Our new Fast Facts, Trends in Colorado Public Library Websites and Social Media Use, presents findings from the Colorado portion of our longitudinal study of U.S. public libraries’ use of web technologies and social media. All 114 of Colorado’s public libraries are included in this study. One of our main findings was that from 2010 to 2012, the percentage of Colorado public libraries catering to mobile devices increased dramatically. Researchers looked for any of the following types of mobile-friendly website access:
- Mobile version of website: The URL redirects to a mobile site (e.g., “m.citylibrary.org”) when viewed on a mobile device.
- Mobile app: A software application is downloaded by users to run on their smartphones or other mobile devices.
- Responsive design: The website is designed in a way that is accessible to a wide range of devices, from smartphones to desktop LCDs, through the use of fluid, proportion-based grids, flexible images, and media queries.
Overall, 36% of Colorado public libraries offered some type of mobile-friendly website access, up from 3% in 2010.
In terms of the specific type of mobile access,
- About one-fourth (26%) of Colorado public libraries offered mobile apps;
- 1 in 5 libraries had mobile versions of their sites (i.e., the URL redirects to a mobile version of the website when viewed on a mobile device); however,
- just 3 libraries used responsive design.
Check out the following resources for more information about this study:
- Infographic: summarizes the Colorado findings in a graphical format.
- Fast Facts: presents highlights from the Colorado portion of the study.
- Closer Look report: contains detailed information about the national and Colorado-specific findings.
- U.S. Public Libraries and the Use of Web Technologies webpage: contains all published information from the 2008, 2010, and 2012 studies.
Note: This post is part of our series, “The Weekly Number.” In this series, we highlight statistics that help tell the story of the 21st century library.