Rural communities of less than 2,500 residents in Illinois showed a reversal of growth patterns between 1950-80. During the 1950's Illinois' approximately 900 rural towns grew at a rate of 60% compared with 81-86% growth rate for towns in other size classes; during the 1970's rural towns showed a steady growth increase of 73% while growth of towns…

For many small-town citizens the post office remains an essential institution, not only as a collector and distributor of the mails but also as a focal point of sociability and intimacy, as a news center, and as a provider of special neighborhood services and counseling. In order to provide data for the Postal Rate Commission (charged with…

An overview is provided of the Central Oklahoma Economic Development District (COEDD) library system, which serves seven counties. A general analysis of COEDD's background and purpose is followed by demographic and economic data for the area. An inventory of present library facilities and activities is presented along with a comparison with state…

Before being included in Kanazawa City in 1954, all villages in the Yasuhara district of Japan might have been called model village communities, for these farming communities were built around common utilization of naturally-flowing ground water, and the rice farmers worked communally exhibiting principles of closeness and equality. When Yasuhara…

Summarizes the nature of service delivery systems in non-metropolitan communities and identifies four community/delivery system types: small city, small town, rural community, and reservation community. Identifies areas warranting further study, e.g., the reservation community, the informal functioning of helping systems, and the coordination of…

Describes nine of Colorado's smallest rural elementary school communities. Shows how they fall into six community types (agricultural, rural industrial, stable recreational, ranching/railroad, rural commuter, loosely structured/isolated). Notes the interdependence of rural schools and their communities. Explains how the idea of school as community…

Data from a 1977 telephone survey of 501 urban to rural North Carolina migrants show global satisfaction measures reflect more than is included in standard lists of community attributes and reflect satisfaction with few attributes in particlar. The analysis demonstrates community satisfaction can help explain respondents' potential for moving…

Examines the tie between community characteristics and race-linked occupational differentiation in 40 rural southern locations. Indicates exact opposite of conventional theoretical expectations. Shows educational level of races, spatial location, and industrial structure manifest substantial effects on opportunities. (AH)

Examines four methods of identifying Amish-Mennonite settlement: local population data on religious affiliation; location of Amish church districts and Mennonite churches; topographic maps; and surnames and cadastral maps. Topographic maps proved unsuitable. Other methods produced reasonable approximations of Amish and Mennonite settlement. (TES)

Examines effects of agricultural and socioeconomic attributes of rural households on household members' outmigration. Uses data from 180 households surveyed in 1963 and 1971 in 3 diverse Colombian "counties." Suggests that different patterns of community structure and structural change produce different patterns of migrant selectivity.…

Regional suburbanization processes are transforming rural America socially and physically, threatening the uniqueness of small towns whose diversity is a national resource. This article reviews existing holistic descriptions of American rural communities since post-World War II by rural sociologists and anthropologists. Three new community case…

Questionnaire data from 81 North Carolina communities were analyzed in 1981 to test the hypothesis that 5 institutional subcategories (education, general community services, transportation, agricultural services, and health and sanitation) exhibit the underlying characteristic of unidimensionality and that they reflect comparable levels of…

Utilizing 1970 census data and updates plus local data and library records, the study seeks to assess the current status of public library usage in and around Aberdeen, South Dakota. A demographic profile of the community as a whole was first constructed and then compared with similar data for known public library users. Information was also…

During the 1969-70 school year, a follow-up program was conducted for participants of the summer 1969 institute on Teaching Alaskan Native Youth. On-site seminars and individual conferences were conducted with 20 teachers and aides (serving in 16 rural Alaskan communities in which the predominant first language is Yupik, Inupik, or Athabascan) to…

A study of effects of differentiated farm structures and industry structures on socioeconomic conditions in 3,037 counties for 1970 and 1980 indicated that employment in core industry and a pattern of family farming contribute to more favorable socioeconomic conditions. Both peripheral and state employment lowered socioeconomic conditions relative…