Project Close Up: Orient

This analysis will examine one of the Iowa Cluster's smallest communities-Orient-as it works to tap as many community resources as possible- young and old, private and public-to bring the promise of information technology to its 376 citizens.

When asked to describe the best thing about MIRA, one Orient team member said, "For once, population didn't matter. Tiny little Orient is entitled to the same amount of money as Corning. They always get everything just because they're bigger!"

Located just 12 miles north of the much larger town of Creston, Orient is struggling to maintain its identity. They are holding on for dear life to their elementary and high school, which also serves the community of Macksburg. The school is a modern facility and is the centerpiece of the town.

The Orient project will provide a technology resource center for the youth and adults of the extended Orient-Macksburg area. This will be accomplished through a collaboration of city, school and individual technical and financial resources and facilities. In essence, this project will combine and enhance the city and school libraries while maintaining the intent and current administration of each facility.

Educational and library resources to be provided include: employee/ volunteer training; training sessions for the public on the use of basic computer programs; Internet access; web page development; Internet business marketing; and the use of the Iowa Communications Network, providing an interactive audio/video classroom at the school for business and community communication.

The project will physically relocate the current public library to the public school building, as well as increase and update its capacity by making many improvements:

• inventorying and weeding of current volumes; converting paper records to MARC form and attaching bar codes to all holdings; electronically automating all library materials for expanded selection throughout the state and to avail the statewide master catalog; updating and/or purchasing publications, books, videos, large-print materials, audio books and CDs for public use; purchasing and expanding the public use/access of IBM compatibles and Macintosh computers; extending staffing hours of operation of the joint city/school technology resource center.

The joint public/private/school project is intended to increase the volume and usage of all current and updated publications, increase computer literacy, and stimulate individual and community growth through access and use of technological learning advances.

By combining facilities, both students and adults will have greater access to written, audio, video and technological resources as well as access to a trained instructor/staff member. The center will be handicapped accessible with ample parking. Additionally, adults and students will be working and learning together in both printed materials and computer services. It is anticipated that at some point the center will become a certified library.

Because of its small size, the people of Orient had only a handful of local resources through which to collaborate, but looking at its list of volunteers leads one to believe they tapped every single one! Team members included the local telephone cooperative general manager, the banker, the accountant, the county planning commissioner, and several educators. Retired persons, farmers and students were all brought into the planning process.

The team went to work on finding matching funds for the MIRA project, and applied for grants totaling $13,000 from private foundations. They convinced the city government to commit $2,000 annually to the project, which will be sustained by the school and city in conjunction with the newly appointed governing board. The board will seek an AARP grant in future years to assist with the continued funding of an additional staff member. The school will continue to pick up the librarian's salary and a portion of utilities.

Additionally, the governing board will seek to build an endowment for future operations. Students and volunteers will maintain the community web site, which will be funded by the school.

Incidentally, the city became involved in a related project. Because the current library would be closed and moved into the public school, the city decided that, rather than have yet another vacant building on Main Street, the former library building would be converted to a community center for social gatherings and recreation. Separate efforts are now underway to make this concurrent project a reality.

Program Impact throughout the Iowa Cluster

The MIRA success in Orient is an example of how outside seed funding can revitalize the spirit and capabilities of a struggling rural community. Each of the nine teams in Iowa experienced similar impacts:

In Carlisle, team members are tackling the "barrier" of public apathy by launching an awareness campaign which will promote the need to integrate the issue of information technology into the public agenda. They have also identified the need for basic training for teachers. Carlisle and its project team partner community, Norwalk, both face the challenge of being "bedroom communities" to Des Moines Just a few miles north. They will utilize a MIRA-funded web page to increase citizen participation in local community activities and events.

Clarinda has developed an innovative collaboration with its School-to-work program, recruiting student volunteers to work in their MIRA-funded Telecommunications Information Resource Center, which will be housed in the public library. The project will utilize equipment purchased for multimedia presentations and to air special events over their local cable public access channel. In-kind contributions and additional grant funding has been leveraged to pay apart time employee who will be responsible for overseeing the project.

In Greenfield there is a great commitment to the arts and economic development. This innovative team is using the MIRA project grant to investigate the feasibility of a web-based business selling products and services made by local people with the proceeds going to local community arts projects.

MIRA has stimulated the small communities of Lacona, Milo and New Virginia to collaborate on separate community web pages and resource centers with local businesses, churches and community organizations all contributing to the effort. Southeast Warren High School students will also help to develop the programs.

When Lenox team members went asset mapping, they determined that one of the area's greatest natural resources was its wildlife! Several team by advertising it as a great place to hunt. There are about 15 hunting cabins already available, and a high-quality golf course. Why not? When they presented their idea of creating a web page for Lenox to tout tourism some residents became concerned about inviting strangers into the community- especially with guns! For now, the team is marketing the MERA-funded web page as a tool to link the school, community organizations and businesses. The project also includes a community technology education program. The issue of tourism may be brought up for public discussion at a later date.

For two communities that did not succeed in fulfilling the required attendance at workshops, the MIRA program was a bittersweet process. One very disgruntled Mt. Ayr team member said, "The goal of MIRA was supposed to bring communities together, but this has just torn us apart. I've got to work with that guy down the road in Clarinda, and I will. The wounds will heal. But it's going to take time." Feelings of betrayal were harbored by members from Indianola. This team failed to meet attendance requirements set forth by the program guidelines. Several team members were angry because they were not able to bend the rules. Phrases such as, "If Kellogg really wanted to do something for rural America..." were common during interviews throughout the tumultuous process. In their disappointment and frustration, some team members failed to acknowledge that communities much smaller than Indianola had been able to meet clearly established workshop attendance requirements.

Certainly there have been lessons learned, however, in both communities. Indianola and Mt. Ayr had successfully engineered a major accomplishment by laying the groundwork for important information technology projects. Mt. Ayr would establish an information resource center in the public library. Indianola was planning on a CITY project (Community, Information, Technology and Youth). The contacts and collaborations had already been established. The only missing piece, in reality, was $15,000 in funding - not an overwhelming amount when one considers the quality and potential of the people involved on both teams. Each of these teams is fully capable of achieving its goal.