Rural Library Service & Social Wellbeing

10/08/2023

We keep seeing ways working in meaningful ways with rural libraries and their communities gives insights that we see in the broader fields of social science research. So exciting!
This this this: "places with the most elevated levels of Civic Engagement also have the most elevated levels of Economic Wellbeing and Population Health" https://storymaps.arcgis.com/.../5e0257e41eb94f55ab6bfb0c.... An unexpected but exciting finding in the Rural Libraries and Social Wellbeing study was how important an individual's perception of voice and power in their community mattered to their identification of their town as an ideal place to live. (Which itself is important - see the Soul of the Community study from a while back.) We noticed that this voice and power was distinct from other measures of wellbeing like income and education. And that it was something that the library could facilitate, inhibit, or have no influence on - based on library worker behavior, dispositions, and overall service type. Our sample was small and the stories we collected were anecdotes that left us with the start of a thread we didn't have the resources to knit together. Using publicly available data, researchers at Reinvestment Fund showed similar correlations.So exciting!

Central Appalachia is home to a rich diversity of people and places united by historical experiences of living, working and building communities in this mountainous region of the Eastern United States. From the Allegheny Mountains of West Virginia and southeast Ohio, to the Cumberland Gap in eastern...

04/23/2023

It's so satisfying to see our partners' work bound and beautiful! We heard from our Tools in Action participants that having the tools in print form would make it easier to do group activities and focus on their reflections. This round is for NM Tools in Action libraries but you can make it happen for yourself here: https://rurallibraries.org/resource-list/ . Like all Rural Libraries & Social Wellbeing resources, it's free to print, use, and distribute with attribution to the creators.

03/03/2022

Thanks Erica Red Hook for the hot tip. Rural library people, check it out!

ALA announced that its Libraries Transforming Communities initiative would distribute $7 million in grants to support accessibility efforts at small and rural libraries.

02/07/2022

Sometimes mutualism as a part of social wellbeing and a part of the conversation on library service seems out of step with the field and our experiences of hardship. Colleagues, developing service with neighbor to neighbor trust as your goal can demonstrably and measurably save lives.
"If these modelled associations were to be causal, an increase in trust of governments such that all countries had societies that attained at least the amount of trust in government or interpersonal trust measured in Denmark, which is in the 75th percentile across these spectrums, might have reduced global infections by 12·9% (5·7–17·8) for government trust and 40·3% (24·3–51·4) for interpersonal trust."

Efforts to improve pandemic preparedness and response for the next pandemic might benefit from greater investment in risk communication and community engagement strategies to boost the confidence that individuals have in public health guidance. Our results suggest that increasing health promotion fo...

12/08/2021

This free session hosted by the Nebraska State Library is coming up: http://nlc.nebraska.gov/scripts/calendar/eventshow.asp?ProgID=21235
This panel will be with Eli Guinnee, Hope Decker, and Margo Elizabeth Gustina and will catch you up with how insights from Rural Libraries & Social Wellbeing are being applied to practice across the country. It's going to be fun.

You have a role in facilitating "the good life" for residents in your community. Researchers from the Rural Libraries & Social Wellbeing project will share findings from their mixed-methods research and how the findings are impacting practice in dozens of communities around the country. The tools cr...

07/15/2021

Hey all, consider sharing this request by Consumer Reports with your community members:

Consumer Reports, in partnership with a coalition of partners, is seeking better data on rural internet speed, reliability and affordability.

06/28/2021

Have you interacted with Rural Libraries & Social Wellbeing: reading or using resources? listening to or reading interviews? downloading or analyzing our datasets? Please complete this survey by June 30 to help us out! https://rurallibraries.org/did-we-do-it-survey/
Thank you for your help State Line Public Library, Helvetia Public Library, Plum Lake Public Library, Elk River Free Library, Jaquith Public Library, Susan Kate Kosior, Pueblo de Abiquiu Library and Cultural Center, and Meservey Public Library.

Libraries Build Pathways to Wellbeing

06/23/2021

Being born rural or living in a rural community puts individuals, statistically, at a disadvantage across dimensions of wellbeing from learning to read to living longer. What makes up the difference? Having a local public library! Check out our latest data releases here!

Libraries Build Pathways to Wellbeing