Author name: Linda Hofschire

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 […]

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 […]

More than three-fourths of survey respondents are likely to buy a state parks day pass after participating in the Colorado Parks and Wildlife/Colorado State Library program Check Out Colorado State Parks

March 2017

        Check Out Colorado State Parks, the result of a partnership between Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the Colorado State Library, provides 287 Colorado libraries with two park passes and adventure backpacks filled with information and educational activities. Patrons of participating public, military, and academic libraries can check out a backpack for […]

Trends in U.S. Public Library Websites and Social Media

March 2016

In 2008, we launched a longitudinal study to document the use of various web technologies (e.g., virtual reference, mobile friendliness, social networking, etc.) on the websites of public libraries throughout the U.S. The study was repeated in 2010, 2012, and 2014, expanding on the 2008 findings by tracking the trends in U.S. public libraries over […]

American Libraries covers LRS session at ALA Midwinter

January 2016

LRS staff enjoyed presenting “Data Visualization for the Rest of Us: A Beginner’s Guide” at ALA Midwinter. This was an encore presentation from the 2015 Research Institute for Public Libraries. Check out American Libraries’ coverage of the presentation to learn how we got started with data visualization as well as our tips for making numbers […]

The 2014-15 School Library Survey data is now available

November 2015

The 2014-15 Colorado School Library Survey data has been posted at http://www.lrs.org/data-tools/school-libraries/annual-statistics/. From this page, you can view individual school library profiles for all schools that completed the survey as well as statewide estimates and benchmarks for selected statistics, and use our interactive tool to explore the data in more depth. There is also a […]