"Librarians Build Communities" continues "A Librarian at the Kitchen Table."

"Librarians Build Communities" continues "A Librarian at the Kitchen Table."

After over 10 years this blog in its various manifestations is ending. New blogging on libraries and community will move to the blog, "Librarians Build Communities".

Libraries: Essential Service According to FEMA

Susan Hildreth, IMLS Director writes in Primary Source, May 2011:

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recently established new regulations in Section 403 of the Stafford Act qualifying libraries, along with police, fire protection/emergency services, medical care, education and utilities, as essential community services. The change helps libraries in need to relocate so they can keep serving the public in the wake of a disaster, flood or other emergency.

See: Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act
Provision of Temporary Relocation Facilities:
Section 403 of the Stafford Act authorizes FEMA to provide Federal assistance to meet immediate threats to life and property resulting from a major disaster. Specifically, Section 403 (a)(3)(D) allows for the provision of temporary facilities for schools and other essential community services, when it is related to saving lives and protecting and preserving property or public health and safety.

“Community Building” columns Reference and User Services Quarterly 2000-2006.

“Community Building” columns appearing in
Reference and User Services Quarterly
2000-2006.

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 “Librarians and Comprehensive Community Initiatives,” McCook, 40 (Fall 2000): 20-22.

 “Service Integration and Libraries: Will 2-1-1 be the Catalyst for Renewal?” McCook, 40 (Winter 2000): 22-25.



 Community Building and Latino Families,” Villagrán, 40 (Spring, 2001): 224-227.

 “Community Indicators, Genuine Progress, and the Gold Billion”
 McCook and Brand, 40 (Summer 2001): 337-340.



 “Collaboration Generates Synergy: Saint Paul Public Library, the College of St. Catherine, and the ‘Family Place’ Program,”
 Johnson, Brodeen, Humeston, 
and McGee, ( Fall, 2001): 19-23.

 “Authentic Discourse as a Means of Connection Between Public Library Services Responses and Community Building Initiatives,”
McCook 40 (Winter, 2001): 127-133.

 
“Service to Day Laborers: A Job Libraries Have Left Undone,”
 Jensen, 41 (Spring 2002): 228-233.


 
“Cultural Heritage Institutions and Community Building,” McCook and Jones 41 (Summer 2002): 20-23.

 
“The African-American Research Library and Cultural Center 
of the Broward County Library”
 Smith, 42(Fall 2002): 21-25.

 
“Alaska Resources Library and Information Services: Building Community in the Forty-Ninth State”
 Braund-Allen and. Carle, 42 (Winter 2002): 119-123.

 
“Sustainable Communities and the Roles Libraries and Librarians Play”
 Stoss, 42 (Spring 2003): 206-210.

 
“Using a Homeless Shelter as a Library Education Learning Laboratory: Incorporating Service-Learning in a Graduate-Level Information Sources and Services in the Social Sciences Course”
 Peterson, 42 (Summer 2003): 307-310.


 
 “Suppressing the Commons: Misconstrued Patriotism vs. a Psychology of Liberation”
 McCook, 42 (Fall 2003): 14-17.

 “Transformations of Librarianship in Support of Learning Communities”
 Sierpe, 43 (Winter 2003): 120-123.


 “ A Passion for Connection: Community Colleges Fulfill the Promise 
of Cultural Institutions”
 Bell, 43 (Spring 2004): 206-212.

 “Community, Identity, and Literature”
 Yontz, 443 (Summer 2004): 292-293.

 “Public Libraries and People in Jail”
 McCook, 44 (Fall 2004): 26-30.


 A Digital Library to Serve a Region: The Bioregion and First Nations Collections of the Southern Oregon Digital Archives”
 Cedar Face and Hollens, 44 (Winter 2004): 116-121.

 
“The Homeless and Information Needs and Services”
 Hersberger, 44 (Spring 2005): 199-202.


 “Building Lead-Free Communities”
 Stoss, 44 (Summer 2005) p. 289-95.


 
“Human Rights and Librarians” 
 McCook and Phenix, 45 (Fall 2005): 23-26.

 
“Poverty, Poor People, and Our Priorities” Gehner, 45 (Wint 2005): 117-21.

 "Conspicuous by Their Absence: Academic Librarians in the Engaged University." Westney 45 3 (Spring 2006): 200-203.

 "Rebuilding Community in Louisiana after the Hurricanes of 2005." Dawson and McCook 45. (Summer 2006): 292-6.

National Center for Children in Poverty

The National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) is the nation’s leading public policy center dedicated to promoting the economic security, health, and well-being of America’s low-income families and children. NCCP uses research to inform policy and practice with the goal of ensuring positive outcomes for the next generation. We promote family-oriented solutions at the state and national levels.

Miami-Dade Public Library System joined forces with the county’s Homeless Trust

At a time when resources are shrinking, funding is scarce, and businesses are folding, finding partners to help realize goals is not just an interesting concept but a necessity. To provide support services to formerly homeless individuals and families, many with special needs, the Miami-Dade Public Library System joined forces with the county’s Homeless Trust and Carrfour Supportive Housing, a nonprofit organization that provides permanent housing.

A Knowledge Exchange - From Data to Impact…

2011 eConference.

A Knowledge Exchange - From Data to Impact…



The Community Indicators Consortium is an active, open learning network and global community of practice among persons interested or engaged in the field of indicators development and application. The mission of the Community Indicators Consortium is to:

• Advance the art and science of indicators;
• Facilitate the exchange of knowledge about the effective use of indicators;
• Encourage development of effective indicators;
• Foster informed civic and media discourse about local, regional, national, and global priorities.

Civic Commons and IT Budgets

There is really no local government department that is unable to benefit from a shared environment. Ken Price, information services director for the city of Littleton, Colo., points to public safety,roads and bridges, parks, libraries and museums, among others, that can have technological components — often costly— that are ripe for sharing.

Read about the Civic Commons in the report, Capitalizing on Collaboration: How Shared Services are Saving Local Government Budgets The newly formed Civic Commons group is an organization that aims to empower governments to share technology for the public good. Civic Commons is the brainchild of the nonprofits Code for America, a Teach for America-inspired program for the technology-minded, and OpenPlans, a group focused on civic engagement and open source government software.
The organizations teamed up with Washington, D.C., Chief Technology Officer Bryan Sivak to create Civic Commons — essentially a repository of open civic code for governments to access. “We consistently heard exactly the same thing — we’re all working on the same projects,” Sivak said. So they decided to create a place where these shared projects can be viewed and discussed — the ommons.
A main section of the Commons is the “civic stack,” a shared body of software and protocols for civic entities, built on open standards. Currently included in the stack are iPhone applications like Citizen Reports, an app for reporting and requesting service calls regarding city infrastructure, contributed by Portland, Ore. Also there is an App Store from Washington, D.C.,where people can download or submit applications that use government data — things like parking meter locations,emergency information and historic data. The group has U.S. Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra on board; he has approved providing the Federal IT Dashboard to the stack.
Jennifer Pahlka, executive director of Code for America, described Civic Commons as a way to help governments share software they have developed, and thereby reduce IT costs, foster collaboration and spur innovation."