I agreeto Idea Help the rurals
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Help the rurals

I suggest you work on a Rural Community College Library Sustainability Act to guarantee basic staffing, resources and programming for the 400 small, underfunded community colleges trying to provide decent services to folks in rural, isolated areas without reliable broadband. Good libraries will help ensure student success and will provide folks with the information skills necessary to support life-long learning and work-force development. Throw us a bone, here.

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Submitted by waltl 2 years ago

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Comments (4)

  1. Community Member

    Yes! We get students right out of high school, non-trads entering or re-entering the workforce, community members doing research, high school students taking college classes or just wanting somewhere to study at night when their high school libraries are closed. We do everything the urban cc's do and have many of the same needs as our urban counterparts, but we aren't as visible so frequently get overlooked in the funding "pie."

    2 years ago
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  2. eheilman

    Rural community college libraries are really straggling, and have been over the last 40 years! We have no staff and little money to support instruction. As a result, the quality of education and the student experiences have suffered greatly.

    2 years ago
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  3. youngbloodm

    Rural community colleges attempt to provide similar services as urban and university colleges do their students. Librarian requirements are the same in urban and rural areas, so the training is the same the the equipment is lacking. We are limited in our abilities because of staff shortages and financial needs. It is the student who suffers the most for no other reason than location.

    2 years ago
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  4. rrobertson

    I agree. You might want to read Alan Frey's article for CCA/CTA on "economies of scale," and the difficulties small, rural colleges meet due to their inherently smaller student size and tax base.

    2 years ago
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