Despite the proliferation of online homework websites and tutoring services, public libraries still have an important role to play when it comes to supporting young people's educational needs. Public libraries that take a proactive approach--by setting up organized homework centers--have the potential to become catalysts for better performance in…

Students with significant disabilities typically experience poor postschool employment outcomes. However, when provided opportunities to work and engage within their communities, they can gain necessary work-specific and workplace social skills to improve outcomes. This article outlines a six-step model for community-based employment programs…

The author has written this Guidebook to assist users interested in creating a campus that will be more global in its mission, programs, and people. His approach is to focus on the views and contributions of the people who are engaged in higher education. Thus it has a "person" emphasis rather than a structural or policy point of view. The author…

Fewer employees, shorter hours, diminished collection budgets, reduced programs and services--all at a time of record library usage. In this book, library expert Carol Smallwood demonstrates that despite the obvious downsides, the necessity of doing business differently can be positive, leading to partnering, sharing, and innovating. This…

Including 66 focused snapshots of outreach in action, this resource reflects the creative solutions of librarians searching for new and innovative ways to build programs that meet customer needs while expanding the library's scope into the community. This contributed volume includes: (1) A huge array of program options for partnering with other…

Part of an effort to increase the capacity of local citizens to address critical issues facing their communities, this paper reports on a project to develop and test a replicable process for organizing community forums at community colleges. Following introductory remarks, the first section discusses the role of the community college in community…

The purpose of this guidebook is to help elected leaders of small towns and communities stretch their investments when matching funds are required to compete for a grant or to pay for development costs above the grant award itself. The federal "small cities" Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) is used as an example throughout the…

Presents a framework to guide evaluation activities for school and community programs that attempt to improve career development outcomes for students K-16. Discusses three essential components to this framework: a comprehensive career development model for students; a framework to identify post-high school outcomes; and a program evaluation…

This book is designed to provide an introductory understanding of challenges, goals, processes, and procedures for economic developers, particularly economic development volunteers, in rural areas and small towns. Chapter 1 defines economic development and basic terms. Chapter 2 describes major economic, social, and demographic trends that…

This guide was written for small and rural government officials who have limited experience with the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program and with federal grants in general. The use of outside expertise is often necessary in projects involving public facilities, housing, and economic development, some of the principal activities which…

The ACRE (Action with Communities in Rural England) Rural Adult Education Project was conceived in the spirit of empowering local people to help themselves. This book, a distillation of the experience of the project, was written with the primary object of being of practical use to those who are already involved, or would like to become involved,…

This manual was developed to help community members conduct a dialogue on race. When people explore perspectives and ideas, they discover how much they share and learn to appreciate their differences. The nature of the dialogue process can motivate people to work toward change. Sections of the manual explore: (1) "Characteristics of Community…

In changing economies, local leaders need guidance in collaborative, multicommunity approaches to problem solving. This book is comprised of three sections organized around the steps necessary to develop and manage a comprehensive leadership program. The first section describes the mechanics of organization. A series of questions is presented to…

The manual addresses the design and implementation of personnel practices for improving the preparation and performance of paraprofessionals who work with developmentally disabled persons in community-based settings. The first part of the manual describes components of a comprehensive system of career development (entry level positions, career…

Storytelling is the most powerful activity people can engage in to build community, because storytelling is how new empowering ideas are shared. Stories structure the inner landscape from which behavior is born. This guide to storytelling in the context of community building begins with a discussion of the importance of stories, with many…