Sarling, J. H., & Van Tassel, D. S. (1999). Community analysis: Research that matters to a north-central Denver community.

• What did researchers discover when they talked to representatives from the local school district?

The researchers talked to local principal and a school librarian about education in that area and found out there were complex problems in busing students, such as changing operation area every year. It effected on both students and parents in negative ways (makes parents tired of picking up their children, unable to join school activities for students, long bus rides).
“While the 1990 Census indicates an existing problem, those statistics so not reflect the gravity of the situation.” (p. 18)

• List some recommendations made by the researchers upon completion of their study.

They made several recommendations cover from external form to policies in that libraries.

- “We strongly recommended a continuation of the library’s visible presence begun during the Community Analysis.”
- “To counter these feelings of mistrust [feelings of residents towards library], we recommend that the design of the branch be a building with a permanent, solid… “
- “The research elicited information suggesting a variety of library policies”
(p. 21)

• With whom did they share their study, and who requested copies? Why? List some examples, both expected and unexpected.

- “The written report of our community analysis was given to all interested parties, including the City Librarian, Library Commissioners, … during our investigation”
- “copies of the report have been requested by many people including the Swansea Elementary School principal who was facing an important School Board decision, … and a regional library director who wants librarians in his area to learn how to practice community analysis.” (p. 23)

• Who is Pilar-Casto-Reino? Why is she important?

- “Almost four years after the analysis was begun, we interviewed Pilar Castro-Reino, the Outreach Librarian for the Valdez-Perry Branch of the Denver Public Library to evaluate our recommendation." (p. 24)
- From the interview, she showed how she followed the recommendation that researchers suggested, and proved the development according to the analysis result.

Sarling & Van Tassel -

Here are answers I found for some questions regarding this Week 4 article:

What is Community Analysis?

-"a systematic process of collecting, organizing, and analyzing data about a library and its environment" (p.8)

-In this case, the community analysis was based on the CARI model as a way to study the Denver community in order to make specific recommendations concerning:  community outreach, facilities planning, library policies, staffing, collection development, and ongoing involvement.  (p.7)

Qualitative/Quantitative

Quantitative:

-U.S Census data 

-Statistics gathered from school district of enrollment, dropout rate

Qualitativc

-"Drive-throughs" observations

-Agency profiles

-Historical research

CARI Model

-A community research model developed by Greer and Hale, utilizing a variety of collection techniques: historical research, statistical analysis, personal interview, structured observation, etc. (p.7)

Four Perspectives of the CARI Model

1) individuals

2) groups

3) agencies

4) lifestyles

Methodologies employed by researchers (p.11)

-"Drive-throughs" performed throughout community.

-Communication agencies like radio and telephone companies were identified and examined.

-Interviews with representatives from local school district.

Tools - Data Sources used by researchers (p.11)

-1990 census data

-Yellow Pages

Neighborhoods - "Drive-throughs" (p.12)

-The three neighborhoods studied were Globeville, Elyria, and Swansea which surrounded the site of the new branch.

-Impressions of these communities were initially of poverty, heavy traffic, and industry.  Many seemed to be of Eastern European or Hispanic heritage.

-Many observations such as the toys in yards and recreation centers would have been left out had the "drive-throughs" not been done.

-These observations made the researchers look into how many children were in these in neighborhoods and where they lived. (p.13)

Putnam: Branch Libraries Heartbeat of Community

- The collections and services of the Near North Branch reflect the needs and interests of the community and change with it. There are meeting rooms, local artwork to reflect the community, workshops addressing the needs of local people, book clubs, and even a local African American history exhibit. (p. 36-40)

- The planners wanted to create a community anchor, to try and change the surrounding communities, especially Cabrini Green, in a positive way by bringing them together and sparking interaction. (p. 38)

- They wanted to make sure community members from Gold Coast community would feel safe going to the library and that the Cabrini Green residents wouldn't face any physical or psychological barriers that would feel as if they weren't as welcome to use the library.

