Public

Nearly 80% of library stakeholders rated “library workers and leaders who embrace change” as being very important to the success of future libraries

June 2013

Image credit: Summary of Stakeholder Engagement Survey Results, the Global Libraries Initiative of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Recently, the Global Libraries Initiative of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation surveyed more than 3,000 library stakeholders to solicit ideas on the role and key attributes of a future library and how the foundation could […]

36% of school librarians rated connecting young people to reading and lifelong learning as the top satisfaction of their jobs

June 2013

Image Source: Mark Tuchman, http://www.slj.com/2013/05/research/sljs-2013-job-satisfaction-survey/ School Library Journal recently surveyed more than 1,000 school and public librarians to pinpoint sources of job satisfaction and dissatisfaction within the field. For both school and public librarians, connecting young people to reading and lifelong learning rated first for offering satisfaction with their jobs. Working with young people and […]

Measuring the Impact of Libraries

June 2013

In the June 2013 issue of Computers in Libraries, Moe Hosseini-Ara and Rebecca Jones have an article, “Overcoming Our Habits and Learning to Measure Impact.” They highlight 5 issues that libraries struggle with when measuring impact: 1. Libraries do not set targets for their measures. 2. There’s not enough understanding of stakeholders’ value measures. 3. […]

National Public Library Data Updated

May 2013

The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) recently updated the “Search for Public Libraries” and “Compare Public Libraries” online tools with the FY2011 PLS unimputed data. You can find a link to the tools from the PLS main web page at:  http://www.imls.gov/research/public_libraries_in_the_united_states_survey.aspx

The Weekly Number: 425,000+ Coloradans increased their digital literacy skills through the BTOP project

May 2013

The BTOP buzz continues! Recently wrapped, the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) awarded more than $4 billion to 233 projects nationwide. ALA’s “U.S. Public Libraries and Broadband Technology Opportunities Program” report highlights state and local library BTOP projects across the country, which served about 20 percent of all U.S. public libraries. Nationally, programs funded by […]

New Fast Facts: More Opportunities, Lower Pay: 2012 Insights from Library Jobline

May 2013

Our new Fast Facts uses data from Library Jobline to evaluate Colorado’s library job climate. In 2012, almost 400 library jobs were posted to Library Jobline, thus marking the third year in a row in which there was an increase in the number of jobs posted. Although there appear to be more opportunities for library-related […]

Preliminary 2012 Public Library Data Now Available

March 2013

Preliminary data from the 2012 Colorado Public Library Annual Report (PLAR) is now available: :  http://lrs.org/documents/plstat12/preliminary-2012-plar-2013-03-22.xls. Preliminary Status A few libraries are still working on getting their data in, however, the vast majority have submitted their reports. The data is considered preliminary until we receive data from all public libraries and all edit checks have […]

Early Literacy Information on Colorado Public Library Websites

February 2013

Our new Fast Facts presents the results of a study of the early literacy information available on Colorado public library websites. The findings indicated that most libraries broadly referenced early literacy information on their websites, but fewer referenced early literacy skills, discussed the long-term benefits of early literacy, or provided information on the importance of […]