University of Oklahoma

The Need for a Summer Library Program in a Rural Community

Diana Fiddler
Research and Evaluation Methods--5713
Dr. Susan Burke
October 30, 2016

The Need for a Summer Library Program in a Rural Community

Introduction
Minimal studies have been conducted to study the effects of opening a community/school
library program strictly during the summer months. Several studies have taken place nationally
and internationally regarding dual use, joint use, and school-based libraries. The dual/joint use
library enables the rural community to have access to informational resources. Many rural areas
nationally and internationally are not accessible to a local public library. The ability to use a dual
or joint use library enables rural community members the convenient access to the librarys
resources. These resources include many differing types of informational services. Through
accessibility and availability, the communitys informational needs can be met through a
community/school summer library program. A joint effort between the school and the rural
community to offer a library service can instill a community wide learning environment.
Literature Review
This literature review will concentrate on the advantages and disadvantages of dual use,
joint use, or school-based library approaches in the offering of services to the rural communities.
These services include the focused impact on the community and its partnership with the facility
in providing informational services to the rural population. The need for strategic planning and
the importance of including stakeholders in a procedure of this type will be included as a
guideline to create a desirable community/school library program. While all rural libraries will
not benefit from a dual-use library method, the framework of ideas does allow for communities
to develop a plan which may benefit the informational needs of its patrons.

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National and International Studies

The idea of dual use libraries, the relationship between a public school library and
communitys public library, has been studied for more than forty years (Haycock 2006). The
experimentation of school-housed public libraries in the United States has occurred for over the
last 100 years (Amey 1989). Specific national school-public library studies include: Kansas
(Grunau 1965), Pennsylvania (Jaffe 1982), and South Dakota (Heath 1997). International studies
of dual and joint use libraries include: Canada (Amey 1989), Australia (Amey 1989), South
Africa (Hart 2010; Hart 2011; Le Roux and Hendrikz 2006), New Zealand (Matthews and
Calvert 2007), United Kingdom (McNicol 2006), and Queensland (Monley 2006). Haycock
(2006) refers to a dual library as a physical location where services are available and are
provided to two different types of members (school and community). The housing of the
professional library staffing, technology, and informational resources for children as well as the
adult community are located in one location. Le Roux and Hendrikzs (2006) study of
community-school libraries in South Africa define a community-school library as a single facility
which offers its services to a community population which has an agreement established between
the school and another entity which is tax supported.
Advantages
A dual-use library offers many advantages to the rural community. These advantages
include the offering of improved resource collections. If the dual-use library is located in a high
school setting, the high school will provide a substantial number of resources for the
communitys use. Schools which have different sites for their elementary and high school
facilities may find the need to locate the school/community library in the high school building as
suggested by Heaths (1997) study of school-community libraries. Matthews and Calverts

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(2007) study of joint use libraries in New Zealand refer to the benefits of the school housing a
larger selection of books. Technology is an additional resource which is a dynamic service
offered by any library. Many school libraries offer high-speed internet capabilities, which may
not be as accessible in the rural community. The potential to meet the school and communitys
technological needs is an advantage to combining the communitys library with that of the school
(Heath 1997).
The promotion of educational services is a primary target of the school systems.
Matthews and Calvert (2007) discuss the benefits of the encouragement of continued education
through the joint effort of the school and community. By creating a community library within
the school, the creation of an intergenerational interaction between the students and the
community members creates an atmosphere which facilitates the need for lifelong learning as
suggested by Hart (2011) and Amey (1997). McNicols (2006) also discusses the importance of
the dual librarys promotion of the lifelong learner which can take place in formal and informal
settings. The intergenerational interaction is an opportunity for the community to come together
which is a focal point of the dual library setting. Matthews and Calvert (2007) discusses the
importance of the local communities working closely with the schools. This community
involvement fosters the promotion of services and the well-being of the dual use library services.
By promoting the services offered, Harts (2010) study of school-based libraries in South Africa
acknowledges the ability for the innovative informational services to fill the library gaps within a
rural community. Ameys (1997) study of Australian school-based libraries refers to the need of
social equity for all individuals. This social equity includes the need for equal access to
informational resources.

