In 2011, Time Magazine featured an online article that enthusiastically proclaimed loaner iPads as one of the “best freebies” ever offered by public libraries. Today, public libraries across the country continue to loan tablet and e-reader devices, as well as other portable electronics, like laptops, GPS units, and MP3 players. At the Hooksett Public Library […]
In 2010, researchers from the University of Washington released the study “Opportunity for All: How the American Public Benefits from Internet Access at U.S. Libraries.” This study was a national effort that consisted of a random telephone survey, online surveys of library users, interviews, and focus groups to determine who library internet computer users were, […]
Videos are becoming more and more popular sources of entertainment, education, and learning. Not only are many people watching videos online—nearly 4 out of 5 (78%) of online adults do—but 31 percent of them are also posting or uploading videos to the internet, according to a new Pew Internet report complete with its own […]
Library Journal has just released its 2013 Index of Public Library Service and Star Library ratings. This index is a rating system for public libraries nationwide, and libraries earn a star by being in the top 30 of their expenditure peer group (top 15 for the highest expenditure group) on an index score based […]
Image Credit: Pew Research Center On October 1, 2013, open enrollment began under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and approximately 2.8 million Americans visited Healthcare.gov to compare and apply for health coverage. For many, the online portal is the easiest and quickest way to accomplish these tasks and find related resources. Unfortunately, this option is […]
Image credit: IMLS What’s not surprising: rural and small libraries provide critical resources and serve as community anchors to populations of less than 25,000 and non-urban areas. What is surprising? That small and rural libraries make up more than 80 percent of U.S. libraries as of Fiscal Year 2011, according to the Institute of Museum […]
Image credit: Pew Internet Despite the fact that an increasing number of job applications and other important resources are being offered solely online, not everyone in the U.S. uses the internet. This simple fact has been emphasized countless times in years past, through discussion of the “Digital Divide.” Most recently, in the report Who’s Not […]
You suspected it, but here’s the proof: nearly three-quarters of online adults use social media, according to a May 2013 survey by the Pew Research Center. And more and more older adults are using them, too: adoption rates have jumped to 43 percent among those 65 and older. So what does this mean for libraries? […]
Image credit: Library Leadership & Management A new study published in Library Leadership & Management dives into results from a national survey of current library workers regarding their retirement plans, particularly after the economic downturn. Analysis suggests that while more than one-fourth of respondents ages 50-59 and almost three-fourths of respondents in their 60s and […]
Image credit: Ann Arbor District Library 1. Thermal leak detector – Ann Arbor District Library (Michigan) 2. Table saw – Berkeley Public Library (California) 3. Hedge shears – Fletcher Free Library (Vermont) 4. Wood carving tool set – Grosse Pointe Public Library (Michigan) 5. Energy meter – Jefferson County Public Library (Colorado) Libraries have been […]
