The last recommendation for future research relates to a useful methodology
for community needs assessment. Since their inception, public
libraries have demonstrated a keen awareness of the importance of user
needs of a particular community. Mary Cutler wrote in Library Journal in
1896, “that [the librarian] may catch the spirit of the civic life and relate
the library to the whole . . . that he may select books, establish branches,
open up new avenues of communication between the library and the people”
[47, p. 448]. To better serve the local residents, library researchers
later employed the Community Analysis Research Institute Model, a systematic
community analysis for needs assessment of different constituents
of a community, including individuals, community agencies, groups, and
lifestyles (i.e., community history and culture) [48–49]. This analysis involves
the systematic collection, organization, analysis, and synthesis of
information from and about a particular community to fulfill what Cutler
envisioned over 100 years ago. This community analysis approach can be
adopted by community networks to develop relevant contents and services.
By being woven into the fabric of community life through this approach,library-partnered community networks could find an even better niche in
increasingly informed communities.