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In the past few decades, public libraries have undergone a quiet transformation from sleepy repositories of books to full-fledged community centers. In major metropolises and affluent suburbs, multimillion-dollar architectural marvels have risen to accommodate yoga classes, poetry slams and studios for recording podcasts. Rural libraries, though constrained by considerably smaller budgets, are also changing, and the pandemic is accelerating the rate of change.

A new joint effort by (a program of Kentucky鈥檚 Berea College) and is helping to ensure that rural libraries are equipped to provide a range of services to help young children reach literacy benchmarks. The , says Save the Children鈥檚 Lesley Graham, 鈥渨eaves rural places together,鈥� rather than setting them up as competitors, which would reinforce a scarcity mindset.

The effort launched in January and already has representation from all 50 states and Australia, too. School and college libraries are also joining, reflecting what Graham terms 鈥渢he appetite for connection.鈥� Partners for Education鈥檚 Dreama Gentry says, 鈥淟ibraries are the heart of communities everywhere, and the hubs of rural places.鈥�

Shannon Chaney, a children鈥檚 librarian in Putnam County, Tennessee, says, 鈥淭he Rural Library Summit they held in 2020 uplifted and inspired me by not only highlighting the many ways that libraries transform children鈥檚 lives but also by introducing me to resources and ideas that I am now implementing in my community.鈥� Chaney plans to integrate 鈥攖he Bezos Family Foundation鈥檚 caregiver-empowering early literacy initiative鈥攊nto her library鈥檚 summer reading program, and she鈥檚 partnering with the local leisure services department to work toward building a storybook trail.

COVID continues to cast a long shadow over rural America, where many lack health insurance and have pre-existing conditions that make them more vulnerable. Even before the pandemic, communities in the Mississippi Delta, Appalachia, Colonias (rural communities within the U.S.-Mexico border region) and across the nation were experiencing increases in the number of people without adequate housing, along with other social and economic .

Libraries and librarians have found themselves responding to crises beyond their traditional roles. Graham and Gentry cite a number of examples of going the extra mile during a time of extraordinary need:

• Lack of broadband and equipment during a time when education was taking place at home (and continues, even as classrooms open) prompted libraries to place routers in the window so users could access Wi-Fi from the parking lot.
• In Petros, Tennessee (population 715), the library is serving meals.
• The library in Holly Hill, South Carolina (population 1277), has been distributing boxes with food and health and wellness items as well as administering COVID tests.
• The library in Nicholasville, Kentucky, (population 30,301) hosted a Ready to Learn fair. Many are hosting workshops around Vroom.

A grant from the (IMLS; a program of the federal government) funds the network鈥檚 fellows program. In the first year, 22 fellows were selected from among 100 applicants. Reflecting the diversity of rural America, 20% are people of color. Regular webinars bring far-flung libraries together to learn from authors and experts.

The actor Jennifer Garner, a Save the Children trustee and ambassador, appeared on the first webinar, describing how libraries shaped her career. She recalls, 鈥淎s soon as I found myself with a little bit of a voice, I started asking, 鈥榃ho is helping kids in rural West Virginia? Who is helping kids in Kentucky? Who is helping kids like my mom, who grew up super poor in Locust Grove, Oklahoma? And of course that took me to Save the Children.鈥�

The formation of the Rural Library Network brought to mind her upbringing in Charleston, WV, and a woman who made a difference in her life: 鈥淚 know personally the difference a librarian can make to a child because my elementary school librarian鈥� opened up my mind. She made me feel special. She wasn鈥檛 judging me in any way, and she just fed me one book after another.鈥�

Partners for Education鈥檚 Gentry says her organization addresses the cradle-to-career needs of rural populations and admits that historically they have focused on higher education access and other aspects of the later years of that continuum. Mission alignment with Save the Children鈥攅nsuring that all children are reaching their full potential鈥攎ade this partnership compelling. She notes that these institutions, which accomplish so much for their communities despite often being woefully understaffed and -resourced, constantly inspire her. In many cases they are run by a lone individual who is not a trained librarian but who nonetheless knows everybody in town and goes to heroic lengths to help patrons apply for public benefits, write their resumes, register to vote and, of course, find a good book.

Disclosure: Vroom was created by the Bezos Family Foundation. This story was originally published on Early Learning Nation, which was also an initiative of the Bezos Family Foundation.

This story originally published on Early Learning Nation and is now archived on 社区黑料. Learn more here.