Library Cooperation + Library Development
= LSCA in Rolling Prairie

The effects of Library Services and Construction Act grants on membership with Rolling Prairie Library System [RPLS) can best be summed up by two phrases: library cooperation and library development. We define library cooperation as groups of libraries working together for a common goal. Many RPLS libraries applied for and received LSCA grants that were cooperative in nature. Library development can be described as the expansion of library service areas and the creation of new services of expansion of existing services.

Why do I say that LSCA grants fostered cooperation within Rolling Prairie? Let's examine a few of the grants that were received by RPLS libraries. In the early 1980s Title III grants were received by public libraries working in cooperation with local schools or special libraries. From these modest beginnings, larger projects of cooperation were developed. In each of these grants a population with specific needs was targeted.

The Tri-County Rural Resources and Referral Sites grant was received by five libraries. This grant provided materials directed towards the agricultural community. Computers, a video player and a TV monitor that farmers could check out gave them access to new technology. A Datalink modem hook-up allowed the libraries to provide access to up-to-date cash and futures prices, weather and crop marketing reports. This was a very successful grant.

Improved Public Library Service for Older Citizens was a grant that allowed the purchase of Bi-Folkal kits that enabled the libraries to provide programming targeted toward senior citizens. Also purchased were large print books, books on tape and video equipment. When the seniors came to programs, they shared their memories and experiences. Using the video equipment, the libraries were able to record these sessions, thus preserving the history of their communities and also the special skills of their older citizens.

Another group of five libraries came together to develop the Young Adult Outreach Program. The libraries created teen advisory boards, developed collections of books just for the teens, provided special programming and improved cooperation between the school and public librarians in the five communities. This was a cooperative project that sought out those hard-to-reach teens and brought them into the library.

How does one do intergenerational programming without the materials to do it? That conundrum was solved by a group of libraries that cooperated to create Programs to Go Kits. These kits contained a wide variety of materials, from books to videos, audio tapes to film strips, puzzles and realia all brought together in one self-contained kit on a subject or theme. With each kit was an instruction booklet that explained the items in the kit and how to use the kit. "Programs To Go was a very successful grant, one that has served as a model for others.

Cooperation to develop collections has also been successful in RPLS. Two groups of libraries have worked together to expand their collections. First, they examined their collections to determine what areas were the weakest. Those weak areas were then developed specifically for the libraries' needs. Examples of those areas are pets, genealogy, travel, sports, etc. Once the targeted areas were developed, all the new materials were entered into the System LLSAP. Not only did the cooperative collection management projects improve the collections of the libraries involved, those materials also were made available to the entire membership of the system. These two groups of libraries each received a second cooperative collection management grant. Different areas of the collection were targeted for development due to changes in population needs and usage patterns. Some of the areas upgraded in the first grants were given additional attention. These libraries have been models for other libraries in the System doing collection development.

One group of libraries became the pilot group for using the Pacific Northwest Conspectus for evaluating their collection. They were the first libraries in the system to use this statistical gathering device to analyze their collections. Through the use of the Conspectus they were able to determine areas of their library collection

* Beverly J. Obert, School/Public Library Consultant, Rolling Prairie Library System, Decatur.

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that were weaker than others. This group held a workshop to explain how they used this assessment tool and answered questions for other librarians who were making a similar assessment of their own collections.

A literacy grant was received in 1986 to help combat illiteracy. Model literacy programs were established throughout the RPLS area and the Richland Community College district. With the funds, local literacy coordinators were selected and given training, basic literacy collections were developed, and volunteers and students were recruited.

Baby TALK, a special project that reaches out to the youngest members of a service population, started as an LSCA project titled "Teaching Activities for Learning and Knowledge." Volunteers went to hospitals and gave out books to the mothers of newborns encouraging them to read to their child and registered them for targeted newsletters on child development with suggestions of appropriate reading materials to read to their babies as they grow. Other libraries in the system were given small collections of board books for parents of babies and toddlers to check out. This project that began 10 years ago continues today.

Services to special targeted audiences were demonstrated by the Business Information Center grant, with its home base at the Decatur Public Library. The audience for this program was the business community — the man or woman who owned a small- or medium-sized business or wanted to start one. While this was based in Decatur, it was a cooperative effort. Five other libraries in Macon County were part of the grant project. They each had satellite Business Information Centers with materials targeted to their community's needs. How to start a business, bookkeeping in a small business, customer service and resume books are just a few of the items in these mini collections. Cooperation among libraries and targeting a specific population were the hallmarks of LSCA in Rolling Prairie,

Cooperative efforts continue as the last LSCA cooperative grant called the "MIDLIN Project" demonstrates. MIDLIN, a community information network, was designed for small rural libraries to create and mount home pages for their libraries and communities. While this project is still ironing out the wrinkles, the efforts of these libraries to take the next step in communication — the Internet — is to be commended.

The most popular and far reaching grants in RPLS were the Project PLUS grants. At least 11 of these projects were conducted in the RPLS area. Through these projects, libraries converted from township or village libraries to district libraries. This allowed them to cross township or county lines, expanding their boundaries so they could serve their entire school district area. Through these grants, libraries were able to demonstrate the importance of library service to the residents of the school district. Many Project PLUS libraries have sought and received construction grants. These libraries now have buildings that will take them into the 21st Century with proper wiring and space to do the programming they desire.

There were two Project PLUS grants in particular that created libraries in the communities of Chatham and Rochester, where no library had previously existed. These libraries, demonstrating services to people from scratch where nothing had existed before, are two more success stories from the history of LSCA. Both libraries have since built new facilities that are centers of activity in their communities.

Project PLUS libraries brought services to thousands of people who had not had service before. Increasing services to the unserved expanded these libraries, increasing service populations and service demands. Project PLUS increased the tax base for each library by expanding boundaries. This increased the funding of each library, enabling them to enlarge their collections to meet patron needs and hire and train new staff to better serve their residents.

Library development also has been improved by various grants for equipment. The LSCA ALLY grants for computers and modems allowed many libraries to access the LLSAP database at RPLS, First Search and ILLINET Online. The computers, modems and communications software provided dial access to materials that met the information needs of their patrons. Another grant for equipment that broadened the services offered by libraries was the matching funds FAX grant. Libraries felt it was important to have this technology to enable them to obtain periodical articles and other information quickly for their patrons.

Faxes, modems and new computers all have gone far to develop the libraries in Rolling Prairie. The system is truly in the technology age, constantly seeking new ways to improve their services to the residents. LSCA grants have allowed libraries to do this.

Now that we have seen the end of the LSCA grants, what does the future hold? The first round of the new Library Services and Technology Act grants continues the efforts of models created in the past through the LSCA. Cooperative efforts were abundant in the Rolling Prairie Library System — not only amongst public libraries but among various types of libraries and agencies. Truly, library cooperation and development has been fostered by LSCA grants and will continue in the future.

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