The LRS Number

Brookings Institution analysis shows that about 8 in 10 U.S. households now have a subscription to broadband internet

October 2018

The Metropolitan Policy Center at the Brookings Institution recently published an analysis of data gathered by the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey concerning national broadband internet adoption, including cable, fiber optic, or DSL internet service. They found that while broadband subscriptions are rising, there are still gaps in this essential service. Brookings’ analysis found […]

Common Sense Media study finds that high percentages of teens have smartphones, use them a lot, and have trouble disconnecting – even to sleep

September 2018

Common Sense Media, a nonprofit organization that studies youth and media, recently released the 2018 “Social Media, Social Life” report on teens and social media. The report summarizes the results of “a nationally representative survey of 1,141 13 to 17 year olds in the United States.” Since the survey was last administered in 2012, there […]

IMLS report finds that there were 1.39 billion public library visits in FY 2015

September 2018

The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) recently published a report detailing the FY2015 results of the national Public Libraries Survey. This report focuses on the financial health, library use, resources, and staffing of public libraries around the country. IMLS uses two measures to determine the financial health of public libraries: total operating expenditures […]

Reported challenges in Colorado’s public libraries nearly doubled from 2016 to 2017

August 2018

LRS’s latest Fast Facts report summarizes the results of our annual investigation into the materials that are challenged in public libraries across Colorado. This Fast Facts details the number, type, and reasons for the challenges reported in the 2017 Public Library Annual Report. The information that public libraries provided to us about these challenges help […]

Pew survey finds that only 51% of US teens use Facebook, down from 71% in 2015

August 2018

Pew Research Center recently published the results of its Teens, Social Media & Technology 2018 study. Pew surveyed US teens aged 13-17 to gather information about their use and views of social media, providing an update to a similar study published in 2015. For the first time, Facebook is no longer the most popular social […]

US has higher percentage of preschool aged children not in pre-school than some lower income countries

July 2018

The World Bank recently published the 2018 Atlas of Sustainable Development Goals.  One of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals is to “ensure inclusive and equitable education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.” A key concrete measure being tracked for the project is “total enrollment in pre-primary education, regardless of age, expressed as a […]

A record 701 jobs posted to Library Jobline in 2017

June 2018

Library Jobline, LRS’s website for library job postings and resources, broke its own record for the number of jobs posted in 2017 while the number of job seekers and job posters continued to rise. Data collected from the Library Jobline website are highlighted in the most recent Fast Facts report. In 2017 employers posted 701 […]

“Quotable Facts about Colorado Libraries” highlights libraries working for access, knowledge, and community in Colorado

May 2018

LRS recently released the latest version of Quotable Facts about Colorado Libraries, a booklet containing data and statistics about public, school, and academic libraries in Colorado. The booklet focuses on libraries working with and for their patrons, broken down into three sections: libraries working for access, knowledge, and community. Public, school, and academic libraries circulated […]

Pew reports that 2 in 5 American adults did not read a book in the past year

May 2018

Pew Research Center recently updated a report delving into the characteristics of the quarter of American adults who say that they haven’t read a book in the past year. This includes reading all or part of a book, in any format (print, electronic, or audiobook). Education seems to impact how often American adults read books. […]

Early literacy ranks as the most important topic on a survey of literacy professionals

May 2018

The International Literacy Association regularly conducts a survey of literacy leaders to find out what topics in literacy are trending and which topics are the most important. The most recent survey was open from August to September 2017. It had 2,097 responses representing 91 countries and territories. Classroom teachers made up the largest portion of […]