The Decorah Public Library wants to know--"Are You Happy?"

"Winneshiek County is a great place to live" is a phrase frequently spoken by people who live in or visit this area.  But just how happy are the people who live here?

The Decorah Public Library wants to find an answer to that question.  They have turned to the Seattle Area Happiness Initiative (SAHI) and its comprehensive survey of happiness.

The Decorah Public Library is partnering with the initiative by providing a link on the library website.  If you live, work, trade, or go to school in the Winneshiek County Area, you can take the survey now by using the link on the Decorah Public Library homepage, www.decorah.lib.ia.us. ENTER YOUR ZIP CODE AND REFERRER CODE 6246, so that Winneshiek County survey organizers can include your anonymous survey results in calculating results for the entire area.

The goal is to provide individuals with a tool for reflection and insight, provide informational indicator reports for area organizations, local and county governments, and to provide informational links for exploration. Visit Decorah Public Library's website at www.decorah.lib.ia.us for more information or to take the survey.  
 
"We're thrilled to take the lead in this exciting project," adds Sustainable Seattle's Executive Director Laura Musikanski.  "By adding subjective indicators of well-being to the many important objective indicators we have identified over the years, we can provide a truly powerful look at how well we are doing in all areas of life.  We hope the survey leads to positive action for greater happiness, social justice, and both economic and environmental health."
 
Anyone who takes the survey will receive an immediate evaluation of personal well-being for each of the nine domains of happiness identified by international researchers:  psychological well-being; physical health; time balance; education; cultural vitality and access; social connection; good government; environmental quality and access to nature; and material well-being.  
 
The survey takes a holistic approach to well-being and asks poignant questions that allow reflection and insight.   "It takes just a few minutes to complete," says John de Graaf, Executive Director of Take Back Your Time (www.timeday.org).  "You'll find it's worth the time because it really makes you think about your life and how to improve it.  It's part of an exciting new effort to add quality of life and sustainability to our assessments of progress.  It's being used in many countries now, but this is the first opportunity for Americans to take the survey.  The results will be useful to individuals, organizations and policy makers who want to base their efforts to increase well-being on solid science and comprehensive information."

The results of that scientific survey will be combined with objective indicators of well-being (eg., green house gas emissions, life expectancy) for each of the domains to create a scorecard for the area that can be updated on a regular basis.  More information on the entire project, which will provide a model for other cities around the country and the world, can be found at www.sustainableseattle.org/sahi.
    
For more information, contact Decorah Public Library Director Lorraine Borowski at 563-382-3717 or lborowsk@decorah.lib.ia.us.