Funding Rural | Episode #10 | Season 3: Dr. Regina Washington-Arthur “Uplift and Amplify the Bright Spots”
Libraries are vital to rural communities—they do so much more than just check out books. They provide internet access, heating and cooling centers, early learning, nutrition, STEM programs, story time and more. Dr. Regina Washington-Arthur is the managing director of the Rural Library Network for Partners for Rural Impact. With a background in public health, Washington-Arthur explains that libraries contribute to the overall health of a community; they are a critical component of the cradle-to-career educational pathway; and more often than not, they do so with limited financial resources.
“There’s a lot of pressure for the libraries to stay and meet the needs of the community with limited resources.” —Dr. Regina Washington-Arthur
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About Dr. Regina Washington-Arthur
Dr. Regina Washington is the Director of Rural Impact Networks and managing director of Rural Library Network (RLN) at Partners for Rural Impact (PRI). Her role supports PRI’s national outreach and provides leadership for the Rural Library Network operations, convenings, building and maintaining strategic partnerships, and technical assistance and guidance for community engaging libraries in efforts to advance cradle to career outcomes in rural America. Dr. Washington-Arthur has over 20 years of leadership experience working in nonprofit organizations, academic institutions, and government. She has focused her career, as a public health professional, to increase access to resources and services for those in need addressing disparities in health and education. In Dr. Washington-Arthur’s previous career roles, she served as a national speaker and has been instrumental in creating healthy communities, improving health literacy, and growing national networks. Born and raised in West Virginia, Dr. Washington-Arthur loves to travel and fish, and she is very passionate about improving rural education and health. Her motto is “Leave it better than you found it”.
“The longevity of your life should not be based on the zip code that you’re living in, and it should not be totally based on your income.” —Dr. Regina Washington-Arthur
Discussion Questions
- Make a list of 10 ways the library has improved your life.
- Make a list of 10 things the library offers for free that you would need to pay to access elsewhere.
- There is sometimes an assumption that libraries have the budget and resources because they have a tax base. However, libraries often are working with limited staff and the budget only covers specific things. If you are interested in helping, have your organization contact rural libraries or a rural library network and ask what support they need. Are the answers what you expected? What programs will they support?
Resources
- Meet Dr. Regina Washington, First African American Graduate | College of Public Health
- Rural Library Network eSummit – Partners for Rural Impact
- ARSL 2024 Conference Recap | Library Developments
- Libraries as Community Anchors
- Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors
- Episode #6 | Season 2: Libraries as Democracy Drivers with Stephanie Chase
Transcript: Episode #10 | Season 3: Dr. Regina Washington-Arthur “Uplift and Amplify the Bright Spots”
Erin Borla 0:10
It’s funding rural I’m Erin Borla with the sisters Oregon based roundhouse foundation. If you’ve been listening to the show, you’ve probably picked up on the fact that I love libraries. They are so important in rural communities, and they do so much more than just check out books. They provide internet access, heating and cooling centers, early learning, nutrition, STEM programs, story time and so much more. Dr Regina Washington-Arthur shares my love of libraries. She’s the managing director of the rural library network, among other things, for partners for rural impact any listeners who want to learn more about rural libraries and how to get involved, rural impact networks is hosting a free virtual summit on December 3. It’s called the rural library Summit, and it’s going to be great. We’ll share information about it at funding rural.com Dr Regina Washington-Arthur says libraries shaped and supported her early on in her learning journey,
Dr. Regina Washington 1:07
Libraries has always played a role in my life, and I’m being from Martinsburg, West Virginia. I always say west by God Virginia, it gave me access to a world that I ordinarily would have never had the opportunity to have, you know, during the 70s, or early 70s, you know, we didn’t have computers at home. We didn’t have the internet at home as well. And so being able to go to a safe place after school, be able to walk from my school at times when I was old enough to walk, but other times when I was younger, my parents took me to this to the library. We had programs there. We were able to do reports and papers that I had responsibility to do through for school. But it actually, I would say, it even out the plan field. It really allowed me to have equitable access to those resources that I needed to be successful academically. And I kept that same commitment to going to the libraries throughout my whole academic journey as well. And still today, I’m going to libraries, so I feel like I’m a librarian or a library person at heart and and really, this is a divine intervention, intervention for me to be in the role that I’m serving currently.
