For this edition of Data Doodles, I looked at the survey of library users performed by the Pew Research Center in December of 2013; “
How Americans Value Public Libraries in Their Communities.” On the positive side, 94% of respondents to the survey agreed that having a public library improves the quality of life in a community; 81% said that public libraries provide services many people would have a hard time finding elsewhere; and 72% of Americans ages 16 and over have either used a library or live in a “libr
ary household.” So, we know from this study that Americans believe public libraries are a valuable institution for their communities
and that library usage is integrated into the family life of many citizens.
On the “we can do better” side, 52% of Americans say that people do not need public libraries as much as they used to because they can find most information on their own. It seems the belief that libraries have lost significance with the advent of the internet and the digital revolution persists in many people’s perception of the public library. When asked, “How well-informed do you feel about the different
services and programs your public library offers?” 30% indicated that they didn’t know much or knew “nothing at all” about what their library offers. Also, 47% responded that they knew some of what the library offers. These results are almost exactly the same as a Pew survey from 2012. My conclusion from this response is that libraries still aren’t as effective as they could be in publicizing what they can offer to a community. This has been a persistent problem area for libraries throughout the nearly 4 decades I have been in the profession. So let’s keep trying out those marketing ideas we get from webinars and workshops.
