Public

Colorado Public Libraries and COVID-19: Despite unprecedented circumstances, libraries quickly adapted services to safely meet community needs

October 2020

This blog post was co-authored by Crystal Schimpf and Linda Hofschire, and is also published on the Colorado Virtual Library blog. In late May 2020, the Colorado State Library surveyed Colorado public library directors about their responses to the pandemic. We received responses from 76 library jurisdictions (67% of Colorado’s 113 public libraries), as well […]

2019 Colorado Health Survey finds that one in seven Coloradans needed mental health treatment but didn’t get it

October 2019

The 2019 Colorado Health Access Survey, administered by the Colorado Health Institute, found that “one in seven Coloradans (13.5%) say they have needed mental health treatment but didn’t get it.” This survey randomly samples 10,000 Colorado households every two years. In 2017, the percentage of Coloradans reporting they did not receive needed mental health treatment […]

Two years of preschool creates positive impact 50 years later

July 2019

A longitudinal study of the impacts of preschool participation found that the study participants as well as their children experienced a variety of positive outcomes. The original participants had lower rates of crime, higher rates of employment, better health, and better executive function than the control group over the course of their lives. Children of […]

Library Jobline posts a record 815 jobs in 2018

July 2019

Library Jobline, LRS’s website for library job postings and resources, broke its own record again for the number of jobs posted in 2018 while the number of job seekers and job posters continued to rise. Data collected from the Library Jobline website are highlighted in the most recent Fast Facts report. In 2018 employers posted 815 […]

What questions do states add to the national Public Libraries Survey?

June 2019

The annual Institute of Museum and Library Services Public Libraries Survey (PLS) contains 102 questions that all US public libraries complete. However, most states ask additional questions as well. The topics of these questions have been of great interest to public library data stakeholders for a variety of reasons, including that they may be the […]

Library Journal survey finds that public library circulation has dipped slightly (0.5%) for the first time since 1999

April 2019

Library Journal recently released the results of its annual materials survey tracking circulation statistics in public libraries nationwide. Materials circulation in public libraries decreased by half a percent (0.5%) in 2018, falling, though only slightly, for the first time since 1999. Two in 5 (40%) survey respondents reported that they saw their circulation decrease. Nearly […]

Pilot to Measure Social and Emotional Learning at Denver Public Library

February 2019

How can you measure relationship-building abilities? How can you understand which of your library’s programs best support users’ development of skills like problem-solving? How can you determine whether the youth who come to your library need help learning how to ask a question?

At Denver Public Library (DPL), we wanted to answer these questions, which address a vital set of skills called social and emotional learning, or SEL. A key goal of our public library, like many libraries, is to provide experiences that positively impact participant learning and growth. Particularly with our youth participants, we hoped that library programs fostered SEL, but we had not yet found a way to measure it.

AFL-CIO fact sheet indicates that a quarter of American librarians are union members

November 2018

American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) Department for Professional Employees recently released a fact sheet exploring, among other topics, library staff in the workforce, issues of pay and pay equity, and librarian representation in unions. This fact sheet uses data from a variety of sources, but draws primarily from the U.S. […]