Public

Challenged Materials in Colorado Public Libraries, 2014

October 2015

Every year, the Library Research Service’s Public Library Annual Report surveys Colorado public libraries about challenges to their materials or services. The libraries that report receiving one or more challenges are then asked to provide additional information. This Fast Facts addresses the number, nature, and outcome of the challenges reported in 2014. Note: One library […]

Summer Reading Makes a Difference for Colorado Families

March 2015

Each year, Colorado public libraries offer engaging summer reading programs to encourage children and teens to read for fun and to prevent summer learning loss. In summer 2014, the Colorado State Library invited Colorado public libraries to ask parents in their communities to help evaluate the effectiveness of these programs by completing a survey. Sixteen […]

2014: A Banner Year for Library Jobline

March 2015

Library jobs have officially recovered from the Great Recession, according to LRS’s popular library job posting website, LibraryJobline.org. In 2014, 615 jobs were posted—the most ever since the service’s launch in 2007—and more than twice that of 2009’s 228 jobs, a site low. We also saw the highest average starting wages for positions preferring the […]

One Book 4 Colorado 2014: Creating a Culture of Literacy

February 2015

Founded in 2012, One Book 4 Colorado (OB4CO) is a statewide annual initiative that offers free copies of the same book to every 4-year-old in Colorado. In 2014, the book was Grumpy Bird by Jeremy Tankard. More than 75,000 books were given away at more than 500 sites, including public libraries, Reach Out and Read […]

Colorado’s Public Computer Centers: Bridging Colorado’s Great Digital Divide

May 2014

This Fast Facts presents data summarizing equipment installation, digital literacy efforts, and computer use in Colorado during the two-year Broadband Technology Opportunity Program (BTOP) grant project, from April 2011 to March 2013. For more insight into the project, visit www.lrs.org/btop-evaluation and read previous Fast Facts covering class participant satisfaction survey results and workforce efforts and […]

Computers in Colorado’s Public Libraries

February 2014

Colorado’s 115 public library jurisdictions provide their communities with access to technology and web services. From wireless connectivity to always-accessible databases, public libraries are humming with 21st-century tools. Highlights from the 2012 Public Library Annual Report offer the details: PDF version of this infographic.

Trends in Colorado Public Library Websites and Social Media Use

December 2013

In 2008, the Library Research Service launched the biennial study, U.S. Public Libraries and the Use of Web Technologies, with the intent to document the use of various web technologies on the websites of public libraries throughout the nation. From its inception, it was conceived as a longitudinal study, with plans to revisit the sample […]