The Colorado Advocacy Project, Colorado’s @your library Campaign, is a very successful statewide advocacy campaign containing elements of public relations, marketing, and community relations to build visibility and support for the state’s libraries. Funded by LSTA and sponsored by the Colorado Association of Libraries, it has been active since 2002 and is scheduled for completion […]
Colorado’s libraries have been heavily hit by budget cuts that have coincided with a generally grim economy the last few years. Academic libraries have felt a greater impact than those in other sectors. In all, 25 of 33 libraries in public or non-profit colleges or universities in Colorado responded to the survey. Eighteen of these […]
Children’s services have traditionally been an important part of most public libraries. Libraries try to cultivate love of reading and school readiness skills through story times, programming, and building good children’s collections. Recent research establishing the critical importance of early learning and stimulation to child development and later success in school confirms the importance of […]
One of the distinguishing characteristics of Colorado’s library districts is their fiscal autonomy. They receive their operating revenues from dedicated mill levies on which the electorate votes directly. Such economic independence is not unique to library districts; half of the state’s county libraries for which data are available also have dedicated mill levies. The other […]
According to an October 2003 report from the National Center for Education Statistics, 2 out of 5 children and teens rely on the Internet to complete school assignments (see Chart 1 in full report). One-third of the respondents to the 2001 survey reported using the Internet to communicate with others via e-mail and to play […]
Colorado’s November 2003 elections produced disappointing results for public libraries in the state, a reflection that voters are feeling the effects of the economic downturn and are reluctant to pass tax increases. Overall only 6 of 13 ballot issues for increases in public library funding were successful. Mill levy increases to operate libraries fared better […]
In celebration of the 200th Fast Fact… The Library Research Service at the Colorado State Library in partnership with the Library and Information Science Program at the University of Denver is proud to present our list of the Top 10 Fast Facts. These are the Fast Facts that have been the most downloaded, requested, and […]
The last year and a half has been grueling for Colorado libraries. Of the 83 academic, public, school, and special libraries responding to an autumn 2003 Library Research Service survey, 52 reported budget cuts since July 1, 2002, for a total of over $11 million. Forty-nine of the state’s 115 (43%) public library jurisdictions responded […]
Each year the Library Research Service administers the Colorado Public Library Annual Survey, collecting data on various aspects of Colorado’s public libraries. Among the information collected is data on formal challenges to materials received by public libraries. In 2002, 16 Colorado public libraries reported a total of 70 challenges to books, materials, events or exhibits. […]
Many of Colorado’s public libraries contribute significant resources to family and adult literacy activities, despite the difficult budget climate they currently face. The federal government no longer provides direct funding for adult literacy activities in public libraries and Colorado’s public libraries have faced significant budget cuts in the last two years. But a survey conducted […]
