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Community Needs AssessmentTo begin a community needs assessment, it is important to first define the community you want to assess. This is typically going to be spatially defined, along the boundaries of the library’s service area, but there may be groups within or outside of the geographic location that may need to be considered. For example, your library might want to start a program like the one highlighted in chapter 1 and would want to focus on the needs of the Somali community within a particular neighborhood.Collecting this information may require holding key informant interviews or focus groups, and you will need to connect and network with other groups and organizations within your community to gather the required information.The goal of a needs assessment is to help you better understand the community and the role the library can play in best serving the needs of its patrons. Therefore, feel free to add, delete, or change any part of this tool in order to make it work best for your library and munity OverviewFind or create a map showing the boundaries of the area you are assessing. Explain why you chose these boundaries.Walk and drive through the community along the boundaries you have determined. What can you observe about the community? What do you notice about the people, the houses, the structures, the roads, the commerce, the recreational facilities?Population Characteristics?What is the size of the community??What is the age and gender distribution of the community??What nationality and ethnicity comprises the community (if appropriate, address the role more recent immigrants have played in the community—e.g., Somali in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Hmong and Karen in St. Paul)??What is the impact of the population characteristics on neighborhood/community?Income?What is the annual income of the community??What is the annual income of subgroups within the community (e.g. women, people of color, veterans)?What is the poverty rate of the community??What is the impact of income on the neighborhood/community?Community Attractiveness?What characteristics attract and hold residents, such as climate, geography, cost of living? What characteristics detract from the attractiveness of the community??What is the impact of community attractiveness on the neighborhood/community?Cultural/Civic Systems?Are there parks? What kind of condition are they in? Who uses them? Where are they located??Are there community centers in the community? Whom do they serve??Are there other libraries in the community? How far away??What other cultural resources are available within the community? How accessible are they??What recreational activities does the community hold? How accessible are they? Who uses them??Are there social clubs? How inclusive or exclusive are they??What civic organizations exist? Who belongs or doesn’t belong??What role does volunteering and civic engagement play in the community? Who participates and doesn’t participate in volunteering or civic engagement??What is the impact of cultural/civic systems on the neighborhood/community?Housing?What kind of housing is available in the community (rental properties, owned properties, apartments, houses, duplexes)??What condition is the housing in??What is the average cost of housing in the community? How affordable is housing given the economic conditions of the community??Is there a population of people experiencing homelessness in the community? Who are they? Where do they find shelter or respite??What is the impact of housing on the neighborhood/community?Commerce and Industry?Who are the major employers and industries in the community??What is the unemployment rate of the community? What is the unemployment rate of subgroups within the community (younger people, people of color, women, men, older adults)??What is the future development potential of the community??How stable are businesses in the community??Are there accessible grocery stores in the community??Is there a strong union presence in the community??What is the impact of commerce and industry on the neighborhood/community?Transportation?What is the main mode of transportation in the community??How expensive is gas in the community??Is there public transportation available in the community??How affordable and accessible is public transportation in the community??What condition are the roads in the community??Are there sidewalks or bike paths in the community??What options are there for people who have challenges in travelling (e.g., the elderly, people with disabilities, parents with small children, adolescents who can’t drive)??What is the impact of transportation on the community?Law Enforcement?Is there a police presence in the community??How is law enforcement regarded in the community??How diverse (ethnically, age, gender) is the police force serving the community??Are there any jails, prisons, or juvenile detention centers in the community??What is the impact of law enforcement on the community?Education?Are there schools in the community? What kind (elementary, middle, high, technical or community, universities, colleges)??What conditions are the schools in??What is the education level of the community??What is the education level of subgroups within the community??Is there community education, parent education, or early childhood education (preschool) in the community??Are there childcare centers or home childcare options within the community??Who uses the educational resources in the community??What impact does education have on the community?Governmental Types?Is there a city manager, mayor, or city council??Describe the decision makers in the community: Who are they? How long have they served? How well do they represent the community??How involved is the community in the decision-making process??What is the impact of government on the community?Religion and Churches?How many places of worship are there? What denomination is most prevalent? What impact does this have on the community??What role does religion/churches play in the community?Health?How healthy is the community (e.g., rates of heart disease, stroke, asthma, smoking, cancer, alcoholism, substance use)??How active is the community??Are there fresh fruits and vegetables available in the community? How accessible are they??What health systems (e.g., hospitals, medical clinics, nursing homes, dental hospitals, mental health clinics, chiropractic and naturopathic centers) are available to the community??Whom do the health systems serve??How accessible are the social/health systems in the community??What problems and limitations do the social and health systems have??What is the impact of health on the community?Social Services?What and where are the primary social service (public, private: for-profit and nonprofit) agencies (e.g., county social services, child protection shelters, homeless shelters, domestic violence shelters, immigrant and refugee services, economic assistance offices, employment services, sexual assault and trafficking services, alcohol or substance use services)??Whom do the social services serve??How accessible are the social services in the community??What problems and limitations do the social services have??What informal helping systems exist within the community??What is the impact of social services on the neighborhood/community?Environment?Are there any major environmental hazards within the community? Where are these located? Whom do they most affect??How is the air quality of the community??How is the water quality of the community??How is waste disposed of? Where is it disposed??Is there recycling in this community? How easy is it to recycle??Is lead or asbestos a concern in this community??What is the impact of the environment on the community?Conclusion?Based on your walk-through/drive-through, and the information you collected from various data sources what are your overall impressions of the community??What are the strengths of this community??What are the needs of the community??What role can the library play in meeting the identified needs of the community??How would you go about assessing the viability of any intervention or programming the library would create??How would you go about implementing your identified solutions??How would you evaluate your interventions for success? ................
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