The capability of offering extended or better services to its varied

patrons is a strong desire to assist in meeting patrons wants. This can be expressed in the need

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to provide professional staff, an extension of operation hours, and the providing of educational
services to the community (Haycock 2006; McNicol 2006; Amey 1989; Heath 1997; Le Roux
and Hendrikz 2006). Professional staff will work together to meet the communitys needs. This
includes the collaboration between the local librarians skills with that of the school librarian.
The staff members can work together to create an environment which provides adequate
services to meet the needs of both the school and community patrons. The inclusion of programs
which are relevant to both the teaching needs from the school and the resource needs of the
community members. The role of a teacher-librarian as described by Bundy and Amey (2006)
may be the norm for the smaller rural community. The teacher-librarian may take on the role of
both the public and school librarian as well as that of a teacher. This is quite a job for one
individual. Therefore, some of the services may suffer from the stretching of the staffs abilities.

An extension of operational hours is a definite plus for both populations. Hours can be
extended during the weekdays, holidays, summer months, and weekends. School libraries are
generally only available for use during school hours. This eliminates the ability to use a library
during summer months and extended holiday breaks. Through the joint use/ dual use library
students would be able to access the library throughout the year. Not only would extending the
library hours be beneficial for students, the dual library would also assist in meeting the needs of
the community. The operational hours of a library should reflect the needs of the patrons
(Matthews and Calvert 2007). Community members would discover the convenience
of accessing one site. Geographic accessibility (Hart 2010) allows for easy and visible access to
the patrons within the community. The location of the dual use library is an important factor. By
incorporating the schools library with the community library the patrons will physically be able

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to access the resources within the library. Schools must follow strict codes which are
handicapped accessible to all patrons. This accessibility for all community members will
promote the support needed to continue the school/community partnership. McNicol (2006)
voices the importance of community support for small community joint use libraries to be
beneficial for the whole community.
Disadvantages
Several disadvantages can be found in a dual use or joint use rural library. Heath (1997)
emphasizes the extra cost of funding a combined school/community library when the hours are
extended. The extension of library hours during evening, weekend, holiday, and summer months
can increase the cost of utility bills. During normal school closing hours, the library is able to
turn off the lights, heating, and air conditioning units. However, when the library extends its
hours of operation these utilities costs will increase. Heath (1997) also sites additional costs in
the funding of the librarians salary. Small rural schools may need the librarian to fill in with
other teaching duties. During the absence of the librarian, the library could be closed. When the
incorporation of a school/community library takes place, the closing of the library do to the lack
of a librarian would not service the communities library needs.
The quality and size of a librarys resources as well as the size of the facility may also be
a disadvantage to the community users needs (McNicol 2006). A small joint use library may not
necessarily have an ample amount of text or media resources to adequately meet its patrons
needs. This disadvantage can be amplified in the lack of funding to improve the librarys
collection or the information technology (Matthews and Calvert 2007). With the addition to
community members accessing the joint use library, the potential for overcrowding of the site
may be a possible problem. Haycock (2006) offers scenarios which involves the overcrowding

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of the library during school programming. The dual populations located within a library may
increase the noise level (Amey 1989), which could impede the student activities and the adult
patrons informational seeking processes. When serving two different populations of users
(McNicol 2006), tensions often rise in trying to adequately meet the needs of both diverse
communities (school and public) at the same time. There is an immense difference in the needs
of students and those of the adult population. The library atmosphere and services may be
inadequate when a diverse population converges upon a small location in a single meeting time.
Harts (2011) study of dual use libraries in South Africa discusses the issue of student
safety when incorporating the dual use library and the coming together of student and adult
populations. This safety concern is overwhelming when non-school adults are intermingling
with the student population without parent supervision. Because of the lack of parental
supervision, the censorship of adult material (Heath 1997) becomes another concern with the
combing of the school/community library. Schools would need to develop a plan to adequately
provide access to resources for the adult and school-aged patrons; otherwise, dual cataloging
systems (Amey 1989) may become confusing with the potential of inadequately serving the
patrons needs.
The inability to access the librarys resources because of inadequate transportation
(McNicol 2006) in relationship to the librarys location within the community is problematic.
Accessibility to the dual use library is an important aspect to consider when establishing a
community/school library. The communitys patrons need to have opportunities to access
transportation during the operational hours of the library. Many rural communities have
populations with diverse incomes. All patrons may not be able to easily travel to the librarys
location. Rural communities may have populations which could be spread over vast areas.

