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| Maine Library of Human Services | |
|---|---|
| Name | Maine Library of Human Services |
| Established | 1974 |
| Location | Augusta, Maine |
| Type | Special library |
| Director | Director (vacant) |
| Collection size | over 250,000 items |
Maine Library of Human Services is a specialized archival and reference institution located in Augusta, Maine, focusing on social welfare, public health, and community services documentation. The institution serves practitioners, researchers, policymakers, and the general public with materials on child protection, mental health, elder care, and social policy. It operates alongside state agencies and nonprofit organizations to preserve administrative records, program evaluations, and oral histories relevant to Maine and New England.
The library was founded in 1974 during a period of expansion in social policy archives alongside institutions such as Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, Smithsonian Institution, Harvard University, and Yale University. Early collections grew through transfers from the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, donations from advocates tied to the Children's Bureau (United States), and records from local chapters of United Way and Catholic Charities USA. In the 1980s the library acquired program files from initiatives linked to the Economic Opportunity Act era, and in the 1990s it added materials connected to the implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, collaborations with the Kessler Foundation, and evaluation reports associated with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Notable acquisitions include administrative records from state commissions modeled after the Commission on Civil Rights (United States) and oral-history projects paralleling collections at the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Library of Congress Veterans History Project.
The library is governed by a board comprising representatives from the Maine State Legislature, the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, university partners such as the University of Maine, and nonprofit stakeholders including MaineHealth and Goodwill Industries International. Operational leadership follows a professional staff structure with positions comparable to those at the American Library Association, with librarians trained in archival standards from programs at Simmons University, Pratt Institute, and University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign. Governance documents reference standards from the National Information Standards Organization and reporting practices similar to the Institute of Museum and Library Services. Advisory committees include members from the Maine Council on Aging, the Maine Children's Alliance, and legal counsel linked to the AARP.
Collections encompass administrative records from the Maine Department of Health, program evaluations from organizations akin to Save the Children, case studies reflecting practices of Child Welfare League of America, datasets analogous to those held by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and legal materials referencing statutes such as the Social Security Act. Holdings include monographs from presses like Oxford University Press and Cambridge University Press, gray literature produced by Kaiser Family Foundation, journals comparable to Health Affairs and Social Service Review, and audiovisual oral histories reminiscent of the Oral History Association archives. Services include reference assistance similar to offerings at the British Library, interlibrary loan coordinated with OCLC, digitization projects paralleling efforts at the Digital Public Library of America, and training workshops modeled on programs by the National Library of Medicine.
Public programming features speaker series with participants from institutions such as Columbia University, Boston College, and Tufts University, continuing-education workshops influenced by curricula at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, and community forums coordinated with Maine Equal Justice Partners and Penobscot Nation organizations. Outreach extends to statewide initiatives like joint exhibits with the Maine State Museum, mobile-library services inspired by the American Mobile Library Association, and summer internships partnering with the Peace Corps alumni network and the Teach For America movement. The library also hosts symposia on topics addressed by the National Institutes of Health, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and the Administration for Children and Families.
Collaborative relationships include formal MOUs with the University of Southern Maine, data-sharing agreements echoing practices at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, preservation partnerships with the National Archives and Records Administration, and joint research projects with think tanks such as the Brookings Institution, Urban Institute, and Pew Charitable Trusts. The library supports student research through connections to academic departments at Bowdoin College, Colby College, and the University of New England, and engages in multi-institution grants involving the National Science Foundation and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Funding streams derive from state appropriations authorized by the Maine State Legislature, competitive grants from foundations like the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Ford Foundation, fee-for-service contracts with agencies modeled on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and donor contributions coordinated with Maine Community Foundation. Budgeting follows public sector practices aligned with guidance from the Government Accountability Office and reporting standards similar to those required by the Office of Management and Budget.
The library's impact is measured through metrics employed by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, program-evaluation frameworks used by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and citation analyses comparable to systems at the Web of Science and Google Scholar. External evaluations have highlighted the library's role in informing policy deliberations by the Maine State Legislature, shaping service delivery among providers like Catholic Charities USA and Goodwill Industries International, and supporting research cited by publications such as Health Affairs and reports from the Kaiser Family Foundation. Ongoing assessment emphasizes outcomes tied to agencies including the Administration for Community Living and initiatives funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Category:Libraries in Maine Category:Archival institutions in the United States