The purpose of this assignment is to do a quick community scan, finding as much publicly available data as possible and learning as much as you can without actually undertaking surveys, focus group interviews, or other formal research. 

Such data may be meaningless without interpretation. Your town's total population and area, for instance, may sound like dull figures -- but if your population density is very low, is it also spread out? Does that mean that young people are isolated after school and have a need for bookmobile services? And what about the percentage of parents who commute out of town to work -- does that have an effect on children's after-school experience? If the number of residents in their late teens far exceeds the number in high school, should you be concerned about the drop-out rate? 

As you scan your community, pay special attention to areas where public library services may be needed. The data you collect may help support a grant application, should you choose to do one as your final project -- and the questions about other community agencies may help steer you toward likely grant collaborators.  

Procedure:

Start with the attached form – a list of questions based on a piece in VOYA 15, 1 (April, 1992): 13. You may revise the inventory for your chosen community (whether it's where you work, where you live, or a different town you choose to investigate). You do not have to stick slavishly to the exact list of questions given; use them as a jumping off point to demonstrate your own ingenuity at finding and interpreting community data for use in youth services. 

Format: 

1. For each question (that you decide to list), record your answer (if you were able to find one), and the source or sources for your answer. Edit the question if necessary – for instance, if your source uses a different age breakdown from question I.2, use that breakdown in your response. 
2. After each group of answers, write a brief commentary about what your findings should mean for library services in your community.

Sources to try:

• Factfinder: http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/BasicFactsServlet
• Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation: http://www.riedc.com/
• Maine Online Towns and Cities: http://www.state.me.us/living/cities/index.html
• Commonwealth of Massachusetts Communities: http://www.state.ma.us/cc/
• New Hampshire Local Government: http://www.state.nh.us/localgovt/cities.htm
• The Annie E. Casey Foundation: http://www.aecf.org/ 

Important: In gathering your information, use published sources as far as possible. If it is necessary to question librarians or other professionals, schedule a time which is mutually convenient. Do not push for answers if your informant is reluctant to give them. Although this looks like a fill-in-the-blank assignment, it's okay to leave some blanks; your analysis of the information you do have is most important, and your perceptions of what is missing, why it is missing, and how important it might be to acquire it will also be interesting.

Criteria for grading: 

Effective location and use of community information sources, 40%; perceptive comments on the implications of information found, 40%; form (organization, grammar, format, etc.), 20%.

4. Above the Standard (B+ or A-)

• Sources: Appropriate public records (including census data, school department figures, town web sites, yellow pages, etc.) are well mined. Data are not just left to stand alone, but arranged and supplemented as necessary to make sense. 
• Commentary: Goes beyond simple recapitulation; makes imaginative sense of data collected to paint a dynamic picture of where the library's community is, where it's going, and what kinds of service its children and teens need most. For instance, may utilize The New Planning for Results (PLA's guide to community-based planning) for ideas about SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats), developing a service response, and presenting data effectively. 
• Form: All sources are properly cited. Spelling and grammar are correct; layout is easy to follow. All requirements for handing in work are met.   

3. Meets the Standard (B)

• Sources: Appropriate public records (including census data, school department figures, town web sites, yellow pages, etc.) are used. 
• Commentary: Goes beyond simple recapitulation; makes sense of data collected understand the community and what kinds of library service its children and teens need.  
• Form: All sources are properly cited. There are few errors in spelling and grammar; layout is clear. All requirements for handing in work are met.   

2. Below the Standard (C+ or B-)

• Sources: May use only one or two sources and find little relevant information. May fail to make connections between data, or to look for explanations of apparently anomalous figures. Arithmetic calculations may be incorrect. 
• Commentary: Comments may be lacking or rudimentary, or may be shallow, unenlightening, or illogical given the data. Connections between population data and library service responses may be lacking. 
• Form: Sources may not be cited, or may be incompletely cited. Spelling and grammar may be poor, threatening comprehension or retrieval of information. All requirements for handing in work may not be met.   

Form