WebJunction

Stevens County is in a beautiful and remote corner of northeastern Washington.  More than double the size of Rhode Island, the county has a population of 40,000--less than 20 people per square mile.

Libraries are relative new to Stevens County, and establishing community support in such a thinly populated region has taken skill and creativity.  The Stevens County Rural Library District's funding was established in 1996 but encountered a challenge almost immediately when a citizens' petition sought to roll back the tax.  At that point the physical library buildings were barely operational--but Library Director Regan Robinson had made it a priority to establish a Web presence early on.  This online visibility was a key to the successful defense of the library district in 2002.  The library could use the site to set the record straight on the misinformation being put out by the opposition, provide transparency to the library's budget, and make board meeting minutes and other operational information more visible.  The Web site made an excellent vehicle for talking about the library at presentations. 

Staffer Kathy Weber shows off the Stevens County RLD Web site.

In the end, Regan says, “What really made the difference is that we provided great library service!”  And for this as well, the library's online presence was instrumental.  As a start-up library with only limited collections, Stevens County contracted with Spokane County Library District to gain access to their catalog --"we borrowed their books for two years"--none of which would have been possible without a Web site that provided catalog access.

Now that the library system's future is more secure, Regan and her staff can concentrate on providing library services, including the 28 public access computers in the system.  At one remote location where library service is provided from inside a general store, the single PC is kept locked in a cabinet except during the few hours a week when the library is staffed.  At Colville, the largest library in the system, wireless internet access has just been made available to patrons.  In an area where much of the internet access is limited to dial-up, the public access computers are a significant part of providing online access.  For example, enabling patrons to practice tests like the GED and the ASvAB (Armed Services Vocational Battery ) online, at the library, helps cement a relationship, even with those that don't have access at home.

But a good portion of the staff's time and attention--and in particular, that of IT guru Tom Brown--is occupied with nurturing the online presence that played such an important part in keeping the libraries' doors open.  Regan says, "By far and away our best online service (besides the catalog) is the auto repair database."  As she points out, having a working vehicle is as important for "connectivity" as a Web browser for rural residents in remote locations!

But there's a lot more than Chilton's to the library site.  Though most of the 1900 unique visits a week (not bad, with a service population of 40,000!) are for the purpose of renewals or placing holds, there are plenty of other ways the SCRLD is using new technologies to build relationships with its community through the Web site.  Regan and her staff aren't shy about making use of the new wave of "social software" tools to build community connections through their site.

For one thing, they have a blog called "What We are Reading," located at http://scrldst.blogspot.com/.  The concept is simple: staffers post about books they have been reading.  It's just getting off the ground, but the idea is to keep the staff in closer contact--given the long distances between facilities, they rarely see one another--while providing the public with a window into what they've been reading.  For last summer's adult and teen reading program, the library invited patrons to submit book reviews, which it then published online.

The library is also participating in two nationwide online services that are prominently displayed on their site: 24/7 reference (in collaboration with several other eastern Washington libraries) and an online book club facilitated by dearreader.com.  Again, both services are taking some time to take off--the library signed up for the online book club five years ago and adoption by patrons is still a little slow: according to some patrons Regan has heard from, "they're not just lukewarm about it, they love it!"

The bottom line is that Regan believes in the potential of online community building and recognizes that it takes time for new service delivery methods to catch on--especially in a rural community like theirs.

Some of the more humble features of the Stevens County library Web site are worth noting.  Judiciously posting local news items and an event calendar keeps the site looking fresh and connected to the community.  Making use of its library automation software's multilingual capabilities, Stevens County is even able to provide some services in Spanish and French (and they're looking at ways to support a recent influx of Ukrainian immigrants by adding Russian).

Something as simple as the site's comment form turns out to be a great way to engage the community.  All the comments go to Regan, and they give visitors an easy and non-threatening way to begin learning about the possibilities for online interactions.

The Library District, an independent municipal corporation and not part of county government, has tried to positively present a sense of countywide community.  Library users from one town may and do use the library in another town and similarly may request books from yet another community.  The Website is used to provide links to local governments, chambers of commerce and county government.  The first library card used an outline of the county as its design to encourage the countywide theme.  Along the same lines, a "Make Us Your Home Page" link reinforces the notion that the library's Web site can be a starting place for area residents' online explorations.

Not surprisingly, Regan is always looking at new ways to apply technologies to the library's site.  While she's not quite convinced by the idea of a community wiki in a rural environment ("people in small towns are more reluctant to say things online--they can’t afford to  be too critical") she is interested in the idea of using blog or wiki functionality to create community-collaborative projects in less sensitive areas.  "We live in a beautiful place, and I'd like to create a place online where people could say 'this is my favorite stretch of road' and explain why–maybe with pictures.  Also something on the lighter, more humorous side, like 'the ‘best beards in Stevens County'!"

The future may mean moving even closer to the growing edge of technology.  Like many rural communities, people are relocating to Stevens County from western Washington cities, bringing with them big-city expectations.  “We know if they have used libraries in King or Pierce County that they understand our online services and will probably use them.”

With the talented leadership of Regan Robinson, the tireless efforts of her dedicated staff, and the crucial support of a great board of directors, there's every reason to expect that the Stevens County Rural Library District Library--and the Web site that is one of its most important public faces--will continue to grow and expand in exciting new ways.

You can contact Regan Robinson, Director of the Stevens County Rural Library District, at regan@scrld.org.   The library's Web site is at http://www.scrld.org/.

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