Neighbours, partners, & leaders: The role of libraries in community economic development

Given their geographical location, their resources and facilities, their philosophical roots, and their public reputation, libraries have long been extraordinarily well-positioned to make major contributions to community economic development. That few have done so on a sustained basis is a great misfortune; it is indicative of a gap between libraries and the energy, needs, and aspirations of their neighbours. Since the 1960s, the residents of distressed towns and neighbourhoods across North America have been marshalling partners for a process of local revitalization which involves much more than fostering businesses. It integrates the drive and spirit of the entrepreneur with a broad agenda of collective values - health, safety, jobs, pride, and environmental restoration, to name a few. It considers all manner of structural arrangements in order to bring together the ingredients of local empowerment: equity, credit, infrastructure, and people with organizational, technical, and vocational skills. This building of creative, inclusive, and sustainable communities from the bottom up is both the challenge and the invitation which CED presents. The experiences of Kitchener Public Library and Kelly Library (Chicago) are demonstrative of how libraries can take action in CED not as leaders but as partners, and use their assets to enhance an entire community's ways of life and work.