By Neal Peirce For Release Sunday, August 22, 2010
© 2010 Washington Post Writers Group
America’s public libraries, fast turning themselves into “one-stop shops” for digital job searches, appear to be staging one of their great historic transformations.
Responding to a rush of recession-time visitors, 88 percent of our libraries now offer access to job databases. And at least two-thirds of library staffs are helping applicants complete online job applications, according to a national survey by the American Library Association and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
As for access to free wireless services, 82 percent of libraries now provide it — up from just 37 percent four years ago. In two-thirds of cases, the libraries are the only source of free Internet service in their communities.
What’s amazing is that many libraries are able to maintain the bulk of their services and adapt to growing needs during a recession, even in the face of snowballing funding cuts by their local governments. More than 55 percent of urban libraries are reporting budget cuts, and a quarter have felt obliged to cut hours or close branches.
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By David Boyd For Release Sunday, August 22, 2010
Citiwire.net
SALT LAKE CITY — In the current economic climate it is not unusual to find local governments “tightening the belt” by curtailing activities not considered essential services. All too often this can mean the slashing of planning projects and departmental staff.
There is a certain amount of logic to cuts: After all if a community isn’t growing, if there are no new developments to be reviewed, what is the point?
But — what we are seeing is that smart communities, like smart businesses, are using the laggard pace of the present economic downturn to lay the foundation for a high functioning and successful future. By engaging in highly participatory and increasingly regional-scale planning initiatives, these communities are developing the civic infrastructure necessary to succeed in the 21st century.
A prime example is the Greater Wasatch Area of Utah. It includes 10 counties and over 90 cities and towns, sandwiched between the Wasatch Mountain Range and the Great Salt Lake — a 100-plus mile linear oasis bordered by rugged mountain terrain and desert, home to over 80 percent of Utah’s residents.
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