THE ELEGANT Gerald S. Burns buidling, one of two Pawtucket library sites.
WHAT: An online public journalism project will explore the essential role played by libraries in Rhode Island as they face an uncharted future. The project will examine their past, present and future functions and will encourage public support for libraries through professional, fair and comprehensive coverage. Stories will examine the evolving range of services libraries provide and the financial and technical challenges they face in a digitizing world. We will hear the voices of those working to keep libraries alive and those who benefit from this unparalleled resource.
WHO: Professional journalists will lead the project, seeking broad participation of library patrons, pofessionals, volunteers, benefactors and organizations to help chart the direction of the project and produce multimedia stories for online distribution. The project website will serve as a public square for the exchange of necessary information, from State House budget battles over library funding to listings of public activities at libraries.
HOW: A nonprofit corporation named “The Public Square” and modeled on efforts like ProPublica, the Internet-based journalism project, will produce articles, videos and audio reports, while partnering with existing media to produce and display its reports. The Public Square platform will be set up as a flexible format suitable for similar projects in the future.
WHY: Libraries have traditionally been a major route up the educational (and social) ladder for those with few resources. Today strained public resources threaten Rhode Island’s traditionally robust support for libraries, at a time when rapid changes in technology, such as electronic books, together with new reading patterns and evolving community needs, are redefining the role of libraries. At the same time, shrinking print and broadcast news budgets have reduced coverage of libraries and long-form journalism in general, leaving this story untold.
WHEN: The Library Report will last between one and two years and begin when adequate funding is obtained from foundation and private sources. Other funding possibilities will be vigorously pursued with an eye towards ultimate sustainability.
FOSTER: A town so in love with libraries that it has two (and needs a new one). "We're the only place where anybody can walk in, no matter who you are, and use all our stuff for free," says Kristen Chin, head librarian. "People love libraries, even if they don't use them," Chin says. "Libraries make the town." The town actually has two: the Foster Center Library, which has up top 800 visitors a month, and the Tyler Free Library in Moosup Valley, which sees as many as 500 patrons a month. Chin says a goal is to build a new library that will meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which calls for facilities that can be accessed by patrons using wheelchairs.
THE TYLER FREE LIBRARY in Moosup Valley
THE FOSTER CENTER LIBRARY
A WORK IN PROGRESS Still in its conceptual phase, the Rhode Island Library Report has some concrete components as to how it will actually be carried out. Here are some of them:
• WEB SITE. The library project’s interactive Web site will be the core showcase for the project’s work. The Web site will demonstrate the Internet’s potential as a multi-media delivery system, and the project will be built using technology that is easy to use by producers d consumers. • A NEWS UNIT will report on breaking news, such as library mergers, local and state library budget making, with written and video reports. This unit also will document the current work of libraries, producing features about patrons, librarians and programs. • THE HISTORY DIVISION will create and update existing histories of every Rhode Island library. The project will organize and support volunteer teams to produce individual histories, and the project also will produce a history of the Rhode Island library movement. • LIVE VIDEOCASTS will broadcast events such as library workshops, trustees’ meetings, lectures and book discussions. The project will experiment with evolving technologies, such as use of " Skype” style videoconferencing to create “virtual” book clubs, whose members participate from home via computer. • BEST PRACTICES by individual libraries and organizations will be documented, as will innovative services, such as helping the jobless find work, providing a safe environment for latchkey kids and the use of libraries as centers of community activities. • THE FUTURE OF LIBRARIES will be a central focus of the project, which will report about on-going efforts by libraries to address new needs. The project also will be a catalyst to promote innovation and discussion of libraries’ evolving roles. • FUNDING PRIORITY. The goal will be to make libraries a local and state budget priority in a time when they are facing severe cuts and branch closings. The project will help in developing legislation to strengthen laws and constitutional provisions that advance the survival and growth of libraries. • INNOVATIVE FEATURES will include the opportunity for library employees and patrons to speak in their own voices, wether in personal blogs, essays, or oral histories related to the overall project. Patrons can be encouraged to set up virtual book clubs, using Skype or similar technology.