WebJunction

“There is power in group work; there is not a lot of power in being out there by yourself,” consultant and trainer Sandra Nelson told a gathering of staff from small and rural libraries at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in Seattle in late February. With an average population served of less than 10,000, this group knows the experience of being “out there by yourself” all too well.

The workshop attracted 135 library and support staff from 44 states who had come together to develop action plans for sustaining and growing their public access computing programs. Filled with lively discussion and inspirational stories, the two one-day workshops resulted in honest assessments of the tremendous challenges that small libraries face, but also an encouraging exploration of good ideas and solutions that really work. (See this more detailed description of the challenges and best practices identified in the workshop). Above all, the workshop provided a sense of community and connection for a group that regularly works in isolation.

Workshop facilitator Nelson put the challenges of these librarians in context, reminding the group of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's previous commitment to connect small and rural libraries with computers and the Internet. “Now, the foundation is moving into a different kind of support for libraries,” she explained. “It's going to be at the state level and it's going to be more systemic.”

To reflect this shift in focus, the workshop was also designed to help deepen the dialogue between libraries and their state and regional network support organizations. The program featured two tracks—one for library staff and one for state and regional support staff—and allowed each group to articulate and prioritize its needs and its opportunities. Throughout the day the two groups came together to share their findings and discover new ways to work together.

The workshop is part of the latest phase in the foundation's ongoing commitment to supporting public access computing. Craig Arnold, Acting Director of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's US Library Program, opened the workshop by pointing to a large map of the United States with thousands of red dots, each marking the location of a grant recipient library. The purpose, Arnold said, of the workshop was to “make sure the red dots stay on the map.” With more than 47,000 computers granted to 11,000 libraries in the US over the last five years, libraries now need to find a way to keep those computers working and up-to-date, train staff, and establish a secure local funding base to ensure the health of their computing programs well into the future.

Next, facilitator Nelson led the group in a discussion of the major obstacles to sustainability. She began by stressing how far libraries have come: “In 1994 and 1995, when the Internet was getting started, many of you were saying `I will never be able to afford that.'” The Gates grants changed all that. “Suddenly, you are a core information provider in your community,” Nelson said.

Now, as the first phase of direct support from the foundation is completed, many librarians have that same sense of anxiety they had years ago. They wonder, “How do we manage to sustain and build on what we have?”

After brainstorming a list of the major barriers small and rural libraries face (“money, money, money,” as one participant said, although staffing issues and technical support were close behind), the group split into groups of front-line library staff and state library and regional consortium staff. Each group prioritized the barriers they face and then discussed ways they are currently working to overcome them. Finally, the library staff group discussed ways their state and regional support organizations could better help them.

Over lunch, librarians and support staff reconvened to share their findings: for libraries, their primary needs are assistance with advocacy, more streamlined grant-application procedures, and better technical support. The state support staff emphasized the importance of training library staff to be more self-sufficient and sought greater cooperation from local libraries on funding requirements.

In the afternoon, the library staff discussion turned to best practices. Marilyn Colter, director of the Red Feather Lakes (CO) Public Library, and Kristie Kirkpatrick, director of the Whitman County (WA) Rural Library District, shared their stories. (For more details on the Whitman County story, see this profile.) Both have turned impoverished and underfunded libraries into dynamic and sustainable assets for their communities.

Each day of the workshop featured several additional best-practice stories in poster sessions. Topics covered included examples of successful partnerships, outreach, planning, and fundraising. Here's more information from a couple of these presentations: Mary Haney's “Puss-in-Boots Formula for Success” (Hennessey, OK) and Joe Tynes' “The `Skinny' on Thin Clients” (Pontotoc, MS).

Library staff members concluded the day by developing action plans and identifying concrete steps that would help move their libraries toward sustainability. Participants will complete a follow-up survey in six months to help track progress against this plan (survey results will be published on WebJunction).

Participants in the workshop came away with renewed enthusiasm for making their public access computing programs more robust and healthy in the long term. Some found the most value in sharing best practices. Alice Freiler, Director of the Goshen (CT) Public Library, said, “I put a little star in my notebook next to every good idea I heard—and I've got a lot of stars!”

Others relished the opportunity to work side-by-side with colleagues across the country who are grappling with similar issues. “To have this type of networking is very powerful,” said Crystal Clark-Fort, director of the Dave Cargo Public Library in Mora, NM.

Kim Hicks, Director of the Madisonville (TN) Public Library, summed up the experience in one word: “Energizing: to be able to network, to hear the positives and the negatives and realize we're all in the same boat. I'm ready to go home and do it!”