Advancing
Community Goals: The Evolving Role of the Public Library
ICMA:
11.26.2018 by Rebecca DeSantis
Libraries
have always served as a resource and gathering place for communities, but their
role is evolving as community needs change. Jessica Cadiente, ICMA member and
library director of the Santa Barbara Library in California for just over three years, is actively helping
her library fit the needs of the residents in Santa Barbara. "Local
libraries are flexible and nimble," she states. "We joke that we are
always in draft form because as our communities change so do
we."
When
the Thomas
fire hit the area in December 2017, the library sprang into action to
help provide services for the community. Cadiente explains: "While
everyone was trying to leave town and many other organizations, businesses, and
community centers across town closed, our library team stayed. We knew it
was an all hands on deck moment and everyone stepped up to extend services. We
immediately added more programming, more classes, more events."
In
both immediate actions and long-term initiatives, libraries across the country
are working with the community to provide resources and services that meet the
needs of each generation of library users. In 2016, ICMA partnered with
the Aspen Institute and
the Public Libraries Association to
conduct the nationwide survey “Local
Libraries Advancing Community Goals,” which focused on the evolving role of
public libraries in advancing community goals. In this month's "facts and
stats" blog, we pull out some of the highlights from this survey and what
this means for libraries today.
> 53%
of jurisdictions cited foundations and nonprofit organizations as part of their
strategy to ensure financial sustainability of the library system.
> 73%
of responding jurisdictions ranked “access to high-speed internet service” as
an important or highly important role of their local library.
> 60.1%
of respondents rate the level of public interest in library services in the
community as “high” or “very high.” READ
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