Category Archives: Library Connectivity

“Ac-cent-tchu-ate the Positive” for advocacy success

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Today’s advocacy tip comes courtesy of Johnny Mercer (lyrics) and Harold Arlen (music), and presented here by Aretha Franklin:

You’ve got to accentuate the positive
Eliminate the negative
And latch on to the affirmative
Don’t mess with Mister In-Between

You’ve got to spread joy up to the maximum
Bring gloom down to the minimum
Have faith or pandemonium’s
Liable to walk upon the scene

To illustrate my last remark
Jonah in the whale, Noah in the ark
What did they do just when everything looked so dark?

Man, they said “We’d better accentuate the positive”
“Eliminate the negative” “And latch on to the affirmative”
Don’t mess with Mister In-Between (No!)
Don’t mess with Mister In-Between

This viewpoint, along with “accentuate the innovative,” was the advisory committee’s recommendation as the platform for the new ALA issues brief: U.S. Public Libraries Weather the Storm. After the deluge of the Perfect Storm, many library advocates recognized that with thousands of other entities pursuing funding in this Era of Austerity, a positive and data-driven strategy was going to help drive libraries to the front of the pack.

Need more than a song to energize your advocacy? Join us on October 18 for “Driving Advocacy with Data,” a free webinar sponsored by the ALA Committee on Library Advocacy and the Office for Research & Statistics. Webinar attendees will learn how to interpret the latest data and emerging trends from the 2012 Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study (PLFTAS); access new advocacy and marketing tools including state profiles, issue briefs, and PR templates; and use the data to make the case for your library with elected officials and community stakeholders.

Dr. John Carlo Bertot, co-director of the Information Policy & Access Center at the University of Maryland will lead the tour of the PLFTAS study results. Charlie Parker, executive director of the Tampa Bay Library Consortium, will share examples of Florida library advocacy and how they keep it positive and on target.

Public libraries and the Internet: A twenty-five year perspective

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When I proposed in 1993 to the then National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS) a national survey of public library use and access to the Internet, there was some skepticism that public librarians and policy makers needed such a study – despite an earlier 5-6 years of work on libraries and the Internet we had done before 1993.  When the data from this first survey were released in 1994 there was considerable interest in its findings – especially data related to the percentage of public libraries (20.9% as reported in 1994) that provided public access to the Internet.

Since that first national survey, sponsorship changed a number of times to different units of the American Library Association, NCLIS, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.  The national survey evolved into a much larger effort and became the Public Library Funding and Technology Access Study (PLFTAS) of which the most recent is the 2011-2012 Public Library Funding and Technology Access Study.

The purpose of this blog is NOT to make statistical comparisons related to public library use and access to the Internet between then and now.  But rather, it is to offer a couple of perspectives on public libraries and the Internet in terms of past and future themes.

Some perspectives from many years of being involved in the survey and the earlier development of Internet use and access by public librarians include:

• Public libraries may have been slow initially to connect to and use the Internet, but adopt they did.  And as they increased their use of the Internet and applications related to it, many innovative services and uses – shared catalogs and resources, interactive video, social media, etc. – have  been discovered and implemented which have revolutionized public library “services” and “access” to information. 

• This revolution, however, is a continuous tsunami that will require ongoing innovations as broadband, networking, digital services/resources, cloud computing, etc. continues to explode.  To some extent these developments appear to be much more challenging and possibly more expensive to implement than those in the early 1990s, when the objective as to simply “get connected” to the Internet.

• The extent to which public librarians have received adequate education in the broad areas of information technology deployment, management, and assessment continues to be problematic.  And the extent to which library staff regularly update their knowledge to stay abreast of information technology developments will only become more challenging. Better use of online education, webinars, etc. may help deal with this challenge.

• The degree to which public libraries can continue a balancing act between providing “traditional” library services and digital services is unclear.  As a result of the economic stress that began in 2008, the “new normal” of public library funding may require considerably different models in the provision of services and access to resources that are likely to be network-based.

• Public library apps (see August 8 blog post) and the use of social media to support public library services and access to digital information are only in their infancy.  As the population grows more familiar with apps and social media (and the demography is in the favor of much more user adoption and use in these areas), public libraries will need to exploit these applications and social media to support library services.  Such may be the next BIG challenge for public librarians… but there always will be the next challenge.

Many of the current public library service and information access/delivery issues are quite similar to those in the early 1990s and are likely to continue to be important in the future: literacy, funding, advocacy, etc.  But exploiting broadband and the digital environment for the benefit of public library users will be a critical success factor that simply cannot be ignored by any public library. 

Planning now, strategically, for exploiting information access/delivery/services with the various information technologies available now and in the future is a given … and one that cannot be ignored by public libraries.  Luck and serendipity will have little impact on whether libraries are able to exploit information technologies successfully in the future.  Vision, leadership, innovativeness, and planning are more likely the necessary ingredients to move public libraries into the next era of digital services and information access.

