1. Fargo Library/rural Cass - Laserfiche WebLink

Enhancing Economic Development Through Libraries The recession in the early 1980s brought major economic and population declines in mrai areas, and Illinois was no exception. Farm consolidations and declines in agricultural employment robbed many small towns of markets that they had traditionally served. Displaced farm families, secondary school graduates, and others who had lostj obs during the period of high unemployment in rural areas left in search of better employment opportunities. The exodus of this rural population caused many small communities to literally wither away as stores on main streets and factories closed. While the adverse impacts on central business districts were obvious to most observers, what was not as fully recognized was the loss of local leadership and the capacity o f communities to assess the options available for developing a plan of action to improve local conditions or to re-invent themselves in a changing environment. Small towns must take advantage of available resources in order to improve economic conditions. Many local elected officials serve part-time and typically lack experience with local economic development practices. Typically, these officials are employed full-time in the private sector and do not have sufficient time to attend education and training programs to upgrade their community leadership skills. Because of this, they may not always recognize the resources available within the community to assist in economic development efforts. Local librarians in small communities often possess skills and knowledge useful in assisting community leaders to chart a course of action to improve local economic conditions. In the past, however, they have not been active in these or other civic activities. They often do not realize their potential for involvement and the opportunities available to them to work with community leaders for community betterment. Lack of unfamiliarity with business practices and relatively little formal training in economic development activities have prevented librarian s from active involvement in local economic development organizations and programs. The inactivity of librarians in local development efforts is especially un~brtunate for conm~unities since much of the economic growth in recent years has been in the information economy where libraries have a special advantage: "The 'intellectual property' segment of the U.S. economy is growing at twice the rate of other growth" (Schroeder 1998). In many small communities, libraries offer one of the few publicly available fax machines and, in some instances, they are one of the few places with public access to a computer. They also may offer special training programs to bring residents up to date on computer techniques, especially during the summer ~nonths when schools are closed. increasingly, astute librarians have recognized that their future will be spent in collecting and processing information needed by businesses and residents. Librarians also are being asked to evaluate information and data since they are in a position to know about its origin. This task requires that they are in tune with local issues and concerns. The Illinois State Library set as one of its goals "to implement partnerships between various types of libraries and the economic community" (Illinois State Library 1994, p. 47). The potential contribution of local libraries as a key resource in improving economic conditions and the potential for local librarians to expand their role was recognized by the Illinois State Librat3~. It initiated a program, "Library Partners," that encouraged local libraries to partner with chambers of commeme to become more active in economic development. This program helped open the door for librarians to engage in public discussions and expand the visibility of their services to the business conum~nity. In the early 1990s, the need for more active participation by public librarians in local economic development efforts was recognized in Illinois and a training program for librarians was started. When the "Preparing Librarians for a New Role in Economic Development''~ seminars were taught across ~ln the remainder of this report, this program will be referred to as "New Role" seminars.