The LRS Number

Total e-book collection figures in Colorado’s school libraries have increased by 557% since 2008-09

June 2014

Colorado’s school librarians are busy teaching students how to use digital resources, apply critical-thinking skills, and evaluate the credibility of information resources. They’re co-teaching with instructors across the school, serving as technology leaders and subject matter experts in helping students achieve 21st-century skills. To help demonstrate these activities, school library staff participate in the annual […]

34% of 6- to 17-year-olds read every day

May 2014

Just in time for summer reading programs, Common Sense Media recently released a new report—along with a handy infographic—summarizing several decades of research on the reading behaviors of children and teens. It examines four main areas: time spent and frequency of reading, reading proficiency/achievement, prevalence of e-reading, and attitudes toward e-reading. Since 1971, reading achievement […]

The median annual wage for librarians in Colorado is $61,560

May 2014

Fivethirtyeight recently crunched the numbers to learn more about librarians, their pay, and where they’re located based on national data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Of course they framed the discussion in terms of the future of libraries—a premise we’d argue with the authors—but we were interested to look at the data from a […]

Colorado library users received 385K+ computer tutoring sessions during the 2-year BTOP project

May 2014

In our newest Fast Facts report, we’ve summarized the final results of the two-year Broadband Technology Opportunity Program (BTOP) grant project from April 2011 to March 2013. This project involved building or enhancing Public Computer Centers (PCCs) at 88 libraries, tribes, town halls, and other community spaces around Colorado. More than 1,500 computers were installed, […]

Frequent library use positively impacts well-being

May 2014

Does library use impact people’s sense of well-being? According to the results of a study commissioned by the United Kingdom’s Department for Culture, Media, and Sport, the answer to this question is yes. This study, conducted by the London School of Economics, examined the impacts of cultural engagement (with the arts and the library) and […]

64% of U.S. Facebook users visit the site daily

April 2014

Facebook turned 10 earlier this year and Pew did a quick survey to make note of new facts regarding the social media behemoth. First off, Facebook is comfortably king: 57% of all adults use the site, with nearly two-thirds (64%) of them using the site daily. What is it about Facebook that keeps us coming […]

More than two-thirds of Americans have high or medium engagement with public libraries

April 2014

Library data geeks rejoice! Pew Research recently issued its third stage of research about public libraries, this time presenting a typology that clusters Americans into certain groups based on their connection to libraries. The result is a rich and complex portrait of how public libraries fit into people’s lives—we highly recommend reading the full report! […]

In 2012, 1 in 4 academic libraries offered text reference

April 2014

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) recently released its first look at the 2012 Academic Libraries Survey, which collects data on academic library collections, staff, expenditures, and information literacy services. Here are some of our favorite highlights: 252.6M e-books were held at U.S. academic libraries; 52.7 million of them were added in fiscal year […]