Author Archives: John Felton

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 “library 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.

Another public library performance measure that has seen significant growth in the past five years is the number of programs hosted by Nebraska libraries.  From fiscal year 2008 through 2012, the number of programs increased by 21.6%. No one was speaking to an empty room, either, as attendance at these events grew by 22.8%.

This increase was undoubtedly influenced during the past two years by training sessions made possible by the Library Broadband Builds Nebraska Communities grant, but the trend was already established by the time the grant was awarded. This movement towards expanding the role of the library as a critical local service provider has certainly solidified the belief that public libraries should be recognized as community anchor institutions (CAI) along with schools, healthcare providers, government facilities, and other community support organizations.

Source: Nebraska Public Libraries Survey FY 2008 – FY 2012

The Nebraska Public Libraries Survey for the 2012-2013 fiscal year is now open and ready for data input. You can access the online survey form by going to http://collect.btol.com and entering your library’s user name and password. The survey is due on Friday, February 14, 2014.

The arrangement of the report has changed slightly and there are some additional questions and modifications to data elements this year, so you will want to check out the resources on the Library Commission’s Data Services page. Here you will find:

• A link to the Bibliostat Collect survey form,
• A blank copy of the survey for download that is useful for data collection prior to online entry,
• A Tip Sheet to help you complete the survey,
• Instructions for finding your Overdrive holdings and circulation statistics,
• Definitions of the data elements contained in the survey,
• And full instructions on completing the survey.

The information provided through this survey is used to determine accreditation status and state aid awards, so please be diligent in completing it accurately.

For today’s doodle, I surveyed the 5-year trend in the amount Nebraska public libraries have been spending on print materials compared to electronic resources. The date range for the trend is fiscal year 2007/2008 through 2011/2012. The charts below illustrate how funds spent purchasing print materials have leveled off (-2.3%), while spending on electronic materials has risen sharply (+74.7%).

To analyze this trend another way: In FY 2008, 72% of collection expenditures went to print materials, but in 2012 this percentage had fallen to 67%. Spending on electronic resources in 2008 was 11.8% of collection budgets, but by 2012 the proportion of spending had risen to 19.7%. I’m certain this trend itself won’t surprise anyone in the library biz, but I was taken aback at the dramatic surge in spending on electronic resources.

BTW, this data was made possible by your participation in the annual Nebraska Public Libraries Survey, which begins again for the 2012-2013 fiscal year on November 18th.

The Library Journal Index of Public Library Service for 2013 was just released and there are nine Nebraska libraries in the top-rated list. Four of these libraries have earned stars in every edition of the index since it began. They are shown in bold type in the table below.

The source of data for the index is the annual Public Libraries Survey, which is compiled by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The statistics for the 2013 index are from the FY 2011 survey.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) just published a new brief, The State of Small and Rural Libraries in the United States. This report provides the agency’s first focused analysis of trends for rural and small library services. The sheer number of libraries in this category is one significant finding. Their research revealed that 77.1% of all public libraries are considered small and that 46 million people (that’s 15.4% of the population) are served by these libraries. This publication seems particularly relevant in this part of the country since this year’s conference of The Association for Rural & Small Libraries (ARSL) is currently being held in Omaha. Also significant, of course, is the fact that 58% of all public libraries in Nebraska serve populations of under 1,000.