NPR story from a librarian, Cheri Campbell, who works at the library in Lorain, OH:
I work as a reference librarian at a public library in Lorain, Ohio, located about 30 minutes due west from Cleveland. Last Thursday, my library held a “recession resources fair” to help people find out how they could perhaps better “survive” in the current economy.
If someone approached my table, I greeted them and explained what the library could offer — books on all aspects of the career search and job hunting process, computer access. I gave them handouts on resume help and offered my business card. If they seemed interested in that assistance, I then walked that person to the state employment agency table and introduced them to the counselor at that table, where they would then be told about what that agency could do for them — job training, classes on interview skills and resume writing, referrals to GED and English language classes and more computers for job searching.
It was a concentrated version of what librarians do every day — tell people about what we have and where else they might go for more help. But this time, the additional sources of help weren’t a phone call away, but were maybe waiting for them inside a public library meeting room. I will likely never find out if anyone in that room received information or assistance that will make any kind of real difference in their lives. All any of us there could do was to try and help.
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