-Librarians made rounds of the local schools reading stories, not only to advertise the assets of the library, but also to make social connections so the kids felt as if they were part of the library and welcome to its many programs and activities, and that the library was an integral and active part of the community. (p. 40)

-Gentrification is the tearing down of low income housing and replacing it with middle to high class developments. The new library was a sign of positive change, and this sparked other developments to better the surrounding area, which eventually lead to the eviction of many Cabrini residents and the area becoming more middle-class, which is good in terms of community development but at the same time decreasing its diversity. (p.42)

-The Humboldt Park branch has an extensive collection of spanish language materials, combined the children's and adult sections so those at all reading levels felt comfortable, and fishing poles to further stimulate community interaction with the nearby lake. Uptown has a large southeast asian population so they have books in Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Chinese and also have bamboo plants throughout the library. (p.45)

-According to the authors the library serves as a third place by functioning as a community center where a community finds its identity and where people create social networks. It allows people to meet face to face through book discussions, readings, classes, homework help after school, clubs, etc. Its a place where you can discover what is happening in the neighborhood.

Race and Place

-The features of the "yellow place" were mostly of negative connotation, with anti-theft bars, very little reading space, early closing hours, and non-interactive or inviting staff members. (p. 31)

-The features of the "white cathedral" on the other hand were the opposite, with it being very large, a more complete and inviting atmosphere (i.e. lots of books, nice chairs, etc.). They also had a very intuitive and friendly staff. (p. 31 - 32). 

-In term of barriers there was an obvious logistical one in the sense that the "white cathedral" was a significant distance away which wasn't walkable, but psychologically the author experienced a feeling as if she didn't belong, like the library wasn't for people like her. (p. 32). After visiting this new library she no longer felt as if her yellow library could compare or was even worth it anymore, and stopped going there all together.

-Hall was writing this article to all of us in a way, to show us how something that is supposed to bring a community together can actually segregate it and discriminate against certain types of people. She wants people to realize that these "social institutions" are crucial in bringing communities together and breaking down barriers, and that if they create barriers themselves, it will only have a negative effect on the community. I think she also tries to make other librarians realize that they should feel particularly responsible for shouldering the burden of making sure libraries reach out to all those in the community and bring people together.

Bonding & Bridging Social Capital

From the "Bowling Alone" article, Putnam describes Bonding and Bridging Social Capital on page 22 and 23. Combined from this article and lecture notes, I have created rough definitions of both types that Putnam identified. 

Bridging Social Capital--> Social networks or groups that are heterogeneous and focus on differences of the individuals within. These are inclusive groups that are open to a wider variety of people and provide a sociological WD-4D. While these groups are more accepting, they are harder to achieve, simply because they exist upon differences rather than similarities. Examples are the Civil Rights Movement and Youth Groups that focus on bringing children of different backgrounds together. 

Bonding Social Capital--> Social networks or groups that are homogenous and focus on similarities of the individuals within. These are exclusive groups that narrow a smaller group of people and provide a sociological super-glue. People in Bonding groups are more likely to have the same background, experiences, ethnicities, etc. Examples are Ethnic Fraternities or Sororities, Religious Groups, Country clubs, etc. 

Social Capital

This is question 1 for "Bowling Alone" off of the study guide Prof. Whitmire emailed out last night.

Social Capital: What is this? Can you define it?

social capital is "developing networks of relationships that weave individuals into groups and communities"

This topic was covered in lecture on Tuesday, January 27 (which is where the above quotes are taken from) and appears on page 19 of the article, which is the first one in our reader.

The article describes social capital as:

"connections among individuals - social networks and the norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness that arise from them. In that sense social capital si closely related to what some have called "civic virtue." The difference is that "social capital" calls attention to the fact that civic virtue is most powerful when embedded in a dense network of reciprocal social relations. A society of many virtuous but isolated indivuduals is not necessarily rich in social capital."

Social capital, as shown in the article, emphasizes how our lives are made more productive by social capital.