Libraries Without Borders US
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Learning Hubs in Manufactured Housing Communities
What are manufactured housing communities?
In 2019, the Park Plaza Cooperative, a resident-owned manufactured housing community (MHC) in Fridley, Minnesota, contacted Libraries Without Borders US (LWB US) about their interest in establishing a community library and learning hub in the cooperative’s storm shelter. Unfamiliar with the unique context of MHCs, LWB embarked on an exploratory mission to better understand these communities on a national level, as well as the specific needs and interests of Park Plaza residents. Through our initial analysis, we learned that an estimated 22 million people live in manufactured housing communities across the country. This represents the largest sector of non-subsidized, affordable housing in the United States. A closer look at the demographics of families who live in these communities reveals a population that is, by a large margin, less educated and poorer than other Americans.
Libraries Without Borders is committed to expanding access to information, particularly to communities that need it most. To advance our mission, we constantly re-imagine how our work can take shape in order to reach remote, isolated, disconnected, and disinvested communities. LWB first brought this vision to Minnesota through our Wash and Learn Initiative (WALI), where we seek to bridge the digital divide and provide access to educational resources, one laundromat at a time. However, in many suburban and rural parts of the United States, laundromats are not common nor are they readily accessible. Given this reality, LWB jumped at the opportunity to partner with manufactured housing communities, redesigning the Wash and Learn model for MHCs and effectively bringing information, internet access, and educational opportunities to under-resourced residents in rural and suburban areas.
After conducting a preliminary assessment, LWB hosted a town hall-style meeting at Park Plaza, which gave residents the opportunity to express their vision for a community learning and literacy hub. Through participant feedback at the town hall, LWB discovered that only half of Park Plaza residents had access to a basic internet connection. While residents are aware of the wide array of resources that libraries have to offer, over 30% of people within the community reported having difficulty accessing a library facility. This is a gap that we hope to fill by increasing resident’s accessibility to a library, in effect, by bringing one directly to them.
This summer, LWB officially received funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to enact this vision and pilot a literacy and digital literacy hub in the Park Plaza Cooperative, a suburban community, as well as funding from the Blandin Foundation to expand into rural areas of Minnesota. By partnering with organizations local to the Fridley area, including the Anoka County Library, the Minnesota Department of Education, and local nonprofits, LWB will transform the cooperative’s storm shelter into a community hub where residents of all ages can participate in digital literacy workshops, health and nutrition programming, and even access legal support. LWB will install user-friendly technology including tablets and laptops, as well as high-speed, internet access. In turn, the Anoka County Library has committed to bringing its services directly to residents via the storm shelter library and literacy hub. The library anticipates hosting hours of storytime, English Language Learning courses, STEM activities, and digital literacy workshops at Park Plaza.
