How Community Organizations  Benefit from Community Information

Why focus on benefits?

The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) recently issued a white paper that challenged librarians and museum curators to rethink the way they evaluate public services. The authors of this report caution that "in growing numbers, service providers, governments, funders and the public are calling for clearer evidence that the resources they expend actually produce benefits for people." 

Although evaluation tools developed for use by public librarians have steadily evolved over the past 20 years, current tools fail to help librarians determine the impact of library services on those who use them.  In fact, Community Information librarians surveyed in our study indicate that the tools they currently use to evaluate the public's use of CI are woefully inadequate. Most librarians (78%) we surveyed indicate that their current tools are either not effective at all or only marginally so.   For example, while the current practice of analyzing the number of hits that a library web site’s CI pages receives gives librarians some sense for kinds of information their community looks for, it leaves a number of unanswered questions: 

• How often does the information libraries provide to citizens result in tangible benefits?
• What changes can the libraries make to their CI in terms of form and content to assure that the information they provide is more useful and accessible to citizens in the future?

 Based on our research data from site visits to three communities, we have grouped the benefits we identified under two major categories:

1. Benefits noted by information providers, i.e. non-profit organizations and governmental agencies that share local information via their library. 
2. Benefits reported by individuals who used their library’s community network to get the information they needed to solve a problem. 

Benefits to “Information Providers”

While both librarians and non-profit organizations pride themselves on public service, historically, they have approached this mission in different ways. Librarians have long considered themselves organizers and disseminators of information. Meanwhile, non-profit organizations have largely viewed themselves as service providers rather than information providers. Indeed, community organizations have long served a wide range of essential social functions, such as assisting low-income citizens in need of health care, providing parenting education to young mothers, or advocating for accessibility for the physically disabled community. Even fraternal associations have placed emphasis on their service efforts. For example, Lions clubs distribute glasses to the blind and the Junior League provides mentoring services to young people. Yet, many of these organizations have placed only modest emphasis on the valuable information their organizations have to offer. In the past, little consideration went into evaluating how individuals were supposed to find out about non-profit services. Word of mouth was often viewed as the most reliable method to learn about an organization’s programs. Information access traditionally tended to be very limited, particularly for citizens who weren’t connected to the necessary social network. 

Today, however, the Internet has dramatically changed the way individuals find information. In particular, many non-profit organizations that recognize the tremendous impact of information sharing have teamed up with local libraries to become “information providers” or IPs. Likewise, government agencies have discovered that they can better serve their citizens through e-government initiatives. As IPs, non-profits and government agencies provide content regarding their services and programs via library-sponsored electronic community networks (CNs). CNs we visited in Pittsburgh, Chicagoland, and Portland serve as powerful examples of what can happen when a community pools its resources to better inform the public. We invite you to explore the stories we have collected below that demonstrate the many ways in which electronic CI benefits community organizations.

Our new IMLS-funded research study, “How Libraries and Librarians Help” will focus on developing evaluation tools that libraries can use to gather data on the effectiveness of their electronic community information efforts. We believe that by combining success stories from the front lines of librarianship with more systematically gathered qualitative and quantitative data, librarians and the communities that they serve will get a better sense of how community information efforts help.

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Increasing Access to Information Resources

Librarians are experts when it comes to organizing information. Therefore, it is of little surprise that a community network supported by the library should feature well-organized, current, comprehensive, and standardized information about the local region. Moreover, the information providers we interviewed told us that they value their connection to the CN because the library is seen as an unbiased and trusted information resource. Below are some examples from our case studies at the Three Rivers Free-Net, NorthStarNet, and CascadeLink that illustrate characteristics of library-supported CNs.

Current Information
Because maintenance of Web documents often requires less work than updating traditional printed materials, disseminating information online can be a sensible alternative for many time- and money-strapped organizations. Here are some examples of organizations we have encountered over the course of our study that have benefited from the Web’s potential for currency:

• One association volunteer told us of an instance in which the date of a flower show his organization was sponsoring was incorrectly printed in the group’s newsletter. He asked: “How do you let the audience know? You can change the web site, but you're not going to redo a newsletter mailing.” Therefore, he decided to revise the web site to reflect the correct date for the event. He pointed out that far less time and money were required for the online update. 
• Thanks to the CN, a village trustee now posts the town meeting minutes within a day or two of the meeting to alert citizens to issues discussed by the board. Previously this public information wasn’t available to the community until weeks—sometimes months—after a meeting.

