ABSTRACT
Rural communities need dramatic and permanent change to survive and, hopefully, thrive in the second century. Adam Smith notes in an inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations the invisible hand of the markets determines the strength and future of an economy. The especially true for rural community intentionally focuses on mobilizing own human capital, creating a community culture of civic engagement, service, and leadership to shape future, prosperity shapes by forces beyond the control. The Naturita Library story illustrates a rural community in transition from a heavy reliance on traditional anchors and natural resource extraction to a community anchored in its human capital. The local workers had jobs, often irregular, but no wealth creation. It begins a low-wealth community with a diminished economic and human capital base. Human capital is the base capital that a community can deploy and leverage to prosper and to utilize the other forms of capital.
