Small/rural community colleges should be integral parts of the communities they serve, catalysts for community development, and adaptable to community change. Collaboration with community agencies to develop efficient needs-specific programs and to use community residents as resources offer ways for colleges to provide educational courses and activities and to serve as recreational, cultural, and civic centers. Northeastern Junior College (Sterling, Colorado) is immersed in its service area--five counties and thousands of square miles of sparsely populated areas. Examples of Northeastern-community cooperative projects are a legal services referral office, management workshops for local small business owners, a Job Training Partnership Act (JIPA) Summer Youth Training Program, a women's forum addressing concerns of female heads-of-households, daily living skills classes for developmentally disabled adults, workshops on effective participation on boards and committees, cooperative teaching projects with school districts including credit/noncredit courses and a mobile computer instruction program, aid to local farmers in computerizing farm business, health care classes, educational and entertainment programs for senior citizens, job placement services for community residents, and provision of facilities and instruction in cooperation with a four-year college. (LFL)