What is the library’s service population (e.g., the surrounding community, demographics such as income levels, high school/college education rate, unemployment, Internet access in the home, percentage of population in poverty, immigrant or refugee populations)?
What are the community’s challenges (as noted in news, industry, local/regional/community economic development, and other reports)?
What are the demographics of the library itself (e.g., MLS vs. non-MLS staff, circulation statistics, operating budget, collection, types of programs and services offered, databases available to patrons, etc.)?
Using the information you have gathered, examine how the library is meeting community needs through its program and service offerings.
Your paper should also address the following prompt:
In what ways do you think the library is meeting the community’s challenges that you have identified?
Are there any partnerships in the community that you notice?
Are there programs, services, or events offered to the community that are relevant to the challenges you identified?
