Need a Handbag or a Tie to Land Your First Job? Borrow One With a Library Card

The University of Nevada at Reno’s DeLaMare Library houses a ‘maker space’ which houses creative tools ranging from whiteboards to laser cutters to microprocessors. It is the library’s hope that this space allows students and the general public to fabricate their ideas and form new, innovative collaborations.

Across the United States, tribal lands have the lowest access to internet, an issue that restricts opportunity and education in those areas. In New Mexico, several small tribes have partnered to lay fiber-optic cables that connect the libraries, which serve as primary sources of internet connection, to faster, cheaper internet.

Librarians in New York City are attempting to "promote literacy in ordinary locations." By adding books and staff to laundromats in low-income communities, they are providing opportunities for children living in "book deserts."

Stockholm, Sweden is known as the best city in the world for work-life balance, as it boasts flexible work hours and nearly two years' parental leave per child for each parent. While raising a child with a full-time career still poses challenges, the norm for businesses in Stockholm is to cater to working parents' busy schedules in order to support equal childcare between mothers and fathers.

The first Human Library emerged in 2000 in Copenhagen, and has since exploded in popularity to the point of operating chapters in more than 70 different countries. The concept is that readers should not judge a book by its cover, so in this library, actual people are the books available to read with titles like "Polyamorous", "Soldier (PTSD)", and "Refugee". The 30-minute "reading sessions" (face-to-face conversations) allow people to learn in a judgement-free zone and put a real person behind the story they are hearing.

Auraria Campus in Denver installed more than 2,100 solar panels on their school’s library, which will save students money and be more sustainable. The campus teamed up with Namaste Solar to build the $1 million solar array, which will reduce campus energy usage by about 2.5 percent annually. While it will take 15 years for the panels to recoup the cost of installation, the life of the project should be about 30 years, so it will also generate additional revenue for the school.

Frustrated by a tight labor market, two locally owned Grand Rapids employers discovered the virtues – economic, not just moral – of hiring formerly incarcerated people, whose gratitude for an opportunity translated into excellent performance and less risk of adding to rapid turnover. The employers helped guarantee success by paying for support services that made post-prison transitions easier. The employers then talked hundreds of other local employers into doing the same. Besides providing a business advantage, the program changes lives and is evidently contributing to much lower rates of recidivism.

In California, youth in the foster system can continue to receive support and services for three years after they've "aged out" as long as they enroll in school or find a job. Participants work with a social worker to create a transition plan and develop new life skills such as budgeting and job searching, and one study found that fewer youth became homeless and more completed high school or enrolled in college after participating in the extension program.

Employers like the St. Partick Clinic in South Sudan are hiring based on attitude and trainability instead of technical skills and knowledge to find employees that are trustworthy and reliable.

The Golden Girls shelter has been providing meals, medical aid, and other support services for women with children who are experiencing homelessness. Since the Golden Girls living space opened, the program has served a total of 50 women ranging in age from the early 50s to late 70s. While at the shelter, staff members help them complete paperwork so they can receive Social Security payments, pensions, or alimony, and apply for affordable housing. They’re also provided medical care, counseling, and assistance finding jobs.