Story Search Results

Advanced Search

There are so many ways to search the solutions journalism stories in this database. Explore our searchable fields:

Search Results

You searched for: -

There are 106 results for your search. View and Refine Your Search Terms

The Human Library connects people by tackling stigma and isolation

JoAnna Haugen

January 04, 2022 |

Shareable |

Text |

Over 3000 Words

Response Location: Denmark, Copenhagen

Library patrons are being encouraged to have dialogues and explore diversity through The Human Library. People from various backgrounds are “on loan” to chat for 30 minutes at a time, which can lead to conversations with people who may not have ever met under any other circumstances. The aim of the project is to improve a sense of community and even to “address global challenges.”

Read More
Go to Original Story
Close-knit community in Port Orford and Langlois, Oregon

Betsy Ladyzhets

September 05, 2021 |

COVID-19 Data Dispatch |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Port Orford, Oregon

Despite its tiny size and modest resources, the Port Orford-Langlois school district in Oregon managed to minimize coronavirus spread among students in the 2020-21 school year. A key factor was the partnership between the town and school libraries. Librarians prepared educational packets, sparing parents from having to scramble for materials. Schools and families dutifully followed safety guidelines while putting a priority on getting the youngest students into the classroom as soon as possible and preserving opportunities for them to play together. There were no cases of the virus spread in the schools.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Fighting Boko Haram One Book At A Time In Cameroon's Far North

Leocadia Bongben

August 22, 2021 |

Zenger News |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: Cameroon, Maroua

In Cameroon's Far North region, mobile libraries lend books to children and adults who have been deprived of both libraries and education by Boko Haram militants. The tricycle-powered libraries are part of Lire au Sahel (Read in the Sahel), an organization begun in 2018. The group now has about 5,000 books and has served about 500 adults and 1,000 children in the region.

Read More
Go to Original Story
A New Project Is Bringing the Gay ‘Green Book' Online

Marianne Dhenin

June 29, 2021 |

Next City |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

In 1965 a traveling salesman published a series of travel guides with gay or gay-friendly businesses across the U.S. that became survival guides for the LGBTQ community. “Mapping the Gay Guides” has digitized those collections, allowing users to explore the original descriptions and added historical content written by graduate students. Reasons for why locations appear and disappear from year-to-year are provided, which sometimes intersect with LGBTQ hate crimes. A $350,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities will allow them to continue to preserve and make the forgotten history accessible.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Free Wi-Fi, e-magazines, dial-a-story: Kansas City libraries' popular pandemic services

Celisa Calacal

June 01, 2021 |

The Kansas City Beacon |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Kansas City, Missouri

Digital library services in Kansas City were ramped up to serve patrons even as doors closed to visitors during the pandemic. Wi-Fi Hotspots were made available for downloading books, virtual story times for children were offered, and in addition to digital programs, services like dial-a-story were also offered over the phone for families without adequate internet service.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Teton County Library feeling fine after eliminating late fees

Tom Hallberg

May 26, 2021 |

Jackson Hole News & Guide |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Jackson, Wyoming

Teton County in Wyoming is implementing a new "fine free" system at community libraries, and anecdotal results show it's been successful. Eliminating fines is a way for the library to address the root cause of people not accessing the resources they often need the most due to accrued fines. Instead, the library will simply freeze patrons' accounts if they have an overdue book, and have longer grace period for returns.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Meet the Activist Archivists Saving the Internet From the Digital Dustbin

Mark Hill

May 12, 2021 |

Discover Magazine |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

The Internet Archive is a digital library of around 544 billion archived web pages, most of which are found using a bot that crawls the web and saves snapshots. However, a self-described loose collective of volunteer activist archivists, known as the Archive Team,' individually monitors and preserves websites at risk of being abruptly taken down. Using donated bandwidth and hard drive space on the archiving application “Warrior,” they systematically download sites they fear will be deleted. The downloads are saved within the Internet Archive database, which is available to the public.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Libraries Are Key Tools For People Getting Out Of Prison, Even During A Pandemic

Sally Herships

March 28, 2021 |

NPR |

Radio |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, New Jersey

When people leave prison, they often gravitate to public libraries as a free place to get computer access and help in looking for work and navigating other aspects of life outside. New Jersey Public Libraries' Fresh Start program adds a layer of help by providing social workers and extra technology resources and training for the formerly incarcerated. Covid disruptions in libraries forced the program to conduct much of its work on the phone or in public, outdoor spaces, but that has posed other problems. Even so, the help some receive has put them on a path toward self-sufficiency.

Read More
Go to Original Story
Hays Public Library offers help with vaccine registration

Kaisha Batman

February 10, 2021 |

KSNW-TV |

Broadcast TV News |

3-5 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Hays, Kansas

The Hays Public Library ensured people without access to computers or the internet could register for COVID-19 vaccines online by offering free access to computers and internet, as well as staff to answer questions. Library staff also assisted people who couldn’t fill the form out on their own and, home-bound residents, could request a form and a tablet with access to the internet be brought to their home so they could fill it out themselves. Over 6,000 people used the library’s services to pre-register for the COVID-vaccine.

Read More
Go to Original Story
For Indian teen who launched village library, it's about more than books

Radhika Iyengar

January 08, 2021 |

The Christian Science Monitor |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: India, Deora, Bihar

Sadiya Riyaz Shaikh wanted more students, specifically girls, in her village to have access to books and a place to study. She created the Maulana Azad Library, a repurposed family guesthouse full of hundreds of new and second books, newspapers, coloring books, and a tutor who helps students. “Without the library, I wouldn’t have been able to manage it,” said one of the students who regularly attends the library.

Read More
Go to Original Story