Enhancing Newfield connections through communications project

Community engagement and seamless communication have taken center stage with the inception of the Newfield Communications Project. Spearheaded by Newfield Public Library Director Sue Chaffee and a dedicated group of community members, this project, which originated as a library initiative in 2021, has evolved into a comprehensive endeavor encompassing various facets of Newfield life. 

The project, which began because getting the word out about community news and events is difficult, aims to streamline information through common channels. A community survey identified the top 10 places where individuals get their information, and these became the platforms where information is consistently distributed.

“Once the project was underway, we started meeting regularly to pick away at many different communication-related issues,” Chaffee said. “That’s gotten us to where we are now: communicating the project to the community and encouraging feedback.”

The list of outlets maintained by the library based on community input currently includes the town of Newfield’s website and social media, the Newfield Public Library website, the Newfield Central School website, the community sign near Tioga State Bank, newspapers, radio, TV, local bulletin boards and the “Newfield’s News” document available at the library.

“We did consider having a single calendar, and that’s what some communities do,” Chaffee said. “But we made the decision [that,] rather than basically forcing people to use one community calendar, we would put our effort in distributing information to multiple channels so that we could take advantage of the media channels that already exist and people already use.”

Efficiency and accessibility lie at the heart of the project. Previously, organizations had to navigate the complexities of website management to promote their events. Now, the library shoulders this responsibility. Organizations need only provide event details or a poster, and the library creates and disseminates the advertising materials.

“It really helps save [organizations] time and frustration,” Chaffee said. “Hopefully, it makes a positive impact on the event because the more people we can get supporting those types of events, the better.”

Eric Hartz, superintendent of the Newfield Central School District, underscores the school’s commitment to the communication project, recognizing its pivotal role as a community hub. The school revamped its website to incorporate a dedicated section for community-based news and events, broadening the scope beyond school-centric information. Now, community members can log onto the school’s website to see what is going on in the community beyond the schools.

“We’re just trying to get more information to people that’s useful in a wider broadband of the community,” Hartz said. “Not just school-based people.”

Email addresses have been collected from people outside of the schools who would like to receive community information. According to Hartz, the project now has over 100 emails that belong to Newfield residents beyond the school community.

“It’s just about streamlining,” Hartz said. “It’s not that we all weren’t doing communication. We were. It was just scattered all over the place.”

To enhance the effectiveness of event information sharing, Newfield Public Library now offers a free service to distribute information to the most widely used advertising outlets in the community on behalf of all Newfield organizations. Event details can be submitted conveniently online at https://newfieldpubliclibrary.org/submit-an-event or in person at the library.

“[Communication is] never going to be perfect,” Chaffee said. “We’re always going to have some people that didn’t happen to see a poster or didn’t happen to see an article on a particular week, but at least we believe that our consistency in this method will be a big improvement.”

In essence, the Newfield Communications Project stands as a testament to the community’s determination to enhance connectivity, streamline information dissemination and foster a more closely knit and well-informed Newfield.