Search Results for: about

The national network of food banks formerly known as America’s Second Harvest has changed its name to Feeding America: This new name best conveys our mission—providing food to Americans living with hunger—and will be supported through expansive public outreach campaigns that will raise awareness of domestic hunger and our work. Despite a 30-year legacy of … Continue reading “Feeding America”

Salon.com is running a new series called “Pinched: Tales from an Economic Downturn.” In the second installment, Heather Ryan describes the circumstances that prompted her, and her three children, to obtain meals from a soup kitchen: I could segue into some political rant here, a slick dismissal of the Bush administration, perhaps, or a paragraph … Continue reading “Tough(er) Times in Today's Recession”

InsideToronto.com profiled new Toronto Public Library Chief Librarian Jane Pyper, who is charged with implementing TPL’s new strategic plan. As Pyper articulates, the plan will specifically address, among other things, the needs of low-income people: “What people who come here are looking for is assistance in language—fluency in English,” she said. “And information in their … Continue reading “Toronto's New Chief Librarian Tackles Poverty”

By way of Stateline.org: As the economy falters and the ranks of the poor multiply, states for the first time in recent memory are mounting high-profile, comprehensive campaigns aimed at radically reducing poverty—many with an emphasis on children. At least 15 states and the District of Columbia have created bi-partisan commissions to narrow the widening … Continue reading “States Launch New Anti-Poverty Programs”

Join us on Saturday, June 28, 1:30-3:30 pm, at the ALA Anaheim 2008 Annual Conference in the Disneyland Hotel Dreams D room for our Building Communities Through Libraries free panel discussion. Find out how special and academic librarians are providing information outreach services that address community needs such as healthcare, literacy and education. Special and … Continue reading “Building Communities Through Libraries Panel Discussion”

The June 30, 2008, issue of The Nation features a variety of articles covering economic insecurity, wealth distribution, and intractable plutocracy in the United States. In their introductory essay, “The Rich and the Rest of Us,” John Cavanagh and Chuck Collins observe, Too many Americans see the enormous concentration of our nation’s wealth as a … Continue reading “On the New Inequality”

Despite the best efforts of the Chicago Housing Authority to prevent the public from learning about a Section 8 housing lottery this spring, librarians at Skokie Public Library made sure that thousands of people were informed. In early April we heard about large groups of individuals queueing up outside the Chicago Public Library main library … Continue reading “Skokie Public Library Helps Low-Income People”

Canada’s national Working Together Project published the absolutely stellar “Community-Led Libraries Toolkit” in March. The resource treats a variety of subjects including social inclusion, fees and fines, collaborative planning, and the role of “community development librarians.” When the Working Together Project asked librarians to talk about developing inclusive library practices and services, discussions stalled. Many … Continue reading “Community-Led Libraries Toolkit”

The University of South Carolina School of Medicine will receive a $1.2 million grant from the City of Columbia in order to implement Housing First, a program that will place 25 homeless people into apartments and homes in the city of Columbia beginning in April. Columbia is the first Housing First program to have a … Continue reading “Columbia, SC, offers the only Housing First program to have a medical school coordinate services for homeless people”

Carol Pogash of the New York Times reports that many students are avoiding free lunches rather than look “uncool”: Ann Cooper, director of nutrition services for the public schools in Berkeley, Calif., said that attention to school cafeterias had traditionally focused on nutrition, but that the separation of students who pay and those who receive … Continue reading “Students Stigmatized by Free Lunches?”