Category Archives: Patron Technology Training

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.

Public libraries, the digitally disadvantaged, and the “Connect to Compete” program

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In my January 6, 2012 blog I wrote that we would continue the conversation about rural high-speed broadband deployment and access. Traci Avet’s comments, in her January 9 reply to that blog, noted that policymakers need solid and immediate plans to achieve broadband goals. One such program to monitor is the Federal Communication Commission’s collaboration with Connect to Compete.

Connect to Compete “is a private and non-profit sector partnership to promote broadband adoption and improve outcomes in disadvantaged communities.” The program will offer $9.95/month (plus tax) Internet service to “available households with at least one child eligible for the free National School Lunch Program.”

The program will also offer reduced prices for computers, and Best Buy’s Geek Squad will offer basic digital literacy training in 20 cities around the country. The program is slated for implementation September 2012. Although digital training will be done in cities, one assumes that these targeted disadvantaged communities and households will be in both rural and urban settings.

But, there are digitally disadvantaged communities and households that need digital training in both large urban areas and in rural areas. Indeed, a recent blog post by Craig Settles described a host of broadband infrastructure issues affecting urban areas in the U.S. And while Tables 21 and 22 in the Public Library Funding and Technology Access Survey (PLFTAS) document the extent to which residents relying on rural public libraries are handicapped in their use of and access to broadband and the quality of broadband access, there is plenty of room for high-speed broadband improvement in both rural and urban areas.

A careful read of the information posted on the Connect to Compete website finds a reference to PLFTAS study findings justifying the need for the program and then states:

[FCC] Chairman Genachowski’s proposal would enable thousands of more libraries to host in-person, basic digital literacy training programs…. Together, these new library and school literacy courses and instructors would form a new “Digital Literacy Corps,” an idea first discussed in the National Broadband Plan.

How, exactly, the Connect to Compete program might (1) enable thousands of more libraries to host in-person, basic digital literacy training programs, (2) leverage the broadband work public libraries have already done and the lessons they have already learned, and (3) incorporate findings from the many $4 billion National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Broadband Technology Opportunity Program’s (BTOP) project awards – many of which are targeted at digitally disadvantaged communities and households – is unclear.

Any comments and clarifications from librarians, library associations, Connect to Compete staff, Federal policymakers and other interested parties on how, specifically, Connect to Compete plans on collaborating with and leveraging the high-speed broadband work and training with which public libraries are already involved would be most welcome.

In the meantime, we will continue to monitor the Connect to Compete program as it evolves and we will be discussing the importance of digital training for increased high-speed broadband deployment and use for both urban and rural settings.

Libraries urged to participate in 2011-2012 PLFTAS survey

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Drum roll, please……the 2011-12 Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study (PLFTAS) survey is now live and ready for your valuable input. Last year, the survey had a record-topping 86.5% response rate, with participation from over 8,400 urban, suburban, and rural libraries in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

We thank you for your participation in the past and hope that you will continue to participate in this important survey. The high response rate provides the greatest impact for advocacy efforts at the local, state, and national levels.

The PLFTAS is the largest and longest-running (since 1994) study of public library Internet connectivity. As technology has changed since the beginning of the study, so has the survey evolved to capture the most current snapshot of the technology resources brokered by our libraries and the funding that enables free public access to these resources.  With feedback from libraries and the PLFTAS Advisory Committee, this year’s survey has been updated and streamlined, most significantly in the funding section.

Why is your participation so important?  Data from the study will help your library identify the impacts of the your library’s public computer and Internet access on the community, and support efforts to inform and educate stakeholders – policymakers, foundations, elected officials, trustees, and the media – about the value of libraries and issues related to sustaining public library technology services. To help with messaging and advocacy, we’ve developed PR templates, issue briefs and state summaries that provide succinct messages for use on behalf of libraries.

In addition to the launch of the PLFTAS survey, what other monumental events have taken place on September 6 (per Wikipedia)? In 1492, Columbus left the Canary Islands for his first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean. In 1522, the only surviving ship of Magellan’s expedition returned to Spain, becoming the first ship to circumnavigate the world. And in 1995, Cal Ripken Jr. played in his 2,131st consecutive game, breaking a record that stood for 56 years. Let’s be like Cal and break another record with a 90% response rate for the 2011-2012 survey! Libraries need all the muscle they can gather to continue to circle the bases with their advocacy messages.

Welcome to the toll-free bridge over the digital divide

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It was good to read the announcement for the launch of the Broadband Technology Opportunity Program (BTOP) grant project at the Simla branch of the Elbert County (CO) Library District. The grant provides for a new mobile computer lab and accessible computer station. The mobile lab has been developed to provide training opportunities to improve job-related computer and Internet skills.

Thankfully, as the unemployment rate again inches up, another public library is able to expand its “safety net” to the community. In addition to the computers, the grant provides the basic technology training that, for many people, is their first introduction to using a computer.

As reported in the new 2010-2011 Public Library Funding & Technology Access Study, 87.4 percent of Colorado libraries report providing technology training for the public. This matches the overall average for this year’s study. Here’s how it breaks out nationally by type of training:

PUBLIC LIBRARY OUTLETS OFFERING FORMAL OR INFORMAL TECHNOLOGY TRAINING AVAILABILITY, BY METROPOLITAN STATUS

Metropolitan Status
Training Availability

Urban

Suburban

Rural

Overall
Offers formal technology training classes

58.8%

46.6%

25.2%

38.0%
Offers one-on-one technology training sessions by appointment

29.2%

30.9%

25.9%

28.1%
Offers informal point-of-use assistance

79.4%

80.5%

77.3%

78.8%
Offers online training material

40.2%

34.9%

22.4%

29.5%
Does not offer any technology training

7.6%

10.7%

15.6%

12.7%

Nationally, libraries report that assistance for job-seekers continue to be the most in-demand technology service. In the recent study, over 89 percent of Colorado libraries report providing access to jobs databases and other job resources. Thanks to the BTOP grant, many more job-seeking residents will be able to benefit from library services and staff expertise.

The Colorado BTOP project, titled “Bridging Colorado’s Great Digital Divide,” involves public, school, and tribal libraries, and will benefit 76 communities. In addition to the BTOP stimulus funds, the grant is supported with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and matching funds from the Library District.

Kudos to the library for getting the Elbert County Farm Bureau Federation to donate ice cream sundaes for the upcoming project open house. Hope there are lots of moist towelettes close by!