The Pottsboro Library Community Collaboration Process: A Case Study Adapting COPEWELL for Community Resiliency in Pottsboro, Texas
Date
2023-11-08
Authors
Eger, Elizabeth K.
Long, Rex
Tonciu, Anca
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Translational Health Research Center
Abstract
This Translational Health Research Center (THRC) case study report details the experiences and outcomes of a group of community stakeholders in Pottsboro, TX, that participated in a pilot project involving rural libraries and librarians as conveners for community resiliency. The Library Director of the Pottsboro Library participated as a community partner and assisted in convening the stakeholder cohort to represent a diverse range of community voices and experiences to discuss community resiliency. Through connecting collaboration techniques from Communication Studies and an adaptation of the COPEWELL (Composite of Post-Event Wellbeing) framework, stakeholders identified key community challenges and began to identify feasible action items to address them. This process identified six central resiliency challenges: (1) transportation, (2) healthcare, (3) affordable housing, (4) broadband, (5) workforce, and (6) disaster events, and the interconnections of each. As a collective, stakeholders identified starting action items as: (1) reconvening the collaboration group for new, sustained meetings, (2) improving communication with residents through new approaches about the city, community, and library’s needs and services, (3) prioritizing and working together on grant and governmental funding initiatives for the library and Pottsboro’s community resiliency, and (4) creating and sustaining multiple collaborations for addressing resiliency and identified community functioning needs. This THRC case study is a companion report to the case study for Gladewater, TX, and is an extension of the THRC pilot process report.
Description
Keywords
libraries, community resiliency, community resilience, community collaboration, rural communities, COPEWELL, Texas libraries, applied communication, resiliency, resilience
Citation
Eger, E.K., Long, R., & Tonciu, A. (2023). The Pottsboro Library Community Collaboration Process: A Case Study Adapting COPEWELL for Community Resiliency in Pottsboro, Texas. Translational Health Research Center, Texas State University. https://bit.ly/Pottsboro