An issue of growing importance in rural economic development is the role of telecommunications and information technologies. Looking prospectively at the rural economies of the 1990s and beyond, a conference of 25 participants from various fields of expertise met to address the issues of how rural America will be affected, both positively and…

In April 2000, over 250 rural leaders from around the nation gathered in Kansas City, Missouri, to discuss rural America's future, its challenges, and policies to meet those challenges. Conference participants agreed that the current pattern of uneven rural growth is likely to persist and that agriculture will remain a key sector in the rural…

From an interdisciplinary perspective, this proceedings of the National Rural Studies Committee examines how rural people, communities, and institutions have and are adapting to the enormous changes of recent decades, especially the 1980s. The specialized scholarly presentations cover such diverse issues as rural family, public policies,…

Texts of 12 research papers are presented in this proceedings of a 1985 conference specifically focusing on the interdependence of agriculture and rural communities. Titles of Session I papers providing information on the current situation and trends in agriculture and rural communities are "An Overview of the Nonmetro Economy and the Role of…

This proceedings contains 11 papers that focus on issues and problems of rural communities in the Southwest. Papers include: (1) "Dilemmas of a New Age: A Half-Millennium of Landscape Change in New Mexico and the Southwest," by Paul F. Starrs; (2) "American Indians Today," by C. Matthew Snipp; (3) "The Southwest: Global…

This collection features 11 papers from a national symposium on rural education. The papers are consistent in noting that while there are common elements among all schools regardless of location, rural schools operate within a unique context. Several papers address the diversity of rural locales and the challenges educators face in such locales.…

Presents papers from Illinois State Library and Shawnee Library System's "Libraries on the MOVE" conference focusing on how libraries can impact economic/cultural climate of an area. Topics addressed included information services of rural libraries; marketing; rural library development; library law; information access; interagency…

Over 250 rural leaders attended the conference "Beyond Agriculture: New Policies for Rural America," held in Kansas City (Missouri) in April 2000. The conference began with an assessment of where the rural economy and rural policy are headed in the new century. Speakers suggested that the rural economy is likely to remain a mix of…

The report presents summaries of presentations given at a December 1986 University Forum in which leaders from government, higher education, and the private sector examined trends behind the current decline in the rural economy and identified areas offering potential for revitalization. An introductory paper by William H. Gray is titled,…

The four conceptual/academic themes for the Second Annual University of Kentucky Conference on Appalachia were: School-Community Relationships; Economic Development through Education; Politics of Democratic Empowerment; and Politics of Literacy. Other session topics included: Successful Dropout Programs in Appalachia; Innovative Programs and…

The conference reported in this proceedings brought together states' rural development policymakers in an effort to identify the programs and research needed to establish successful state policies. Topics of papers presented at the conference and included in the proceedings covered: (1) telecommunications and computer technology as sources of…

The purposes of the National Rural Studies Committee (NRSC) are to develop a comprehensive and coherent framework for viewing rural area problems, and to provide legitimacy for rural studies as an academic field of specialization. This first NRSC meeting focused on the picture of rural America drawn in American literature, the nature of employment…

This publication presents a series of five papers based on presentations given at a rural development symposium dealing with the role of education in off-farm employment and rural economic development. The first paper, "Education and Rural Economic Development" (Thomas G. Johnson), discusses linkages between the regional educational…

Conference participants examined how other states are preparing their farmers and rural communities to survive in the present "new world order," and considered whether Arkansas, one of only three states without a central agricultural agency, has the tools to forge strategies for the 1990's. "The Role of State Government in…

Problems in federal rural policy arise in a number of areas: the extreme economic adversity of rural America, failure to acknowledge the higher cost of providing rural services, failure to distinguish between rural programs and agriculture programs, and failure to address specific rural needs. Papers in this collection examine rural development…