Supporting Access through Little Libraries and Library Box

Just a quick mention of two services that bring the library out of the walls and into the neighborhoods. One is Little Free Library where you build a little box on a post, put some books in it and then invite people to take a book and leave a book or read and return.

I read about Library Box in the August 2013 issue of Library Journal. This one is a small router that comes with a USB drive preloaded with free (in the public domain) content. The router allows the patron to download the content of their choice to a wifi accessible device. This is for those areas where people may not have access to wifi, but still want to read a copy of Emma by Jane Austen or the Jungle Book by Kipling. Or maybe the person may not know s/he can visit the Gutenberg project and download a book for free, or maybe there's just too many options and this little bad boy makes the choices easier. Check out the kickstarter campaign for Library Box to see what are the latest developments for the project.

What is a Minority?

I'm beginning putting together some info for my first report on minority services in libraries and one of the recommended actions is to take a survey of the community demographics to help you define what are the minorities. I started by looking at the QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau for my city and there's tons on breakdowns of demographics: age, race and ethnicity, nationality, gender, language spoken, economic status... But then it hit me that there are demographics of religion, sexual orientation, physical and mental capabilities (ex. blind/deaf)... it just keeps going!

This time around, I was interested in a few resources that can help me wrap my mind around services to the LGBT community. Local service communities include:

• Dallas Fort Worth Steering Committee of the Human Rights Campaign (hrc.org)
• North Texas GLBT Chamber of Commerce (since 2005) 
• Recourse Center of Dallas (rcdallas.org) (since 1983) (serves 50,000 annually)

 But then I got off track and ran the following Google Search: "trends minorities site:ala.org" and pulled the following links:

• This is a bib list of titles for Young Adult Mexican Americans. Surprise in the list is a book dealing not only with ethnicity, but sexual orientation and religion. (The God Box, which we have, high five, teen selector!) http://www.yalsa.ala.org/thehub/2013/05/05/its-not-what-you-think-mexican-americans-in-ya/
• Then there was this post "The Invisible Minority: LGBTQ Teens and their Lit: http://www.yalsa.ala.org/thehub/2012/11/09/the-invisible-minority-lgbtq-teens-and-their-literature/
• Quick Facts Services to Teens from ALA: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/advleg/advocacyuniversity/additup/13to18/quick
• This paper on awards lists and diversity mentions many of the minority / diversity things I mention: http://www.yalsa.ala.org/jrlya/2011/06/are-all-lists-created-equal-diversity-in-award-winning-and-bestselling-young-adult-fiction/
• and another paper: http://www.ala.org/acrl/sites/ala.org.acrl/files/content/conferences/pdf/ibarra05.pdf

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Much, much later. So, I submitted my first report and instead of starting with a review of our community and a look at where my system is currently in meeting those needs, I was counseled to pick just one user group and report of them with a focus on the actual programs. I, of course, included a selection of readings and a small review of literature to support why I selected the programs that I selected, just in case someone asked, "why do you think this programming is applicable to this user group?"

My first "minority" group I decided to present on is "Older Adults," and let me tell you, they are a scary bunch. My city is undergoing a new push to attract residents and business b/c "growth is the only way to support a city's revenues," and I learned some things about the Older Adults group that puts the city's initiative in a new perspective.

27% of our city is aged 50 and over. As this group ages into the senior citizen category over the next 10-15 years, our revenues will drop because the % of taxes that we collect on that age group decreases as a benefit to being old (and presumably having less money). Typically this wouldn't be an issue with traditional seniors with limited lifespans and who live in assisted living residences. BUT, the new Older Adult is not so old. This group is actually younger in mind and body. This group isn't going to sell their home and move into retirement homes. They are going to stay and age in their homes for 20+ years. (Decrease in revenue). They want services to provide entertainment and opportunities for socialization and engagement. (Pressure on revenue to meet demands.) They are a powerhouse voting block (politically powerful). This is what I mean by scary.

At the same time that this group wants to learn stuff, they need more time to learn new skills with frequent opportunities to practice. However, this group can be relied upon to support each other by sharing their expertise and in their willingness to volunteer.

My favorite library programs for Older Adults include:

• Cumberland County, NC: Downton Abbey Tea Party Series (historical talks followed by trivia); 
• Des Plaines, IL: Rotating deposit collections (50-100 items) at nursing homes and senior living centers
• Mecklenburg County, NC: Shutterbug Club (Digital photography series)*
• Various locations: 1:1 Techno Buddies Teens and Older Adults (supports skill building through assisted practice)