Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Better Together MIS

My MIS comes from our reading, Better Together. It can be found on page 42 right at the top. It goes like this, "In a community liek Cabrini Green, starting with a library sends a very different and much more positive message than starting with a police station".

I chose this for my MIS because it's such an interesting concept to me. Rather than telling the community you don't trust them and they are so out of hand that they need another police station, you put in a library. Telling them that you do trust them and that you have faith in that community. Giving them a library gives the impression that someone out there cares about them and that you believe they only need the access to more resources to bring more success. A library is another form of education, so what an excellent way to bring more education to a community that is struggling with their educational system.

4 comments:

  1. I agree that libraries are a very important part to any community, but police stations will always be more important. If you are just starting out with a new community, safety and protection for the community members should always come first, and certainly before a libraray. Once the community is a safe place to live, other important things, like libraries, can be added.

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  2. This concept also intrigued me. A library and a police station sends out two different messages, one obviously more positive than the other. But in a community like Cabrini Green, is it worth taking the risk? I agree with Nick. Starting out in a new community with a library may not be safe due to the fact that you can put your hand out there for someone to reach out and take hold, but it never guarantees a positive response. I believe assuring the community safety is more important.

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  3. This was one of my other options for my MIS. I was going to choose it for the same reason as Kyle, rather than nick and kit88. Police stations are obviously extremely important to a new community, but Cabrini Green is not a new community. As a result, I think a library is extremely important to a community, especially when it helps to bridge two completely opposite communities. A woman in the article mentioned how she tries to be a better person because she feels like her community cares for her because they gave her a great library. I think this is a very important concept that I definitely agree with.

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  4. This is a very good MIS. The quote is very true. The idea of a library is telling a community that someone believes in them and is willing to give them a chance to be more successful. As opposed to a police station that tells the community that they are out of control and need more authority.

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