Extending Information Resources in Rural Areas

To test the hypothesis that greater cooperation between Extension centers and rural libraries improves their services, a cooperative pilot project by the University Extension Center and the County Library System in Texas County, Missouri, was done. The findings from our pilot project indicated that by working with local libraries, county Extension centers can disseminate useful information to rural clientele in facilities where they're more likely to look for it. Moreover, this innovative way of expanding Extension's informational services can be done with few, if any, additional dollars. We suggest that Extension centers seeking cost savings even explore the possibility of sharing space and personnel with their local libraries.