Libraries Transforming Communities: Accessible Small and Rural Communities Case Studies

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In 2023 and 2024, the 91´«Ã½ selected 465 libraries to receive grants through Libraries Transforming Communities: Accessible Small and Rural Communities. The public, academic, and school libraries represent 46 U.S. states and the Northern Mariana Islands. The initiative will continue with an additional $7 million distributed through 2025.

The case studies and blogs on this page highlight grantee stories from round one of funding.

Lee Library exterior
Lee Public Library (Lee, New Hampshire)

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Staff at the Lee Public Library located in Lee, New Hampshire (pop. 4,481) have long sought to rework some of their building’s less accessible spaces. The LTC grant helped them achieve much-needed upgrades.

Exterior of McCully
Jessie E. McCully Memorial Library (Dixon, Missouri)

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Located in Dixon, Missouri (pop. 1,226), staff at the Jessie E. McCully Memorial Library have found that regardless of where patrons are on the disability spectrum, accessibility upgrades can improve everyone’s experiences.

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Learn more about how Libraries Transforming Communities is evaluated

Blog Posts

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These blog posts, written by Knology, dive into the perspectives of library workers and patrons on how the LTC: Accessible Small and Rural Communities initiative impacted their communities.

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Community partnerships can be instrumental for small and rural libraries. These libraries share how they benefit from working with partners on important accessibility projects.

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Through a combination of practical workarounds, creative rethinking and sheer persistence, these small and rural libraries have worked to bring their accessibility plans to fruition.

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In this blog post, three disabled library users share what they've noticed and what they'd still like to see in their library's accessibility efforts.

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Though age is not a disability, many older adults experience barriers that directly impact their interactions with their environment. Senior patrons share what they're looking for in library accessibility upgrades.

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How can your library engage populations with disabilities? Take these tips and insights to help build accessibility into community outreach and conversation programs.

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Many libraries have found that to make their libraries truly accessible spaces, they need to consider the specific concerns of neurodivergent patrons. What are the accessibility priorities of these individuals, and how can libraries address them?

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What does it mean for a library to become a more accessible institution? First and foremost, it means putting the disability rights movement’s ethic of “Nothing About Us Without Us” into practice.

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Small and rural libraries provide essential services to their communities. But for the 1 in 3 adults in rural areas who live with a disability, these libraries are not always accessible. How are small and rural libraries addressing this need?