• One IP expressed the concept of trust in the following way: “I would say the library contact is the best part of our connection with the community network. Putting the library in that role is the biggest benefit to the community and the library.” 
• Another IP referred to the advantage working with the library brings to their organization: “I think that one of the benefits of partnering with the library is that the library’s constituency is everyone. No one is left out. The library represents all points of view. It’s content neutral. All IPs want to appeal to the entire general-public, and being connected with the library makes this possible.”

• A local non-profit organization that serves the disabled indicates that it is essential that they have a web page because they are affiliated with a national group and the organization's national site refers people to local chapters through Internet links.
• A school district representative told us of the benefit the community network has in strengthening the linkages among local organizations, both virtually and physically. She says that by having a web site on the network “we are part of that community, not just some name off the Web with nothing surrounding or relating to us. We are embedded in the community.”

• One information provider noted the contrast between thoughtfully organized library-sponsored CN and other community web sites that seemed to have no rhyme or reason regarding how things are listed on the page. The subject-based organizational scheme at her community network enables her users to save time wading through all the information online. 
• A government official from a large county noted that keeping track of “who’s who” in government is a tricky proposition, but that the community network offers well-organized links to government information.

Increasing Access to and Connections among Organizations and People

Community information connects people over time and space, thus overcoming the limits of physical geography. At the same time, having an Internet presence lends legitimacy to an organization, and opens up opportunities for linkages, connections and partnerships.

Limits of Geography Reduced 
The Internet offers the possibility of bringing together previously unconnected individuals and groups by diminishing the barriers of physical distance.

• As the staff from a group that offers support services to low-income single parents told their community network, "People across the country and even the world are learning about our organization—people that we could not reach otherwise."
• An arts agency in Pennsylvania used its web site to sell tickets for a concert to people from places as far flung as California and Germany.
• One community information page for a small Midwestern suburb noticed persistent hits from Web users in Germany. Eventually they discovered the source of these hits: many young people from the area served in the Army and were stationed in Germany and these soldiers visited the local web site to keep updated on news from home.

       Communication with Clientele Increased

• A volunteer at a local historical society noted a marked increase in communication since the organization posted its web pages on the CN. She said, “We are amazed at the way in which people from places throughout the country—and throughout the world—come and visit our page. We even get emails from people who had a connection to our community three generations ago.” 
• A fireman who serves as his department’s web master said this about the increase in communication as a result of their web page: “Because we have a presence on the Internet, there are people thinking: ‘If they have a web page, maybe they'll be nice enough to answer my email.’ So, we get emails from all over the world.”
• A representative from a little league baseball team said that since he posted a club web page on the CN, he has been flooded with emails from parents of the players. He uses this feedback to inform the club’s board members of parents’ concerns and questions. 

     Ability to ask anonymous questions

• A local police chief says that he has seen an increase in the number of inquiries his department receives from citizens. He suspects that this is due to the fact that people are more likely to turn to the police for help if given the opportunity to interact with the department anonymously online.
• The staff at an AIDS organization realizes that people with HIV disease are still sometimes the target of discrimination. Because of this, many people are afraid to seek help. Therefore, being able to anonymously contact the organization via email or access information on the Web has greatly increased the comfort level of the people it serves. 
• A staff member from a psychological counseling service also noted the increased sense of comfort that patrons get through anonymous Web inquiries: “Many of the people we serve see counseling and therapy as bad words. Even if they're in the midst of something difficult, they're may be really uncomfortable stopping to talk about it. But if information is available on the Internet, they can find out what they need to know and where to go.” 

IP’s are more responsive to client’s needs/requests
Increased communication between organizations and the clientele results in greater responsiveness by agencies to the people they serve. The interactive nature of the Internet allows for quicker response time and more frequent information updates.

• According to a one fireman, his local community network is a tool for making government more responsive and approachable. He receives a variety of information requests via email and makes fire safety information available online so citizens can locate answers to their questions more easily.
• One city official has taken an active role in his community network because he feels information technology can make government more responsive to its citizens, especially do to the interactive nature of the Web. In fact, he goes so far as to assert that citizens have a right to feel angry with government that doesn’t make government information available online. 

