Recently in Libraries & Museums Category

Source: OCLC, 2012

From the summary:
This new report details findings from a study OCLC conducted with libraries in mid-2011 to learn about their priorities, initiatives, thoughts on the future of their service points and the sources they use to keep up with developments in the library field.

Select Key Findings:
Most public library staff:
- Are focusing their priorities on Internet access, demonstrating value to funders and delivering e-content
- Are concentrating on e-books as their top current initiative
- Rely mostly on listservs and email to stay current--while just a few use social media
- Opinions are split on the make-up of service points in the future
- The top priority for public library directors is demonstrating the library's value to funders

Nearly 1300 public library staff including directors, managers and librarians participated in the study.

Source: Beth Dempsey, Library Journal, April 2, 2012

The referenda landscape of 2011 was punctuated by strong voter support to keep library doors open--but little more. Libraries took a cue from three long years of budget cuts, a struggling economy, dwindling consumer confidence, and weary taxpayers and ventured out to voters with markedly restrained requests.

At a cursory glance the numbers for operating referenda seem positive. Fully 88 percent of libraries that asked their communities to fund them were rewarded with a "yes." In fact, the 2011 passage rate for operating referenda hit a ten-year high.

Looking deeper at the numbers, however, provides sobering context. Voters approved smaller amounts last year than in years 2002 through 2008 and even 2010. In 2011, the average operating referenda was under $900,000. Remove a standout $50 million vote in Los Angeles, and the average drops to under $800,000. Consider that next to the ten-year high, which occurred in 2008, when the average referendum was valued at more than $4 ­million.

Source: Primary Research Group, March 2012
(subscription required)

From the summary:
This report presents data from 110 American academic libraries about the state of their strategic thinking on a myriad of issues including: use of eBooks and eBook readers, development of audio-visual resources, digitization of special collections, conference attendance and library staff training, views of open access, technology center development policies, use of clould computing and inventory tracking technologies and many other issues.

The report present detailed data on trends and spending plans in the following areas: capital spending, salaries/benefits and hiring, use of student labor, eBooks and traditional books, audio-video, journals and periodicals, online databases, library instructional technology, tablet computers and eBook readers, and many other areas. Data is broken out by size and type of academic library and for public and private institutions.

College libraries serving fewer than 1,000 students spent a mean of just $24,298 on information accessed online

63.27% of libraries in the sample say that salaries and benefits for their librarians have declined in real terms over the past year.

Over the next few years, 68.75% of libraries in the sample expect their resource allocation to keep pace with that of other departments in their college.

In 2012-2013, libraries in the sample expect to increase materials spending by a mean of 1.62%.

14.29% of 4-year college libraries and 15.63% of MA granting college libraries have received grant support from foundations.

60% of colleges in the sample with more than 10,000 students enrolled say that their capital budget has declined over the past two years.

Source: American Association of School Librarians, 2012

From the summary:
AASL is sponsoring a longitudinal survey that will provide data on the health of the nation's school library programs. The annual survey is open to library centers at all schools teaching at the primary and secondary levels. The first survey was conducted in 2007, with annual results posted each year. Most of the questions are tracking questions, though each year the survey includes a short series of topical questions.
2011 Report
- Full Report
- Digital Citizenship Report
See also:
ALA press release

Source: Brian Peteritas, Governing, Idea Center, March 22, 2012

Building utilization and transportation are among the biggest factors that must be addressed when cities seek to go green. The cities of Santa Cruz, Palo Alto and San Francisco have all signed on to pilots that allows residents and city workers to book work space at a variety of public libraries around Northern California, tackling both problems at once by maximizing the use of city buildings and cutting down on worker commutes. The three cities are working with mobile app Liquidspace to allow workers to search for and book space via the Web for any length of time, from an hour to several weeks. The company hopes that the pilot will be a start of a partnership that eventually includes all levels of government.
See also:
LiquidSpace Announces Partnerships and Pilot Programs with Cities of Palo Alto, Santa Cruz and San Francisco
Source: PRWEB, March 21, 2012

Source: Claire Shubik-Richards, Emily Dowdall, Pew Charitable Trusts' Philadelphia Research Initiative, March 2012

From the summary:
Big-city public libraries have rarely been as popular as they are today and rarely as besieged. The hard economic times of recent years have generated increased demand for the free and varied services libraries provide, even as revenue-challenged local governments have cut back on contributions to library budgets. All of this comes at a time when libraries are being asked to perform a new and changing range of functions.

"The Library in the City: Changing Demands and a Challenging Future" looks at how Philadelphia is faring and the challenges facing urban libraries across America. It examines The Free Library of Philadelphia's operations and compares them to those of 14 other library systems.
See also:
As Usage Rises, Libraries Struggle to Stay Open
Source: Nate Berg, The Atlantic Cities, March 2012

Source: Deanne W. Swan, Timothy Owens, Kim A. Miller, Dominic Beamer, Scott Bechtle, Suzanne Dorinski, Michael Freeman, Cindy Sheckells, Institute of Museum and Library Services, IMLS-2012-StLA-01, January 2012

This report marks the fifth release of library statistics data from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). It contains data on state library agencies in the 50 states and the District of Columbia for Fiscal Year (FY) 2010. The data were collected through the State Library Agencies (StLA) Survey, the product of a cooperative effort between the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies (COSLA), IMLS, and the U.S. Census Bureau

Source: Keith Curry Lance, Linda Hofschire, Library Research Service, Closer Look, January 2012

From the abstract:
In fall 2011, LRS analyzed school library staffing data and Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP) reading scores over time. The findings indicated that Colorado schools that either maintained or gained an endorsed librarian between 2005 and 2011 tended to have more students scoring advanced in reading in 2011 and fewer students scoring unsatisfactory, compared with schools that either lost their librarians or never had one. In 2011, schools with at least one FTE endorsed librarian averaged significantly higher advanced CSAP reading scores and significantly lower unsatisfactory scores than schools with less than one FTE endorsed librarian. These findings remained significant when controlling for poverty.
See also:
Full-time School Librarians Linked to Higher Student Reading Scores
Source: Lauren Barack, School Library Journal, March 6, 2012

Source: Tai Phan, Laura Hardesty, Jamie Hug, Cindy Sheckells, National Center for Education Statistics, NCES 2012365, December 2011

From the summary:
The Academic Libraries: 2010 First Look summarizes services, staff, collections, and expenditures of academic libraries in 2- and 4-year, degree-granting postsecondary institutions in the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
See also:
Supplemental tables

Source: Association of Research Libraries, 2012

Data on University & Library Total Expenditures (formerly known as the E&G Survey) are used to produce charts and tables showing what fractions of total university spending have gone towards the research library....

Since 2003, this information has not been gathered in a separate survey; instead IPEDS data regarding total university expenditures have been used with the Total Library Expenditures data from the ARL Statistics to produce charts and tables showing Total Library Expenditures as a Percentage of Total University Expenditures.

• Machine-Readable University & Library Expenditures Data, 1982-2009
• University & Library Expenditures, Annual Graph Data, 1966-2009
• Library Expenditures as a Percent of Total University Expenditures, 1966-2009 (17 Universities)
• Library Expenditures as a Percent of Total University Expenditures, 1982-2009 (40 Universities)
• Library Expenditures as a Percent of Total University Expenditures v. Total University Expenditures, 1982-2009 (Select Data)
• Library Expenditures as a Percent of Total University Expenditures, 1982-2009 (Canada v. US Public v. US Private)