Erin Borla 2:37
No, I think that’s so my previous life, before this role, I was a middle school and elementary school library assistant. We did not have a librarian here in either our in, actually, all three of our schools in our rural community. So I was an active parent volunteer. Had volunteer secretly in love with young adult and middle reader novels. They’re my favorite. Don’t tell anybody, because, you know, I don’t know I need I’m supposed to be really reading really deep things, but gosh, I love a good middle reader. So I ended up in the in the libraries at the elementary and the middle school as a paid staff. And part of our deal was to open those libraries before school, during breaks and during lunch, so students would have the opportunity to come to the library without so if they didn’t find their friends at lunch, or if they needed to work on homework, or if they needed a quiet place away from folks, or they needed a chance to get away. It was that additional social opportunity for students to step away from what might be a challenging situation, whether that’s in elementary or middle school, as we all know, those can be difficult times for young people, but it ended up being an extra set of adult eyes on students as well, right? And I think we see that in public libraries a lot, where it’s that social safety net. And as we talk about your connection to public health, of the social determinants of health, being able to find ways to support community through connection,
Dr. Regina Washington 4:08
absolutely, and it goes right along with partners for rural impacts, overarching vision as well, and the model that it actually works through. So the vision that all rural students succeed, and the model, of course, is the cradle to career educational model which has those intermediary types of factors, which also could be those social determinant factors as well being able to have a safe place, a supportive place that serves the whole student. So you’re looking at the community or the ecosystem that is actually important for that student success, as well as a healthy learning environment. And so. So libraries, you know, they’re doing the work. And as you, as you can appreciate, one of the things that we are working to really do is, is, is that movement piece is really moving the outcomes in a you know, in alignment with those libraries, they’re already doing the work with regards to moving those outcomes across the cradle to career educational outcomes. And we’re looking to activate right, not only to activate those organizations to partner with those libraries. Because, like, I mean, when you think about the success of students, we think about schools, right? But the success goes beyond the schools, the informal times, the after school time where the libraries really play a major role in that success, during the summertime or the weekends, there is a lot of opportunities for the partnership to occur, so we work to also activate the interests of those community members to partner with those libraries and also to activate the funding opportunities, because libraries in rural areas sometimes are just working with one particular staff member, and it is important to be able to recognize that while they’re only one in that that one, that library, they’re wearing multiple hats. And so there’s a lot of opportunity for that partnership and collaboration within the community, for the purpose of the student, so to speak, a student success. And so we worked, we’re working on that particular approach to again, activate and influence the investment in libraries, and then also working to strengthen the libraries. And we do provide summits and technical assistance when necessary, and those kind of resources, but one of the biggest resources, again, is funding right, and funding being able to allow those libraries to play that strong role in the success of those students and families as well, and as we uplift and amplify the the bright spots that these libraries are providing. We call them sometimes best promising practices, practice, best practices, and through programs that we do know that are that are impactful on the lives of those students and families
Erin Borla 7:59
we talked about funding this show specifically is about, how do we activate philanthropic funds to support programs that are impacting rural places? So as you look at sometimes funding organizations like libraries, which are oftentimes special districts, it gets confusing, because I think we can think that, hey, well, their budget is fully covered because they have a tax base. That’s not the case. Oftentimes, as you mentioned, sometimes they only have one staff or a half time staff person, and that budget only covers certain things. So what are some of the things that you’ve seen that outside dollars or philanthropic funding has has been really successful to support libraries that you’ve worked with
Dr. Regina Washington 8:45