• One police department partners with the local library to offer an Internet safety program. The officers say that since their department developed a web site, the use of the Internet as an interactive communication tool has greatly enhanced-community policing efforts.
• One small town library spoke of the direct increase in collaboration as a result of their central involvement in the community network. Since beginning involvement, the library has signed off on two collaborative grant applications, one with the high school and another with the senior center. 

• An employee at a nonprofit that serves AIDS patients indicates that the community network works as a catalyst that links his organization with other like-minded groups: “AIDS services are often fragmented, leaving people who are living with HIV infection wondering where to turn. Having our web site hosted on the network allows us to pool our resources and create links to other agencies, thus broadening the availability of resources.”
• A representative from a local cable access station spoke of network benefits in the following way: “We've found being involved in a local network is a great feature. Other people are here; they are people like you and a good representation of your community. It's better than hanging out there by yourself.” 
• One information provider shared these insights on the power of social networking: “It's branding and it's also value added—the idea that I'm part of this larger thing, and you can get my information, but you can also get information on other organizations. For example, if I am the yoga teacher in town, maybe I'll link to other community network sites that relate to health and fitness or maybe I'll link back to my community site. As a result, there's much more of value on my web site than just my yoga information. ” 

• One CN participant described the atmosphere at a recent meeting of CN participants: “I was sitting there in a room with people representing pretty much every facet of a community. You had a business owner, a fireman, a police officer, as well as people representing a social service-agency, the chamber of commerce, school districts, park districts, and every facet of a community. That's what I think is the coolest idea—the PTA president and the police chief might get together, the park district and someone who works with physically disabled kids might get together, the school librarian and the public librarian might get together.”
• A parks and recreation employee sits on an advisory committee for her community network. She says her responsibility on the committee results in serendipitous benefits. The members use these meetings as an opportunity to share ideas with other community representatives. 

• An information provider in one community acknowledged that being part of a CN brought out a healthy spirit of competitiveness: “We meet and talk about how many hits, how well you're doing, and the frustrations of making pages. And, we put a little bit of pressure on each other—a little competitive pressure, so that our sites are kept up to date as much as we can, in the process we learn more about each other.” 
• The village trustee of one community jumped on the community network idea. She posted the village trustee agenda online so that citizens could see what issues were on the table. In response, IPs told her that they were now much more aware of what was going on in the different areas of local politics and government. 

Increasing Organizational Effectiveness

Service providers benefit from collaborating with community networks in several ways, including enhanced visibility, increased financial support, and a wider base of well-trained volunteers. 

Enhanced Visibility and Expanded Audience

• A woman from California who was relocating to suburban Chicago used the CN to get a sense for the different communities in the area. One community’s page caught her eye and so she wrote to them: "Just from your web site I think I’d like your community. What else can you tell me about it?" 
• One community member is involved in a print exchange for wood block carvers. After learning of the CN from a librarian, he designed a web page for the CN which allows woodblock printers from all over the world to share their prints and exchange information about techniques, inks, and tools of the trade. 
• A health-oriented foundation cited the "tremendous reach" possible due to their new web site. 

• A veteran’s association member believes that having a web site has helped his organization promote a more positive image of the organization and “defy the stereotype of a bunch of old guys sitting around”. The organization does quite a bit of community service and a number of the members volunteer at the local school. The web allows them an opportunity to alert the citizens to their community involvement. 
• One librarian talked about the authority that partnership with the police department lends to their collaboration efforts: “For me to bring in a uniformed representatives from the local police department adds an incredible amount of credibility to our workshop on Internet safety. The CN makes a difference in our community by bringing together groups of people and organizations within the community that might not otherwise have an opportunity to interact.” 

• An organization that provides special services to the elderly finds that its web site helps recruit new listeners, while keeping their current audience better informed of its offerings. The web site also serves as a effective recruitment tool for the organization, which now boasts close to 300 volunteers.
• A representative from an agency that supports single, low-income parents said, “We have been asked about opening a new childcare center. In addition, people are offering to volunteer, and sponsor a fundraising event for us” due to increased public awareness created by the web site.

