Community Resources is a LibraryWebsite feature that organizes local resources for the patron, eliminating their need to browse through pages of online search results. Each Community Resource in the system displays the logo, address, phone number, website link, and description of each resource for quick browsing within a user-friendly interface. You can also opt to display a map with pins for all resources with physical locations.
Further, patrons can narrow down the results by using the community resources filter. Community Type is a tag that allows the patron to filter the results based on the type of service they need. Madison County Public Library is a client that makes apt use of this content type throughout their site. They use a wide range of types to cover all resources available in their community, including Childcare and Preschool Services, Clothing Assistance, Crisis Services, Employment Services, Financial Assistance and Counseling, Food Assistance, Legal Services, and Senior Services. Patrons can select one or more of these types to yield results that are applicable to their needs, and staff have the information at their fingertips for in-person inquiries at the front desk.
In addition to the content type page, you can also place community resources on any page on the site based on resource type. MCPL has featured community resources for each branch of their library, so patrons near one branch can quickly browse the resources that are available in that area. These resources are placed on each branch page as content blocks.
The Community Resources page also engages patrons with other aspects of your site that aren’t necessarily library-based, encouraging further community engagement with other organizations in aspects of the community. Focusing on building an up-to-date library of community resources further solidifies the library as a core community asset because it connects patrons to resources that are built for their circumstances.
