More to offer than books: stakeholder perceptions of a public library-based meal programme.

Publisher: Cambridge University Press Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 9808463 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1475-2727 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 13689800 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Public Health Nutr Subsets: MEDLINE

Publication: <2007- > : Oxford : Cambridge University Press
Original Publication: Wallingford, Oxon, UK : Published on behalf of the Nutrition Society by CAB International, c1998-

Food Assistance* ; Libraries* ; Lunch* ; Meals*; Books ; California ; Child ; Family ; Humans

Objective: To examine the perspectives of librarians and staff about Lunch at the Library, a library-based summer meal programme for children. The study examines: (i) motivating factors behind implementing the meal programme; (ii) issues of feasibility; and (iii) perceived programme outcomes.
Design: One-on-one semi-structured interviews with library stakeholders (librarians and staff) from a purposeful sample of California libraries.
Setting: Twenty-two library jurisdictions across California that implemented the Lunch at the Library summer meal programme in 2015 in areas of high financial need.
Participants: Twenty-five library stakeholders representing twenty-two of the thirty-three Californian library jurisdictions that implemented Lunch at the Library at their sites.
Results: Library stakeholders recognised the need for a child meal programme during summer. Despite lack of sufficient resources and personnel, they were motivated to implement the programme not only to fill a community need but also to ensure children at their libraries were primed for learning over the summer. Library stakeholders also perceived the public library's changing role in society as shifting from reference provision to social service provision either directly or by referral.
Conclusions: The public library is an ideal place to provide social services because of its accessibility to all. Librarians and library staff are motivated to address the social needs of their communities. This study demonstrates the feasibility of implementing new social programmes at public libraries. Funding to support these programmes would increase the library's capacity to address other community needs.

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Keywords: Child hunger; Food insecurity; Public library; Social services; Summer meal programme

Date Created: 20200422 Date Completed: 20210809 Latest Revision: 20230619

20231215

PMC10200405

10.1017/S1368980019004336

32312358