• One local non-profit shared this story: “A woman looking for travel information about our city ended up on our community network site.  She looked at the nonprofit wish list posted on the CN, and read our request for items such as games, art supplies, and magazine subscriptions for middle school youth. Three days later, we received a large box full of board games, cards, puzzle, book, and an 8-bit Nintendo System and about fifty games!”
• For a municipal health department, the community network strengthens its grant-making activities. Since funders often require that you show how you will share information on your activities with the community, the health department lists the community network in its grant applications, citing the network as an important means of disseminating its message.

• According to the director of a local nonprofit, going to the community network for help in building a web page has been empowering in a number of ways: “Working with the network—rather than a design firm—has a number of benefits. I wanted to learn the mechanics of building and maintaining a site.  The hands-on experience I got from working with the network gives me more control over the content of our web site.  When you go through a design firm you have to try to explain to them how to represent you, but when you do it yourself, you can get it right faster.”

• A radio station for the visually impaired has started to make its programs available on demand via Real Audio streaming on their community network web page. The station’s director views technology as a way to give “blind drivers a lane on the information superhighway.” He notes that his group is ahead of the curve because reading services in other locations do not have web pages, e-mail boxes, or streaming audio.
• Organizations now have to potential to offer their clientele information 24 hours a day, seven days a week via the Internet. This can represent a tremendous advantage, especially for someone in need. As one social service agency employee points out, “Many times people are in crisis in the middle of the night and they don't know where to turn. And so we thought, ‘Boy, if we could have a web site where people could fill in an intake form so that in the morning it's there and somebody can call and set up an appointment immediately, it would be a real service.’" 

• Regarding the free server space and training provided by the community network, one non-profit employee said, “It sounds too good to be true, but it is true.”
• A local historical society volunteer remarked on the decreased costs of making their organization’s information available via the community network: “By having the Internet available, you don’t necessarily reduce the mailing costs, but you can provide information in different ways. You can create a whole page about an event at no additional cost.” While the group continues to spread its message with traditional media, such as hardcopy newsletters, they can now also provide more detailed information over the Internet at no additional cost.
• According to one school district employee: “What makes the CN successful is the way it is based on a network system. You already have that infrastructure in place so you’re not building something from scratch—that would take forever. If you start it from the library, you can work from there and save a great deal of time in doing so.” 
• “Our group put together a book for all of our third graders about the history of our town. It would cost a quite a bit of money to print. I put it up on the Internet. We realized that they don't need to the book. We don't need to pay for the reprint costs and yet it is still available forever. Once you you’ve put it online, it doesn't cost anything to have it there.” 

CN Support Provided to IPs 
Libraries help numerous community organizations, government agencies, and small businesses get their web sites off the ground. One librarian we spoke to referred to this as “incubating” a web site.

     Technical Assistance

• A local nonprofit told us how the network staff has been very helpful in getting them started by providing great technical assistance and a volunteer, who created their first page. Additionally, the CN staff and volunteers have built a network of social service providers that greatly improves communication possibilities.
• One school employee talked about how the library helped “incubate” their first web pages. Since that time, the site grew so much that the school eventually had to get its own web server. In the process of working with the library, school staff gained enough Web expertise to launch their own site. 

     Personal Assistance

• A village employee who developed a web site with help from the library described the benefits in the following way: “The fact that it was available locally. There were people that you could go to—you can pick up the phone and say: ‘Hey, I’ve got a problem.’ What’s more, you can get answers quickly. It's a great resource.” 
• An information provider who developed web sites for a number of community organizations said this of the assistance he received from his local library: “It's the personnel who are so important. I went to the library and talked to my contact there. I didn't have a clue and he took me by the hand and I think it was two months before I went online. Not only did he show me, but also he explained what a web site is, and why a site would be good for my organization and to the community.” 

• A municipal health department official who, due to the wide-ranging information that the community network provides at no cost via public libraries, asserted that it “is the single greatest opportunity of access for minorities.”
• An employee at a nonprofit who noted that “many of the people we serve are the least likely to have their own computers and Internet access.  The community network allows access to everyone through dial-up services and public library access.”
• An agency that serves a disabled community has created an online access guide to its city, which appears on their community network-sponsored page. The guide offers information on access to parking, buildings, restrooms, telephones, water fountains, etc. provided by local businesses to persons with disabilities. 

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