Community Informatics: Library Facilitating Community Development

Abstract

The new library science is moving towards the community, hoping to help its development through knowledge innovation. The relationship between the community and the library has become closer, and the librarians’ mission is to help change the community through community-centered approaches. The mission of librarians is anchored and centered in the community. Focusing on latest developments in community-oriented librarianship, the article addresses the basic concepts of community engagement including appreciative inquiry, asset-based community development, and collective impact. These concepts are put into practice in a U.S. government-funded program, Transforming Libraries into Community Anchors in Rural Texas (TLCART), with grants from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. This paper explores the TLCART program and its application cases, elaborates the development of libraries in community informatics, and concludes with a summary of the potential impact on library informatics practice as well as library informatics education.

Keywords

• community informatics
• public libraries
• community development
• librarian education
• community engagement
• asset-based community development