Library Research Service

Library Research Service http://www.lrs.org/ Research and Statistics about Libraries en-us http://www.lrs.org/blog/rss.xml New site / New Blog! Good morning - it's an exciting day for us at LRS. Months of hard work has culminated in the unveiling of the brand new LRS.org! Please click around a bit - there might still be a few bugs lurking around, so let us know what you think, or what you run into.

Along with this redesign, our blog is moving to different home and platform as well. The LRS blog can now be found at http://www.lrs.org/news. Please note, the RSS feed for the blog will also be changing, so please update your readers. You'll now be able to find the feed from:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/LRSNews.

Have fun surfing!

Zeth http://www.lrs.org/blog/viewitem.php?post=321 2009 LSA Populations Posted The 2009 Library Service Area Populations are posted in the Colorado Statistics/Profiles (scroll down to open the 2009 LSA Populations Spreadsheet). This is the latest legal service area population data. These LSA population figures will be used for each public library on the 2009 Colorado Public Library Annual Report. http://www.lrs.org/blog/viewitem.php?post=319 New Fast Facts and New Field Initiated Study Posted We've just posted a new Fast Facts: Computer Access and Traditional Library Services. This Fast Facts examines what happens to public library visits, circulation, reference, and program attendance as the number of public access computers rises. Do the "traditional services" decrease as libraries provide more computer access, or do those services increase as well? Go to the Fast Facts page or click on the title above to read more!

A new Field Initiated Study has also been posted: Library Sponsored Events and Programming Promotion Ideas. This came from a question posted on the Libnet listserv by Donna Arment, of the Durango Public Library, regarding promoting library sponsored programs. To read the responses received, click on the title above or go to our Field Initiated Studies page.

-Jamie http://www.lrs.org/blog/viewitem.php?post=318 Results from the 60-Second Survey: The Future of the Book Last month we asked what you thought of the future of the book in our latest 60-second survey, aptly titled, The Future of the Book. More than 1,300 people took our survey and this is what they said...

When asked, "Do you think paper books will eventually disappear," almost 2 out of 3 respondents (63%) said paper books would never disappear. 15 percent said books would disappear within the next 50 years, 11 percent said within 51-100 years, and 11 percent said books would disappear in more than 100 years.

(Click on a chart for a larger, more detailed image.)

When asked, "What do you predict libraries will circulate in 10 years," 43 percent of our respondents predict an equal amount of physical and electronic materials. On the other hand, only a slightly lower percentage of respondents and#8211; 39% and#8211; predict that libraries will circulate more electronic materials than physical.

Our survey also asked in what format (audio, electronic, or paper) respondents currently read fiction, non-fiction, and textbooks, as well as how they predict how they will read those materials 10 years from now. Those that use audio did not expect much change in 10 years (less than 1% change in each category). The largest expected transformation among respondents was for textbooks. 10 percent currently read them in an electronic format, but 59% expect to be reading them electronically in 10 years.

Survey respondents also predicted a change in how they will read fiction and non-fiction. Currently, 86 percent of our respondents read non-fiction in a paper format, but only 59 percent expect they will still be reading non-fiction that way in 10 years.

As for fiction, 88 percent of our respondents read fiction from paper books, but only 70% predict they will still read fiction that way in 10 years.

Additionally, almost 3 out of 4 of our respondents (71%) left comments about the future of the book. Stay tuned for more details about the results and the comments provided in an upcoming Fast Facts.

Let us know what you think about these results and the future of the book by leaving a comment below.

-Jamie http://www.lrs.org/blog/viewitem.php?post=317 ALA Releases New Report--The Condition of Libraries: 1999-2009 From ALA:
CHICAGO and#8211; At every turn, news reports and research indicate fairly dramatic changes in U.S. library funding, services and staffing and#8211; most occurring in the last 18 months. According to a new report prepared by the American Library Association (ALA), libraries of all types are feeling the pinch of the economic downturn while managing sky-high use.

Compiled from a broad range of available sources, The Condition of Libraries: 1999-2009 presents U.S. economic trends (2009), and summarizes trends in public, school and academic libraries across several library measures, including expenditures, staffing and services. The report also highlights trends in services provided to libraries by library cooperatives and consortia.
[More at: http://www.ala.org/ala/newspresscenter/news/pressreleases2010/january2010/outlook_ors.cfm]

Report: http://www.ala.org/ala/research/initiatives/Condition_of_Libraries_1999.20.pdf
Reports by library type: http://www.ala.org/ala/research/index.cfm
http://www.lrs.org/blog/viewitem.php?post=316 Service Trends in U.S. Public Libraries, 1997-2007 From IMLS, Washington, DC:
The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) announces the release of a new research brief, Service Trends in U.S. Public Libraries, 1997-2007. The brief identifies important changes public libraries have made to address patron needs in an increasingly Internet-centric environment and explores service differences in urban and rural communities.

