Author Archives: John Felton

As promised, today the Nebraska Library Commission released an evaluation survey to the state’s library community. We are asking those we serve to answer this short survey designed to gather information about the impact that our LSTA-funded programs and services have had on individuals and libraries in Nebraska.

Every five years the Nebraska Library Commission is required to conduct an evaluation of its implementation of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) “Grants to States” program. The LSTA Grants to States Program is a federal program that provides funding to each state based on a population-driven formula.

This survey is a crucial component of the evaluation process, so we are counting on our clients to assist us with our report by answering the survey (link below) by March 5, 2012.

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SCNS276

Thank you so much for your support!

Every five years the Nebraska Library Commission, along with the state library agencies in every other state, is required to conduct an evaluation of its implementation of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) “Grants to States” program. The LSTA Grants to States Program is a federal program that provides funding to each state based on a population-driven formula. Decisions regarding how these funds are spent are made at the state level; however, expenditures must be consistent with the purposes and priorities that are established nationally.

As part of our evaluation, we will be asking those we serve to answer a short survey designed to gather information about the impact that our LSTA-funded programs and services have had on individuals and libraries in Nebraska. Please watch for the release of this survey and take a few minutes to help us with this important evaluation.

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) recently published the findings of the 2010 Academic Libraries Survey, a biennial study of libraries in 2 and 4-year post-secondary schools in the United States. Some highlights include:

• At the end of fiscal year 2010, there were 227 academic libraries that held at least 1 million or more books, serial backfiles, and other paper materials including government documents.
• Academic libraries spent approximately $152.4 million for electronic books, serial backfiles, and other materials. Expenditures for electronic current serial subscriptions totaled about $1.2 billion.
• In FY 2010 academic libraries conducted approximately 34.6 million information services to individuals, including computer searches.
• During fiscal year 2010, some 72 percent of academic libraries reported that they supported virtual reference services and about 32 percent of academic libraries reported that they utilized instant messaging applications.

For access to the full report and supplemental statistical tables, visit http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2012365.

The annual Public Libraries Statistical Survey for FY 2010-2011 has opened for online submission as of today. Log into your library’s survey form by going to http://collect.btol.com. The due date for this survey is February 13, 2012. For instructions and tips for completing the survey go to the Library Data Services page at http://nlc.nebraska.gov/stats/BibliostatCollect.aspx.

Background
Every year the Nebraska Library Commission, along with state library agencies from all other states and U.S. territories, collects statistics through the Public Libraries Survey.  There are almost 90 shared data elements in this survey that are used to analyze and compare public library service in the U.S.  In Nebraska, these data, along with some state-wide information, are gathered through an online survey instrument known as Bibliostat™ Collect.  Submission of this survey is required to become eligible for the public library accreditation program and for state aid to public libraries.

Please let us know by completing our 3-question online survey, so we can participate in a national effort to gather baseline data on downloadable media in U.S. public libraries. Go to this link to take the survey: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/8HJRBQJ   This project is sponsored by COSLA – the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies, who want to collect information on how many public libraries offer ebooks, audiobooks, or videos that can be downloaded by customers. Thanks for your help!

The Compare Public Libraries tool provides an easy way to evaluate
your library in comparison with others that share similar characteristics. For
example, you can discover how your library stacks up among libraries of similar
size in terms of circulation per capita, visits per year, or uses of public
access computers. This free application is available on the website of the
Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) at

http://harvester.census.gov/imls/compare/index.asp. It contains data from
the national Public Library Survey conducted annually in each state and
was just updated with statistics from the 2008-2009 survey. The "Data Doctors"
here at the Library Commission use this tool regularly for our research and give
it a rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars. So, give it a try!

The Nebraska Library Commission has mailed award letters for a “Dollars for Data” payment of $250 to 46 unaccredited public libraries that submitted the 2008-2009 Public Library Statistical Survey using Bibliostat™ Collect.
Provision of public library data is an important activity for all libraries so that both the Library Commission and the Institute of Museum and Library Services (http://www.imls.gov/) have an accurate picture of public library service throughout Nebraska communities. Since this is a necessary step toward meeting the standards of service outlined in the Public Library Accreditation Guidelines http://
nlc.nebraska.gov/LibAccred/, these libraries are closer to achieving accredited status. In fact, four libraries that earned Dollars for Data awards in the last two years have now become accredited.
For more information about Dollars for Data, including a list of this year’s recipients, go to http://nlc.nebraska.gov/funding/dollars/.

I’m passing along a request I received from Colorado’s Library Research Service, where they keep up on important issues for libraries by conducting quick surveys on their website.
“Recently, the New York Times published an article about the privatization of public libraries http://nyti.ms/9b94Ai. This article described the trend in some communities to turn over the management of public libraries to private organizations. In response to this article, library staff engaged in spirited online discussions about whether libraries should be privatized. Taking notice of these discussions, Library Research Service at the Colorado State Library has launched a new 60-Second Survey to get your opinions about privatization.
Do you think privatization is a good option for libraries? How would it impact library collections, services, staff, and patrons? Tell us what you think. Take the survey here: http://surveys.lrs.org/respond.php?sid=165.”