About the Library Research Service

Mission

• The Library Research Service provides library professionals, educators, public officials, and the media with research and statistics about libraries.

Goals

• To collaborate with clients to design and conduct research projects and apply the results.


• To gather needed data; package it attractively, flexibly, and persuasively; and deliver it on time to clients.


• To enable clients to utilize available data, to collect and report more complete and accurate statistics, and to use both types of data more effectively.

Services

• Research design


• Location, compilation, and analysis of available data


• Sample design and selection


• Survey administration


• Statistical analysis


• Report writing, layout, and design


• Presentation of findings


• Workshops on presenting research and statistics persuasively

LRS Fellowships

Each year, the Library Research Service awards three to four Fellowships to students in the Library and Information Science Program, Morgridge College of Education, University of Denver. A Fellowship candidate must be nominated by a DU LIS faculty member, complete an application, and submit a resume and writing sample. Based on a review of this information by the LRS staff, three to four finalists are selected for each vacancy. Interviews of finalists by the LRS staff and at least one representative of the DU LIS faculty provide the basis for selection of the Fellowship recipient.

An LRS Fellowship is an honor which offers opportunities to begin to develop a personal professional network, to gain experience both in designing and implementing research and in publishing and presenting its findings, and to develop advanced research and project management skills. Previous recipients are now employed in high-profile positions with the Library of Congress, the Colorado State Library, a variety of libraries and information centers in Colorado and beyond, and library consulting firms.

Those interested in applying for an LRS Fellowship should contact a member of the DU LIS faculty and ask to be nominated.

About www.LRS.org

LRS.org provides online access to research and statistics about academic, public, and school libraries in Colorado and beyond. For each type of library, it provides statistics for Colorado, other states, and the nation. The website also provides access to two types of reports: FAST FACTS, one- to three-page issue papers on current topics and trends facing libraries that are published once or twice a month; and A CLOSER LOOK reports, more in-depth analyses resulting from major LRS research projects that are published two or three times a year. In addition, the site provides links to research and statistics on specific library topicssuch as materials prices, public opinion about libraries, and library technologyand links to dynamic tools that assist users in making sense of library statisticssuch as peer comparison tools and calculators that adjust dollar figures for inflation over time or cost-of-living differences from place to place. Contact information for other organizations involved in library research and statistics and key individuals in those organizations is also provided.

Citation of the website: Library Research Service.(applicable year) LRS.org. Colorado State Library; Denver CO. Accessed (date) address: http://www.lrs.org

LRS.org At-Large