Rural Library Sustainability Program

Thousands of library staff attended workshops delivered in 42 states as a part of the Rural Library Sustainability Project. If you're a participant wanting to revisit a module of the workshop or a trainer wanting to replicate the workshop, you will find all of the materials here. The Documents tab above will provide you with marketing materials on the workshop, as well as the Rural Library Sustainability Continuum. Many folks have used the Continuum as a stand-alone tool to document progress on sustainability efforts.
Most Recently Added
Opportunity Out of Adversity: Digital Access in Rural and Small Libraries
Publish Date: Webinar / 6 August 2020
If we are intentional, we can use these circumstances to grow our organizations and to address the digital access disparities in small and rural communities. A webinar hosted in collaboration with ARSL.
Small and Rural Librarians: Leading the Way in Online Conferences
Publish Date: News / 9 April 2020
As part of the public health response to the coronavirus, most face-to-face conferences scheduled for upcoming months have been cancelled, with many opting for online conferences. For instance, the Society for Public Health Education’s annual confere...
Small and Rural Libraries in Tourism Economies: Part 2
Publish Date: News / 25 March 2020
In part 2 of the series, Audrey Dingler, from Cape May County Library, and Noah Lenstra, from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, explore how libraries assess community needs in relation to outdoor tourism and recreation economies, and ex...
Small and Rural Libraries in Tourism Economies: Part 1
Publish Date: News / 11 March 2020
Audrey Dingler, from Cape May County Library, and Noah Lenstra, from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, reflect on preliminary research into how rural counties with outdoor tourism and recreation economies benefit from population sta...
Advocacy 101: When Advocacy Becomes Second Nature
Publish Date: Webinar / 7 November 2019
A webinar hosted in collaboration with ARSL on the basics of library advocacy and how to integrate advocacy into your everyday and into your community relationships.
The Power of Small: How Rural Libraries Help Their Communities Thrive
Publish Date: Webinar / 18 April 2019
Learn how any tiny library can find more ways to support the needs of their community by thinking strategically and creating new connections.
Linking Libraries: Association for Rural & Small Libraries Gather in Springfield
Publish Date: News / 25 September 2018
Jennifer Peterson was thrilled to represent the WebJunction team at the annual Association for Rural & Small Libraries (ARSL) conference, held September 13-15, in Springfield, Illinois. This year's record-breaking attendance is a testament to the...
ARSL Conference Recap: Rockin' in Little Rock
Publish Date: News / 16 November 2015
The Association for Rural & Small Libraries annual conference is one of our favorite events of the year. With so many library staff eager to learn, there is a great vibe and camaraderie. This year, WebJunction staffers, Jennifer Peterson and Kend...
Belgrade Community Library: Small and Unstoppable
Publish Date: News / 14 September 2015
When the Library Journal Best Small Library challenge rolled around, the Belgrade Community Library (BCL) outside of Bozeman, Montana, almost didn’t apply because "we thought we were too small." Their small staff and small budget doesn’t st...
Building Rural Prosperity with the Rural Information Center
Publish Date: News / 29 December 2014
Perhaps especially in rural communities, libraries provide key points of connection with the broader world, serving as windows on faraway places, other cultures, and diverse perspectives. But libraries can also help deepen our ties to the places we l...