Flint Public Library: A Gateway to Critical Information

It seems that everyone in the United States is glued to the story about Flint and the water crisis. What role does a public library play in a civic crisis such as this? Flint Public Library (FPL) has defined three specific ways in which the library supports the local community. How does the library fit into the solutions for the longer term issues? First, and perhaps most importantly, FPL staff are actively engaged in the conversations about what to do and how to mobilize resources. “We are at the table,” says Kay Schwartz, Library Director. “We have to know who is doing what and how people can get help. Flint has a well-developed network of organizations that collaborate effectively. We don’t need to create the solution. We just need to know what it looks like and know how people can access it.”