neither is not loving the job (if you do). But a sense of responsibility for successful, complete and smooth operations, stable personnel relationships, and a dedication to community can change alot of problems into opportunities. This is why rural library staff should never distance themselves or obscure their opportunities for growth, education and Internet expansion.
Small or rural may imply limitations imposed on the library itself, but does not necessarily mean limitations on the skills, talents or creativity of the staff. This makes all the difference:
Wallowing in the limitations that eclipse library staff
OR
Concentrating on the skills and talents of library staff and the cooperation of what or who is available to the staff for personal development.
Strong links between local people are what makes rural America different from urban and metropolitan America. These links are realized through developed relationships via the economic market, education, and medical or religious services. These organizations can be part of a rural library staffs' arsenal to dissipate social divisions, and to improve and build on future ideas.
But how does a rural, low budget library staff network for their benefit?
A research team studying the National Digital Platform in rural America studied the problem of locality and internet access for educational purposes in the rural library. Their research was designed "to contribute both theoretical and practical knowledge that would address (1) the role of rural libraries in their information ecosystems; (2) how loaned hotspots [might] contribute to the users' quality of life, digital literacy and social capital; (3) how such programs interact with other anchor institutions and their services (schools, government, etc.) within their communities, and (4) the practical, operational requirements and considerations for offering hotspot lending programs"
Strover, Sharon, et al. “At the Edges of the National Digital Platform.” D-Lib Magazine, 2017.
The abstract to this research states:
"Libraries straddle the information needs of the 21st century. The wifi,
computers and now mobile hotspots that some libraries provide their
patrons are gateways to a broad, important, and sometimes essential
information resources. The research summarized here examines how rural
libraries negotiate telecommunications environments, and how mobile
hotspots might extend libraries' digital significance in marginalized
and often resource-poor regions. The Internet has grown tremendously in
terms of its centrality to information and entertainment resources of
all sorts, but the ability to access the Internet in rural areas
typically lags that experienced in urban areas. Not only are networks
less available in rural areas, they also often are of lower quality and
somewhat more expensive; even mobile phone-based data plans — assuming
there are acceptable signals available — may be economically out of
reach for people in these areas. With older, lower income and less
digitally skilled populations typically living in rural areas, the role
of the library and its freely available resources may be especially
useful. This research examines libraries' experiences with providing
free, mobile hotspot-based access to the Internet in rural areas of
Maine and Kansas" Strover, Sharon, et al. “At the Edges of the National Digital Platform." D-Lib Magazine, 2017.
This program served as a useful way of improving access and connectivity in disadvantaged Internet environments, like yours.
But . . .
Mobile hotspot-based access to the Internet is not just for library users. These can be essential information resources for your library staff to extend THEIR education and put them on the path to "self-help".
Don't be fooled: There is a real, definable relationship between
successful SELF-development and a willingness to invest in a community.
To this the rural library staff is catalyst. Being a SHARED INVESTMENT,
the rural library staff should be about encouraging individual learning
and self-mastery, and to explore new opportunities for improvement.You
can do this with the help of other librarians and library agencies.The Internet is your platform.
Find the complete research findings here: https://doi.org/10.1045/may2017-strover
OR
Stop the Eclipsing of the Rural Library Staff and becoming a boring library statistic of chronic fatigue and obscurity. Cooperate with others, and develop your staffs' personality by using what's out there!
Image: Solar-Eclipse/; Author: Beawiharta Beawiharta; 03/09/16; No known restrictions
