From the President of RUSA: Changing Needs, Changing Roles: How Public Libraries are Expanding Traditional Service Models to Best Serve Their Communities

Abstract

I n the fall and winter columns I wrote about our year-long RUSA strategic planning process. In the fall I described the work of RUSA committees and task forces that have led to our current point in planning. In the winter I shared information about some of the initiatives that have been implemented as a result of the existing plan, specifically the work of the RUSA Leadership Development Task Force, and I offered suggestions to individuals interested in applying for new jobs in libraries. In this column I’m taking a wider view of some of the trends that are impacting reference and user services, in public libraries specifically, and looking at a few of the creative ways that public libraries are meeting the needs of their communities, sometimes in surprising ways, as they develop new initiatives. These programs and services are allowing communities to engage with the public library and its materials (electronic and physical) in the manner, and often at the time, that they desire.