Dr. McClure is the President of Information Management Consultant Services, LLC, imcscrm@attglobal.net

Plan NOW for mobile apps to access public library resources and services

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The recently released 2011-2012 Public Library Funding and Technology Access Study (PLFTAS) contains a wealth of information and insights on public library funding and technology applications and uses. Of the many interesting findings, public library use of mobile technology offers a glimpse of “things to come.” Indeed, public libraries need to plan NOW for how to employ these applications in THEIR libraries.

Figure C-17 “Public Library Systems Use of Mobile Technology” from the 2011-2012 PLFTAS shows that overall:

• 14.2% of respondents indicated that the library’s website is optimized for mobile device access;
• 7.2% of respondents said that the library has developed smartphone apps for access to library services and content;
• 11.8% of respondents said that the library uses scanned codes for access to library services and content; and
• 72.7% responded that the library does not make use of mobile technologies.

In all responses, urban libraries had more use and deployment of mobile technology than rural libraries.

The survey questions in the PLFTAS do not provide detailed data on the types of mobile apps being developed in public libraries. Nonetheless, a taste of possible mobile apps that may be of interest to the public can be found at the Mobile (AL) Public Library. A key question here, however, is the degree to which the public can replace public library resources and services with these apps or the extent to which public librarians can create apps that “add value” to public library services and resources.

WebJuction and ALA TechSource held a July 25 webinar on “Bridging the Digital Divide with Mobile Services.” Especially useful were discussions on why mobile services are important to libraries and offering real life examples of mobile services. The instructor, Andromeda Yelton, is the author of the January 2012 edition of Library Technology Reports on the same topic.

A July 23 ALA webinar on the topic “Introducing the Book as iPad App” presents how the boundaries of the book are being stretched with a hybrid mix in elements of film, videogames, and social media with the text traditional to the book. This program is another inroad to better understand the expanding world of library apps. The instructor, Nicole Henning, has a number of resources that are worth reviewing regarding uses and applications for apps. Although the site is academic library oriented, many of the topics can be translated into a public library context.

The results of a March 2012 Pew Research Center survey points to the importance of expanding use of mobile technologies. Nearly half (46%) of American adults own smartphones, and nearly every major demographic group experienced a notable uptick in smartphone market penetration over the last year. A number of folks agree with Dale Lee King, Topeka and Shawnee County (KS) Public Library, that (www.davidleeking.com, April 5, 2012):

“If you haven’t yet started building with mobile in mind, now is definitely the time to start – you are very close to alienating almost half your customers. They are interacting with their favorite sites online using their smartphone (think Facebook, Amazon, YouTube, etc.).”

San Diego Public Library also offers some interesting apps, and it is likely many other libraries also offer such apps. The move to hand held devices and use of mobile apps has been amazing and looks to continue expanding significantly. Is the public library community ready for this next challenge? What is your library developing or planning in the area of mobile apps? Let us hear from you.

Dr. McClure is the President of Information Management Consultant Services, LLC, imcscrm@attglobal.net

2012 Study highlights provision of innovative technology despite budget cuts

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With the release of the 2011-2012 Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study, libraries have access to current national and state data and supporting anecdotal evidence that can help library staff and trustees advocate for support for technology infrastructure and resources.

The new report highlights how strategic vision and careful management have helped U.S. public libraries weather the storm of the Great Recession, supporting their role as a lifeline to the technology resources and training essential to social inclusion and full participation in the nation’s economy. However, the report underscores the competing concerns that face America’s libraries: cumulative budget cuts which threaten access to libraries and services, increasing demand for technology training and the chronic presence of the digital divide.

 Key findings include:

  • 62% of public libraries report that they are the only source of free public access to computers and the Internet in their communities, with an increase to 70% in rural communities.
  • For FY2012, 57 percent of libraries report flat or decreased operating budgets, while at the same time, 60 percent of libraries report increased use of public Internet computers.
  • 76% of libraries offer access to e-books, an increase of 9% from last year.
  • 39% percent of libraries provide e-readers for check-out by patrons.
  • 91% of public libraries provide free Wi-Fi, and 74% of libraries report use of Wi-Fi increased in 2011
  • For the third year in a row, 40% of state libraries report decreased state funding for public libraries.
  • 65% of libraries report having an insufficient number of public computers to meet demand, this increases to 87% in urban libraries.

More key findings are outlined in the Executive Summary, the key findings handout, and this infographic:

 We hope you’ll take the time to look through the full report, which includes state-by-state analysis on public library technology resources, and an illuminating qualitative component from interviews with library directors and staff in Georgia and Idaho.

 Over the new few weeks we’ll highlight different sections of the report, as well as introduce you to the resources we’ve developed to help you use the PLFTAS data to advocate for your own library.

 Thank you to the staff at the 7,252 public libraries that completed this year’s survey. The time you took to provide the data in this report offers valuable information for national, state, and local policymakers, library advocates, researchers, practitioners, government and private funding organizations, and others to understand the impact, issues, and needs of libraries providing public access computing.