there definitely and thank you so much for really even talking about the unique infrastructure design of rural libraries as It relates to sometimes they’re embedded in a larger system, library system that may or may not have adequate funding to trickle down to those rural libraries, but the funding really plays a role in In some of the categories of operationalizing the work and keeping the doors open. Funding also plays a role, and providing for meaningful programs as well and data driven results, right? And that’s what our fellowship was all about is really increasing the capacity of those library directors and program managers to use the data and to be able to look at what are the needs of your community members, the children, the youth and the families and. Being able to use those dollars meaningfully to move those those outcomes right, and one in particular as an example, is the third grade reading outcomes and being able to identify where those families are located in their community, and being able to design those particular types of programs for literacy development, for books and resources, not only for the families that come to the libraries, but also to establish the home libraries as well. So funding definitely plays a role for that particular equal access to those opportunities for the families through the libraries, also bookmobiles as well is another one, as we see, the funding making a big difference for libraries. We’re also seeing libraries meeting the community where they are, right so, going into the barber shops, going into the laundromats, and really having these opportunities to connect with children and families in these locations. One of the things I would like to also share is going back to that, that same type of opportunity to have monies to flow through an organization such as partners for rural impact. We’re well positioned to have funding to come through us to actually get to those network members, so to speak, of those rural library network members. And we have a network member in every state. So if there is a particular funder that has identified a need, such as in Montana or the Dakotas or Ohio, Kentucky, we have a good group of members in each of the states that we can actually start with, with the funding and being able to scale up, hypothetically, $5,000 per library. That will go a long way. Libraries are able to stretch $1 you know, they’re very good with a little bit of money and being able to cover a lot of ground in terms of a lot of families and make a difference with that dollar
Erin Borla 12:40
well, and it’s great to find intermediaries like partners for rural impact that have those relationships. So funders don’t necessarily have to go actively looking for Okay, where is every smaller community in this state doing these things? And I know in some of the documents that you’ve shared, you have a few stories of some of those grants. I love the story of the of the bookmobile that y’all updated. Can you talk a little bit about that and and that structure is that, did I give you enough insight? There’s one that didn’t wasn’t running. It was a bookmobile that didn’t run, right?
Dr. Regina Washington 13:14
And so the the bookmobile that was actually used, and I believe that was actually in Kentucky as part of our literacy opportunity and access initiative that we were working with. And with that particular project, it was a bookmobile that wasn’t really being utilized, and I believe it was actually in the William B Harlan Memorial Library, if I, if I, if I can remember correctly. And this initiative really addressed the access to digital connectivity. And so using an out of service bookmobile that was no longer functional as it was initially intended. It was developed and redesigned and positioned in a local park, and it was painted with vibrant colors, and they equipped it with Wi Fi hot spots. So you can imagine just the impact of having the connectivity there at a park where families could come and get connected to a Wi Fi hotspot that would be an amazing resource for rural communities. Yes. So
Erin Borla 14:48
I know we received quite a few requests from our rural library partners, from anything from painting the interior that hasn’t been updated to an ADA accessibility area. Upgrading a teen space or updating libraries of things. I love libraries of things. They are my favorite part of the library because it’s the opportunity that you get to check things out and try them before you invest in purchasing things like an instant pot or a garden tool that you need once a year. Have you seen other innovative programs that you think are really worthy of replication? Or what types of applications have you seen through some of your fellow partners?
Dr. Regina Washington 15:33
So one of the things too that as we were talking about how libraries provide a resource the maker spaces, with regards to the innovation and creativity aspects of skills for young people, and really creating those Maker Spaces has been a very impactful approach For rural libraries to allow these families to again exhibit their particular skill sets. So that is one of the models there. And within these maker spaces, you have arts and humanities, right? Really show up in terms of music skill sets. You have arts in terms of being able to put things together, whether it be with clay, whether it be with design and print. So really creating these Maker Spaces has really made a difference as one of those examples there as well. You know, it’s so funny, too, and I’m not for sure, and I don’t remember the the survey, but another topic after covid came through, there was a survey that was done to survey the interest of these young people that libraries could really capitalize and begin to expand their programs A little bit more. But the funny thing was little small, portable kitchenettes where libraries could engage the youth in nutrition and also cooking skills. So really survival skills as it relates to those types of skill building opportunities too, and that was very unique with regards to some of those different instruments or our models that are usually not even considered, right? So I did, you know, I really appreciate the investment of of libraries also leveraging outdoor spaces as well, and really creating these trails where they’re integrating the book walks and so really creating more outdoor Literacy spaces as well. That has been very creatively done and incorporating also the opportunity for partnerships, for community to get involved in that as well.
