As you well know, all of our communities have groups of people who are underserved, hard to reach or in need of additional services. Identifying those groups and finding out what their needs are can be a challenge. And, making decisions about allocating your resources can be difficult.
Library trainer and librarian, Polly Alida-Farrington will help you find statistical data about your county and community to help you with decision making.
Through hands on practice with different online data sources and through group discussion, you will:
–Learn how to use the US Census Bureau’s American Fact Finder to find current data from the ongoing American Community Survey and the decennial census to find data about your state, county and your community. Note that for smaller communities, only very general data is available from the US Census.
–Explore additional data sources from other government agencies and other organizations.
–Use the information you already have and what you find during the workshop to create a community profile.
–Share sources of data and information that you are already aware of in your community and resources we discover during the day to create a repository of information that everyone can benefit from.
The day will involve hands-on work on online data resources, group discussions and time for you to explore additional resources that are of interest to you.
This workshop is recommended for library directors and outreach staff.
The library will be providing laptops on a first-come, first-serve basis; staff from the same library may need to share. You are encouraged to bring your own laptop if you have one.
We will break for lunch on your own from 12:00-1:00.
If you would like to attend this workshop, please contact Jill Ryder-Frederick at SALS by August 31st, 2010. Please indicate whether you need to reserve a laptop or will be bringing your own laptop to the workshop.
This program is supported in part by Federal Library Services and Technology Act funds, awarded to the New York State Library by the Federal Institute of Museum and Library Services.