Fast Facts Reports

State and National Data Link Circulation of Children’s Materials from Public Libraries & Reading Test Scores

October 1998

Relationships between public libraries and school library media centers (LMCs) are somewhat difficult to observe and assess. Consequently, distinguishing between the effects of public libraries and school LMCs on children’s performance in school is problematic. Several recent issues of FAST FACTS have presented evidence of the contributions of LMCs alone and their collaboration with public […]

Better-Funded Public Libraries Provide More Service to Individual Users

October 1998

As for all tax-supported enterprises, a perennial issue for public libraries is the relative merit of smaller, lower-budget operations and larger, higher-budget ones. The former claim to be able to provide more personalized service, because they are closer to their clients. The latter claim to create “economies of scale” that enable them to provide more, […]

World Wide Web Access via Library Media Centers in Colorado Public Schools, 1998

October 1998

During the 1997-98 school year, access to the World Wide Web via library media centers in Colorado public schools was widespread, though there were important differences by school level and enrollment range. In the state’s high schools, web access was almost universal. Virtually all LMCs provided web access to library media staff, teachers, and other […]

Student Use of Library Media Programs Key to NAEP Success

October 1998

The National Center for Education Statistics recently released the long-awaited results of its latest survey on school library media programs, School Library Media Centers: 1993-94 (NCES 98-282). Though access to the resulting data file is severely restricted, some of the report’s summary tables by state permit some rudimentary impact assessment when combined with average state […]

The Colorado Library Card: A Resource Sharing Success Story

October 1998

In Spring 1998, 133 (85 percent) of the 156 public, academic, and special libraries participating in the CLC program responded to an evaluation survey. By sector, the response rates were: public, 99 out of 112 or 88 percent; academic, 23 out of 29 or 79 percent; and special, 11 out of 15 or 73 percent. […]

Public Library Statistics: How Colorado Ranks

September 1998

In 1996, Colorado ranked in the top half of the states on most public library statistics. Three statistics on which the state ranked in the middle among the lowest are noteworthy: Colorado was one of only a half dozen states in which public libraries received no regular income from state government. In every other state, […]

Almost 7 Million Americans “Unserved” by Public Libraries

September 1998

According to 1996 data from the National Center for Education Statistics (with some corrections from a few state library agencies), 6,908,844 Americans in 24 states live beyond the legal service area of any public library—roughly the equivalent of the entire Washington, DC, or San Francisco metropolitan area. These individuals are “unserved,” as there is no […]

Smaller Secondary Schools Less Likely to Meet North Central Association Staffing Requirements for Library Media Programs

One of the few categories in which the North Central Association specifies quantitative requirements for middle and secondary schools is staffing. Among the categories of staffing included is library media. The requirements are, by almost any definition, extremely modest: a half-time library media specialist in schools with enrollments of 1,000 and less, and a full-time […]

Public Library Salary Spending Compares Unfavorably with Average Teacher Pay

August 1998

According to Public Library Standards for Colorado 1997, public libraries serving populations under 2,500 should have directors employed for a minimum of 20 hours per week, those serving 2,500 to 9,999, 30 hours per week, and those serving 10,000 and over, 40 hours per week. This standard implies that, in general, libraries should be open […]