A comparison of more than 11 years of Public Library Survey data suggests that service changes in U.S. public libraries are having an impact on visitation and circulation, as record numbers of people now use public libraries nationwide. Several findings from the survey include:

and#8226; The availability of Internet terminals in public libraries rose sharply between 2000 and 2007, increasing by 90 percent on a per capita basis. This dramatic increase is one example of the way U.S. public libraries are expanding their range of services to meet patron demand.

and#8226; Between 1997 and 2007, per capita visits to public libraries increased nationwide by 19 percent. During the same period per capita circulation increased by 12 percent. This growth in demand for library services occurred even as people increasingly turned to the Internet to meet other information needs.

and#8226; The study identified very different trajectories between urban and rural communities for select service trends, highlighting the importance of local context for identifying patron needs and improving services.

To read the research brief please go to: http://www.imls.gov/pdf/Brief2010_01.pdf

Colorado Public Library data: http://www.lrs.org/pub_stats.php http://www.lrs.org/blog/viewitem.php?post=315 NCES Published 2008 Academic Library Statistics The report "Academic Libraries: 2008 First Look" presents tabulations for the 2008 Academic Libraries Survey (ALS) conducted by the US Department of Educationand#8217;s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Look for statistical reports summarizing 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.

~Nicolle
steffen_n@cde.state.co.us http://www.lrs.org/blog/viewitem.php?post=314 2009-10 Preliminary School Library Survey Results Available Thank you to all 710 respondents to the 2009-10 Colorado School Library Survey. Preliminary data is now available from our school library statistics pages (http://www.lrs.org/school_stats.php). If you responded to the survey, please take a minute to review your data and make sure it is accurate. Respond to us with any changes.

Thanks,
Zeth
-lietzau_z@cde.state.co.us http://www.lrs.org/blog/viewitem.php?post=313 <strong>Use of Statewide Databases Skyrockets in 2009</strong> A new Fast Facts, "Use of Statewide Databases Skyrockets in 2009: Patrons Benefit from Additional Databases and Training," has been published!

This Fast Facts examines the use of electronic databases in Colorado libraries in fiscal years 2008 and 2009 and explores the impact of librarian training and a larger database package on overall database use.

To read this Fast Facts, visit our Fast Facts page or click on the title above!

- Lisa http://www.lrs.org/blog/viewitem.php?post=312 60-Second Survey: Future of the Book Recently, news outlets and blogs have been busy deriding and celebrating the recent ascension of e-readers. The growing popularity of this new format has come with murmurs about the death of paper books and some even surmise that as technology advances libraries will cease to exist!

Taking notice of the chatter, Library Research Service has decided to survey librarians on the matter. This new 60-Second Survey asks your opinions on e-readers and how you think they will transform reading. Will e-readers be the demise of the paper book? What will libraries circulate? What is the future of the book? You tell us.
Click the link below to take the 60-Second Survey.

http://surveys.lrs.org/respond.php?sid=70 http://www.lrs.org/blog/viewitem.php?post=311 Interlibrary Loan in Colorado A new Fast Facts has been published! This Fast Facts (State's Collaborative Climate Fosters Interlibrary Loan in Colorado) examines interlibrary loan (ILL) use among Colorado's public and academic libraries, as well as how ILL use impacts circulation overall.

Read this Fast Facts by going to our Fast Facts page, or click the title above!

-Jamie http://www.lrs.org/blog/viewitem.php?post=310 Public Libraries andamp; Web Technologies - What's Happening? LRS is proud to announce the release of our most recent Closer Look Report, "U.S. Public Libraries and the Use of Web Technologies." In the spring of 2008, we visited the websites of nearly 600 public libraries in the United States, including all Colorado public libraries, looking for the presence of web technologies, including those identified as "Web 2.0." This report details our findings about what public libraries are doing on the web, and the characteristics that "early adopters" share.

Find the report, and a Colorado-specific Fast Facts report, on the report page:

http://www.lrs.org/public/webtech

-Zeth
lietzau_z@cde.state.co.us http://www.lrs.org/blog/viewitem.php?post=309