Libraries (continued from page 29) and scholarly work by Kalamazoo College faculty, staff and students.” Upjohn Library often exchanges materials with WMU’s Dwight B. Waldo Library through interlibrary loan and reciprocal lending privileges. Upjohn Library also offers databases for research, including a free search engine called Google Scholar. E-books are popular in the academic world too. “We reported 102,970 electronic books in our collection on last count,” Nowicki says. “Most of our resources can be accessed from campus, of course,” says Greg Diment, chief information officer at Kalamazoo Community (continued from page 19) at risk for various developmental delays and emotional disorders. Reames says that by making home visits, therapists are “in on the ground level. You can learn so much more about what’s happening in the environment if you’re actually there. What kind of things is this parent up against? What is the neighborhood like? What are her natural supports? What are the challenges? What other children are there in the family?”
College, “but what’s really great is that our students can access the library from study abroad too, from wherever they might be in the world.”
Places for sharing Yet, it’s the sense of hanging out on the front porch that brings most people to the modern-day libraries of Southwest Michigan. Curled up comfortably in the crook of a purple couch in the Portage District Library atrium, Marsha Meyer makes notes of ideas for future library events. “Libraries have become a place to showcase Recognizing how critical early intervention with infants and parents is to children’s development, CHC has put a lot into developing infant mental health services over the past year,, doubling its caseload, Reames says. “There’s more and more evidence that the more we do, the earlier we do it, the better everybody’s chances are,” she says. CHC has a history of working with other organizations to meet the community’s needs, and infant mental health is a prime
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local talent and to bring your passion to share it with others,” she says. Meyer is committed to giving local writers and artists a place to share their work. The events she offers at the Portage library are known to become standing room only. She oversees several book clubs and group gatherings on any number of topics. If there’s an interest, she’ll organize an event for it. “It’s so interesting to be on this cusp of our changing libraries,” she says. “Whatever the changes, libraries will always be a place of discovery. Your curiosity will always be fed here. You don’t ever have to go home hungry.” example. Partners in early intervention include Bronson and Borgess hospitals, Kalamazoo Community Mental Health, the Kalamazoo County Family Court, the Kalamazoo Regional Educational Services Agency (KRESA) and the Michigan Department of Human Services. CHC also works with the Kalamazoo Literacy Council and Loaves & Fishes to provide families with additional support in the form of food packets and free books. Because of this remarkable example of cooperation, “we got all of our therapists pastel-colored long-sleeve T-shirts that say, ‘We play well with others,’” Reames says. “We are not at all territorial about our work,” she adds. ”There’s plenty to be done, and the more partners we can have, the stronger we think the services become.” The agency works closely with law enforcement officials and the judicial system. The Elizabeth Upjohn Community Healing Center is a forensic interview center for children who have been sexually or physically abused. It also hosts courtmandated supervised visits for parents whose children have been put in foster care. CHC also has a close relationship with Kalamazoo County’s drug-treatment court and sobriety court, which place people who have committed substance abuse-related nonviolent offenses in addiction treatment programs (see sidebar, page 18).
Managing and funding the work Reames has worked in nonprofit administration for her entire career and has been with CHC and its predecessor organizations for more than 20 years. She says that “(good) business practices don’t