Librarians as Conveners to Build Community Resiliency in Rural Texas: A Pilot Project Translating the COPEWELL Framework Through Community Collaboration
Date
2023-11-03
Authors
Eger, Elizabeth K.
Long, Rex
Tonciu, Anca
Villagran, Melinda
Schneider, Jessica
TreviƱo, Britney
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Translational Heath Research Center
Abstract
This Translational Health Research Center report details a pilot project involving rural libraries and librarians as conveners for community resiliency through our adaptation of the COPEWELL (Composite of Post-Event Wellbeing) framework. COPEWELL is an evidence-based model for resiliency planning that was developed by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. The pilot project positioned librarians as local leaders to help identify and convene community members for two focus groups and subsequent exit interviews that would initiate resiliency planning in two rural areas of Texas. Our pilot sites were the Lee-Bardwell Public Library in Gladewater, Texas, and the Pottsboro Library, in Pottsboro, TX. Our project resulted in three significant outcomes, including (1) adapting the COPEWELL framework in a rural Texas context through community collaboration, (2) creating two descriptive case studies of librarians as community conveners, and (3) developing best practices and tips for future librarians to create community collaborations implementing COPEWELL in their areas. This report details our project design, adaptation of COPEWELL, and provides a roadmap for other librarians or community conveners to engage in similar community resiliency building activities and collaborations in their local area.
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., Villagran, M., Schneider, J., & TreviƱo, B. (2023). Libraries as conveners to build community resiliency in rural Texas: A pilot project translating the COPEWELL framework through community collaboration. Translational Health Research Center, Texas State University.