Erin Borla 18:12
What do you think are some of the biggest challenges that are facing the Public Library system today?
Dr. Regina Washington 18:19
They’re not at the table. They’re not brought it to the table when it comes to decision making, about the educational planning, even the health planning of our community members, they’re not even asked to be brought around the table for that decision making process. So really underutilized the rising needs of the community is important as well to acknowledge. I mean, there’s a lot of pressures for the libraries to stay and meet the needs of the community with limited resources, right? So that kind of goes hand in hand, also the professional development gaps, not only within the the workforce of libraries, but also in rural communities in general, right? So that’s important to recognize as one of the challenges in rural communities for libraries, and of course, we’ve already talked about the digital divide and really finding funding to help with the broadband connectivities and to address the device limitation that we’re Looking at in some of the rural areas. Resources come in a lot of different ways. You know, whether it be foundations, whether it be public dollars, whether it be partnerships and collaboration, all that matters, right? When, when you’re really addressing some of those funding, workforce? Capacity, digital connectivity, and some of those environmental changing pressures of need. It takes a village. It takes it takes an ecosystem to really address those challenges.
Erin Borla 20:16
I think, as we talk about, you know, access for for children and children’s literacy, it’s important to talk about culturally relevant stories and access to story and books that are relevant to each child’s experience. And I remember I mentioned that I love libraries a lot, but I am a super fan girl of Dr rudine Sims Bishop. I don’t know if you know of Dr rudine Sims Bishop, she was a professor at The Ohio State University and wrote a paper in the early 90s around books being Windows mirrors and sliding glass doors and the importance of story sharing in in children’s literature. And because you get a chance to see yourself reflected back, you get a chance to step into someone else’s experience. It really just opens all these opportunities. And I did get to see her once, and I’m pretty sure that I fangirled to the point that she will never speak to me again, but it was really an amazing opportunity talk about how you support whether it’s a school library or a public library to have access to those culturally relevant stories, wonderful.
Dr. Regina Washington 21:25
So we are working with a cohort of libraries in Eastern Kentucky currently that really foster community engagement around literacy resources across a diverse or a different demographic within their own community, and we are currently, we were very, very fortunate to have lump sum of funding that We were able to give each one of these libraries $5,000 each to to really be creative in engaging their community, their families around this opportunity of diverse Stories that represent their community. It could have been in the area of just geographic differences, race and ethnicity. It could have been ability. It could have been a number of diversity topics that they could have expanded upon. And so each one of these particular public libraries created an action plan around what would they do, and the three ways that they’ve really used this money was one is setting up opportunities for engagement, so events that would bring in the families and then also creating home libraries. But one particular public library also created an event that not only focused on stories, but it also focused on culture differences through food. So they had a taste of culture in Eastern Kentucky that represented quite a bit of number of different family backgrounds per se. And it was amazingly attended. Was about 300 people to attend, and it was an amazing event. So that just gives you an example of just a little bit of money can go a long way, right? And, you know, we’re hoping to replicate that particular type of scaling up, you know, in terms of innovative projects that public libraries can engage in as well and really diversify the stories within their programs. And again, it’s a representation of of their own community. So really looking at their own community and looking at the diversity that they have there, and bringing that into the program,
Erin Borla 24:23
I want to switch gears a little bit and ask about your journey. We started at the top of the conversation kind of a little bit about where you’re from, but I’d love to know a little bit more about where you grew up and who has influenced you to be the person that you are wonderful.