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These communities will need to assist in meeting all of the patrons needs. Some dual use
libraries will need to become creative in meeting these transportation needs.
Planning
The strategic planning process (Haycock 2006) is essential when implementing a dual use
library. An environmental scan of the strengths and weaknesses is imperative when starting a
joint venture between the school and community. Haycock (2006) stresses the importance of a
formal planning process in developing the shared vision and common goals for the program. It
is critical when creating a dual use or joint use library to establish goals (Matthews and Calvert
2007). These goals are essential in documenting the progress and failures in the community
library. Operational policies must be in place in order to create a cohesive environment. The
policies and procedures need to be created with the advisement of a committee which is
represented by the stakeholders (Hart 2011) of the community. The stakeholders from within the
community are important in establishing community involvement and support (Haycock 2006) in
order for a strong and productive dual use library to be created. These cooperating partners (Le
Roux and Hendrikz 2006) are necessary for a school-community library to guarantee success in
its funding and growth. Representatives from these committees are critical in the initial planning
stages during the creation of policies and procedures of the dual use library. When a dual use
library is established it must document the agreements which are made between the parties
involved. Le Roux and Hendrikz (2006) clarify the need to establish the roles and functions of
each party. These agreements ensure that the relationships are understood between the
stakeholders and administration with the types of agreed upon services.
When an agreement has been reached between the individuals, an evaluation and
reporting process needs to be put into place. This process creates an accountability of each party.

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Matthews and Calvert (2007) adhere to the importance of an internal and external evaluation of
a librarys program. The evaluation of a program can be obtained through the use of surveys
such as a detailed questionnaire. The reporting of evaluation findings should be reported
regularly to the stakeholders (Bundy and Amey 2006). This type of regular discussion between
the staff, administrators, and stakeholders establishes a strong chain of open communication
(Hart 2011). Support among the community to strengthen the communication, flexibility, and
goodwill among the stakeholders and library staff/administration in the establishment of change
is invaluable in the creation of a successful joint use library (Matthews and Calvert 2007).
Colocation
Monleys (2006) case study of colocated libraries in Queensland is a more recent library
model which offers an alternative to school/community based library locations. Monley
describes the ability to locate the library in a shared facility other than a public school. In
Monleys study of Queensland, he suggested three obvious choices for the colocation of the
library: government, tourist, and business agencies. These facilities all offer logical benefits in
the inclusion of a library. He suggests that patrons are familiar with such locations. The
familiarity offers a sense of trust, atmosphere, and the availability of resources and space. The
locations of each of these sites are generally central for community interaction. Monley (2006)
cites that these locations are funded through the local government. This is important as funding
is a disadvantage when using a school as the joint use facility.
Finally, it is important to be mindful of both the advantages and disadvantages when
planning the creation of a dual use, joint use, or school/community library. The advantages assist
in the availability of library resources for the school and community patrons. This convenient
access in meeting informational needs helps in creating lifelong learners through community

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support. Disadvantages include economic issues, student safety, and transportation to the
location. The economic impact of a dual use library occurs not only with staff salary, but with
the need to locate funding for extra utility services acquired through extended hours. When
establishing a dual use library, the intermingling of patrons (school aged and adult) creates a
concern for student safety. These safety issues are critical in establishing a beneficial program.
A large detractor in meeting the community members needs is the availability of transportation
to and from the librarys location. Patrons need to be able to access the library regardless of their
location in the community. The issues of the programs advantages and disadvantages can be
dealt with through meaningful planning. A strategic planning process which includes
stakeholders, administration, and staff is essential in developing a program which meets the
communities needs in present and future conditions.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study is to gather information to determine whether or not a summer
library program would be beneficial for the rural community located within the district of Caney
Valley Public School, in Ochelata/Ramona, Oklahoma. The problem within this study revolves
around the accessibility of library resources within the rural communities which are included in
the school district of Caney Valley Public School. Students as well as some community
members within this school district do not have reasonable access to a library during the summer
months in which school is not in session. Many of the students and residents who reside within
the district are from low income families and do not have the means to travel to a larger city to
access library resources or programs. This deprivation of library interaction could be alleviated
through the extension of the schools library hours of operation. Students and community
members are currently encountering a library desert found within the rural community; if the

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school is willing to open the library doors and participants deem a need for such a service to be
available, a summer school/community library resource could be opened for use. The questions
this study plans on answering include:

RQ 1: Would parents of school-aged children and community members from within the
school district be interested in the schools library being available during the
summer months?

RQ 2: What summer library programs would academically benefit the rural community?

RQ 3: Would the availability of transportation assistance increase the likelihood that

patrons would use the summer library resources?

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