For Immediate Release: 2/18/2015 2:28 pm
Worcester, MA (February 18, 2015) - The Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, recognized today the Worcester Public Library's One City, One Library Initiative as part of its 2015 Bright Ideas program.
Worcester's One City, One Library is one of 124 programs from all levels of government - school districts; county, city, state, and federal agencies; as well as public-private partnerships - honored for being at the forefront in innovative government action.
One City, One Library is a dynamic public-private partnership focused on improving literacy skills citywide. This collaboration between the City of Worcester, the Worcester Public Library, the Worcester Public Schools and organizations dedicated to education is focused on opening neighborhood public library branches in the City's elementary schools. These branches offer the wealth of resources found at the public library, including technology, new materials and professional librarians, and bring them into our schools. They are accessible to students and teachers during the school day, and open to the public when school is not in session.
One City, One Library has opened public branch libraries at Roosevelt Elementary, Tatnuck Magnet School and the Goddard School of Science and Technology.
"One City, One Library has opened new channels of collaboration by focusing on a common goal: providing equal access to resources for students and neighborhoods," Worcester City Manager Edward Augustus said. "In a city where 59 percent of children fail to read at grade-level, nothing is more important than making sure our kids have access to quality books and educational materials."
"One City, One Library would not have been possible without the support of organizations across the City. The entire community has been a part of this effort," said Patricia Eppinger, chairwoman of the Worcester Education Collaborative and member of the committee that helped develop One City, One Library. "This unprecedented collaboration has put libraries back into our schools, where they're most needed."
Community organizations have provided joint programming, volunteers and over $1.5 million for sites designed to address unique needs of the neighborhoods and to involve the public in achieving literacy goals.
"The Bright Ideas program demonstrates that often seemingly intractable problems can be creatively and capably tackled by small groups of dedicated, civic-minded individuals," said Stephen Goldsmith, director of the Innovations in Government Program at the Ash Center. "As exemplified by this year's Bright Ideas, making government work better doesn't always require massive reforms and huge budgets. Indeed, we are seeing that, in many ways, an emphasis on efficiency and adaptability can have further-reaching effects than large-scale reforms."
This is the fourth cohort recognized through the Bright Ideas program, an initiative of the broader Innovations in American Government Awards program. For consideration as a Bright Idea, programs must currently be in operation or in the process of launching and have sufficient operational resources and must be administered by one or more governmental entities; nonprofit, private secto, and union initiatives are eligible if operating in partnership with a governmental organization. Bright Ideas are showcased on the Ash Center's Government Innovators Network, an online platform for practitioners and policymakers to share innovative public policy solutions.
About the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation
The Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation advances excellence in governance and strengthens democratic institutions worldwide. Through its research, education, international programs, and government innovations awards, the Center fosters creative and effective government problem solving and serves as a catalyst for addressing many of the most pressing needs of the world's citizens. For more information, visit www.ash.harvard.edu.
