The LRS Number – Page 6 – Library Research Service

Andrew W. Mellon Foundation study shows that academic library employees remain mostly female and white despite a push for diversity

November 2017

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation recently released the results of a study examining diversity in academic libraries. Ithaka S+R was commissioned to survey member institutions of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) to find out how the academic library community perceives its progress towards more inclusive and diverse libraries. Across the ARL libraries surveyed, about […]

Read to the Children surveys show that 99% of offender participants would recommend the program to others

October 2017

Since 1999, the Read to the Children (RTC) program, a collaboration between the Colorado State Library and the Colorado Department of Corrections, has allowed offenders in Colorado’s state prisons to send young family members a book accompanied by a recording of the offender reading it. In the past year, around 1,900 offenders and 3,200 children […]

Materials challenges in Colorado public libraries continue to drop

September 2017

Just in time for Banned Books Week, 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 2016 Public Library Annual Report. The information that public libraries […]

Libraries are the Most Highly Trusted Resource for Information on Recent Pew Survey

September 2017

Image credit: Pew Internet A recent Pew survey shows that 40% of U.S. adults trust information from a local public library or librarians “a lot.” Thirty-eight percent of respondents said they trust libraries/librarians “some.” Totaling the percentage of respondents who trust a resource “a lot” or “some,” 83% trust health care providers, 82% trust family […]

The number of jobs posted to Library Jobline has nearly tripled since 2009

August 2017

Library Jobline, LRS’s website for library job postings and resources, posted a record number of jobs in 2016 and saw a continued increase in the number of people using the website to post and search for jobs. Data collected from the Library Jobline website are highlighted in the most recent Fast Facts report. In 2016, […]

Utrecht University Library study examines the future of bookshelves in the library

August 2017

As libraries increasingly focus on digital information resources, librarians are left wondering what the interior of the library will look like in the future if most of their materials can be found online rather than on bookshelves. The Utrecht University Library (UUL) attempted to answer this question in a recent study undertaken to predict what […]

ALA report finds that the number of rural public libraries offering internet services increases to 85%

August 2017

The American Libraries Association (ALA) recently published a report exploring the ways that rural public libraries meet the needs of their communities, especially by providing digital literacy training and free access to the internet. This report used data collected by the Public Libraries Survey and the Digital Inclusion Survey. Rural libraries tend to fall into […]

Freedman Consulting study finds strong bipartisan support for net neutrality rules

July 2017

A recent study conducted by Freedman Consulting found that Americans across the political spectrum support net neutrality. The study also found a bipartisan belief that access to the internet is essential and that the government should play a role in expanding internet access. About three-quarters (77%) of the survey respondents indicated that they believe the […]

Pew analysis finds that Millennials are the most likely generation to use their public libraries

July 2017

In a new analysis of data collected in a 2016 survey, Pew Research Center found that Millennials were the most likely generation to say they used their public library in the past year, either through the library’s physical premises or online. The analysis also reveals other demographic trends in library use. Over half (53%) of […]

Effective Strategies for Minimizing Summer Learning Loss

June 2017

Summer learning loss is a major issue that schools, libraries, and other community organizations try to alleviate through programming. Many children lose math and reading skills over the summer, and these losses are particularly steep for low-income children (click here for more info). What are the best ways to prevent summer learning loss and how […]