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Libraries
Leading the Way in Community Economic Development
Public
libraries are taking on new roles supporting individuals, organizations,
small businesses, and municipal economic development initiatives in order
to promote community economic development. The following web pages provide
some insight on this topic.
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Papers
Several presenters
from the Get Smart! : Economic Development, Libraries, and Smart Communities
held in Toronto in June 1999 have made written versions of their papers
available here in PDF format. [Note: To read
PDF files, you must have or download
the free Adobe Acrobat software.]
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Initiatives
- Toward
Making Libraries Leaders in the Local Information Economy
- Jim Stanley,
Director of Community IT Development, Nova Scotia Technology and Science
Secretariat, outlines the key factors affecting local economic development
and how libraries can support their community's growth.
- Enhancing
Economic Development Through Libraries [PDF format only]
- Local
public librarians from small rural communities are increasingly becoming
involved in economic development initiatives through a special program
organized by the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs (IIRA), and the
Illinois State Library.
- Smart
Communities
- A Blue
Ribbon Panel of experts recommended that Canadian communities make innovative
use of information technology in order to accelerate their economic,
social, and cultural development. (You can read the Blue
Ribbon Panel Report online.) A Smart Communities Demonstration Project
was initiated to select 12 world-class Smart Communities - one in each
province, one in the North and one in an Aboriginal community. The final
list includes an initiative led by the Coquitlam
Public Library.
- Economic
Development Information Center (EDIC)
- EDIC,
based in Arizona, is a statewide effort to include public and community
college libraries as key participants in state and local economic development
by providing a "Gateway" to the Internet and expanding the public's
views of the library's role in the community.
- Evaluation
of the On-Line at PA Libraries Project (Public Access to the Internet
through Public Libraries)
- The OnLine
at PA Libraries project has had a significant impact on the provision
of Internet-based information services and resources to the residents
of Pennsylvania. This document describes how this project has affected
these communities in terms of socio-economic well being and quality
of life.
- New
Library: The People's Network
- "The introduction
of information and communication technologies presents a challenge and
opportunity for the United Kingdom." This document argues that "tomorrow's
new libraries" are the ideal vehicles to provide access to new technologies
which will ultimately bring new opportunities to this population.
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Public
Libraries Supporting their Communities
- Estevan,
Saskatchewan
- The Southeast
Regional Library hosts this Community Access Project as a means to develop
Internet skills throughout their community. Some of their current and
upcoming projects include walking tours of Estevan's history, a collection
of cemetery records, as well as tourist and business information online.
- Hazelton,
British Columbia
- As a CAP
recipient, the Hazelton
District Public Library promotes the village of Hazelton, British
Columbia by providing their community history, a list of popular attractions
and events, as well as a directory of business services and economic
information.
- North
Bay, Ontario
- The North
Bay Public Library supports their community by providing business and
economic information and a list of their local events, as well as historical
profiles, including an online project with digitized information on
the Dionne quintuplets.
- Community
Access and the Small-Town Library
- A report
on how Internet access is changing the way smaller and rural libraries
serve their communities.
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