Dr. Regina Washington 24:40
So you know, growing up again in West by God, Virginia, I’ve always had a sense of commitment to family. Family was very, very important, extended family as well as community, family and bringing a. And brought up with young parents at the time. They were guided learners, so they would always wanted to make sure that me and my siblings, I have two other sisters and a younger brother, and wanted to make sure that that we were well equipped, not only academically, in the education, but also in the workforce. So we we were expected to have chores in the house. We were expected to also work around the yard, or even help rake leaves and shovel snow. So so that work ethic was there growing up and through my parents and the love of family, my grandparents, you know, I didn’t have them too long. They died early. Unfortunately, if you can imagine, with some of those health challenges, and not being able to have health care in a timely manner, and having access to and that’s just another story, but I also that’s what really motivated me to get into public health to increase access to these resources, and that the longevity of your life should not be based on the zip code that you’re living in, and it should not be totally based on your income that you actually have. We all deserve to have a healthy life and to have access to these resources. So that was an inspiration for me to go to college and to really and no one in my family at that time had been the college, and so I led the way. Did not know what to expect. My father was encouraging me to get ready to go into the workforce. My mom would knew. She knew that I had to go and further my education to break the cycle of poverty and low income. And so when I made that decision to go to college, my father was on board. He says, But then after this, you’re gonna have to, you know, get a good job, right? So I stayed committed. I went to Berea College. It was so far from home, and I was homesick, and I called home every day and and at that time, you know, the bill, the phone bill, was so high, but my father was so gracious, and he says, Whatever it’s gonna take to keep you there at Berea College. And so we sacrificed that and and so really going to school, really expanding my knowledge and my love for for people, and also my love for building a better system, and that drove me throughout my whole academic career, is ways to to really be around the table. There were so many times that I was the only African American and the only African American female around the table to help build policies or to help shape the infrastructure of a health system such as the one here in Kentucky. That’s what drove me, and I wanted to be in places where I can affect change and be that change agent and and I believe that going through the public health doctoral program allowed me to have that full culmination of my interest and my passions of addressing disparities and reducing the impact of those social determinants as it relates to a safe and healthy environment, I believe that allowed me to do that for the years that I worked for the state health department as a division director and creating legacy programs. And I was so thrilled to be able to now translate a lot of my skills and my passion into the work that we’re doing now for rural for rural communities, and I believe that there’s more to be done. So the future holds a lot of opportunity to improve the system and to drive resources to the rural communities that are. Are definitely working very hard, in a lot of ways, to be a place where not only can you, you can raise up children, but also that they can go away and come back and be able to again, bring more resources, and that cycle is important, is to drive resources to those communities so that they can continue to build that infrastructure, that ecosystem, for the current families and the families to come. I just love people. I love I love what I do, and, and I love making a difference and, and my mantra is, leave it better than you found it. So we’re gonna go. I always look to leave it better before I leave.
Erin Borla 30:56
Well, I so appreciate the work that you’re doing, and thank you so much for spending time sharing about your work and your journey, and we’ll See you in December.
Unknown Speaker 31:04
Thank you. Erin,
Erin Borla 31:22
libraries are just amazing. They offer so many opportunities. And I know right now, with the cuts from the federal level, especially with the loss of the Institute of Museum and Library Services funding, that’s going to impact our state funding, the Library Services and Technology Act funding, because oftentimes those state dollars are matched by federal dollars. So I know here at Round House, we’ve worked with our state library office, and we’re helping to fund some of the projects that they were unable to fund because of the loss of those dollars, projects like stem kits that they’re working with the youth library or creating a tribal hub in a school library, there’s a variety of projects that the State Library offices are really aware of, so check in with those folks. Recognize that there may be some opportunity now to step in and help provide that funding. I want to shout out that great opportunity for folks who want to learn more and get connected to the rural library world, Dr Regina, Washington, Arthur and rural impact networks is convening that rural library summit in December. Remember, it’s a virtual gathering. It features nationally recognized speakers and poets, and it’s a great window into the world of libraries in this country. Check it out, if you can. We’ll share more about rural libraries. Dr regina’s work and some of the work roundhouse has done To support these important institutions, all at funding rural.com you
Unknown Speaker 32:46
you.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
